Class Openers for Elementary Music. Organized Chaos. Fun ways to establish a routine for the beginning of each elementary general music class as a warm-up and allow student leadership as well.
Here’s 10 ways to use a parachute in the music classroom. Activities will help students learn and practice music concepts. Parachutes can be used for so many fun activities in the music room. I’ve discovered that they are especially helpful during the latter part of the school year when students are more “squiggly” than ever! […]
Learn 5 ways to teach do, re, and mi in the elementary music classroom. The key building blocks within Western music literacy.
Mini erasers can be a valuable manipulative in the music classroom. Use them for rhythm activities, pitch work and workstations. Learn more and start collecting!
Whether you homeschool, teach a group music class or are a teacher, these melody & rhythm cards from The
The closet key is a fantastic game that your students will love. In this post I share how to create Solfege magnets using free printables.
I'm sharing creative ways to use Stretchy Bands in the classroom. In fact, I know you can stretch learning with Stretchy Bands.
Last Monday, I posted on my Facebook page asking what music manipulatives you were using in your lessons and I got some really neat ideas, and I am so happy that those teachers are allowing me to share their manipulative ideas with you. Today's idea comes from Tina Morgan. This manipulative is for working on creating measures in 4 beat meter, 3 beat meter, or 2 beat meter and having students figure out where to put the bar lines using Popsicle sticks. The class works in small groups to add the bar lines to a known song or they can create their own songs, using certain time signatures and adding bar lines (popsicle sticks) where appropriate. You could create several baskets and do this with the whole class, or create one to use as a center. Here's what goes in each basket for each small group: - rhythm cards (each rhythm was printed on a different color of paper and laminated), each rhythm can be contained in a Ziploc bag - time signature cards - Popsicle sticks - poker chips (in case they want to create repeats) - a sheet of paper that describes the contents of the basket so students can be sure their basket has everything before turning it back in When it's all packed up it looks like this: Here's a close up of the contents sheet: Tina created these rhythm cards by hand back in 1999, but she allowed me to create a digital file so that music teachers could simply print and have this ready to go for their classrooms. Grab the file here. It includes stick notation as well as notation with note heads. I have also include a few more rhythm options. I have added a different contents sheet for several different rhythm concept levels so you could create a basket for where ta and titi are the hardest rhythm concepts, a basket where ta rest is the hardest rhythm concept and so on. Hope you enjoy this manipulative to practice adding bar lines and a big thank you to Tina for letting me share it with you!
Learn how to practice rhythms with this budget-friendly and fun rhythm game in your elementary music classroom.
How can you make rain in music class? Singing, playing instruments, moving, chanting, are just some of the ways you can improvise rain sounds.
Welcome back to the next simple tip from our Getting Ready for Kindergarten series! This week, we’re talking about rhyming and I can’t wait to share some of my favorite fun rhyming songs {with a free animal rhyming cards.} *This post contains affiliate links. **The free download link is towards the bottom of this post. Just ... Read More about Fun Rhyming Songs {with Free Rhyming Cards!}
Hey hey! Do you remember being in college and taking a test wishing, if I just had extra time I could really learn this in detail and get a good grade? That is how children feel. I am the first to say and admit that I move in math class at the rate of a racehorse. Do I like it? Not at all. Do I have to? YES. With all of the math standards that we have to teach, our year at a glance is packed with math standards. Maybe our kids don’t understand the material right after we teach the standard. However, should we forget about their data just because we have to move on to the next? After I give the kids an assessment, I grab one of my re-teach half sheets and write down any scores less than an A. I paperclip the assignments to the back of the half sheet so I know that I need to re-assess those people. After I record their scores, I reprint a paper (for each kid) that I can use for a small group, and the assessment again. When I have extra time (I know who has extra time), I pull a […]
Download the free worksheet for students to practice rhythms in triple meter using the game and song Chickama Chickama Craney Crow.
Are you ready for your February music class lessons? Yes? No? Need some more activities? This week’s post is all about using the FEBRUARY MUSIC FREEBIE that’s in the FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. I struggle with February lessons because there’s Groundhog Day, President’s Day, and Valentine’s Day all in a row. What to do? Well, no […]
The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.
The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.
The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.
Mixed Methods Approach: how and why. Organized Chaos. Some thoughts on why the "mixed methods" approach may be right for you as an elementary general music teacher, instead of sticking strictly to Orff, Kodaly, MLT, Dalcroze, or another teaching methodology.
The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.
A Music Fortune Teller is a great way to review musical concepts learned. If you have forgotten how to play, here is a link that describes in detail how ..
Find 23 ready to use, effective vocabulary activities your students will love, by The Teacher Next Door!
Hi There! Last week I posted on Facebook about how my team's hallway needed a spring make-over. We were stuck in winter mode and the dark blue butcher paper was starting to depress me. I needed color! I needed funshine... yes... I said FUNSHINE!! This week, I had planned a lesson on self-esteem for my 4th graders. Part of our curriculum is to teach students about tobacco and alcohol resistance. I always start this conversation with lessons on self-esteem and friendships. I started the lesson with a quick powerpoint with two pictures: one of a child frowning and looking down, the other of a child smiling and looking confident. I had the students brainstorm words to describe each of the kids. Then I introduced them to the term self-esteem. We then went to kids health.org and read the article "The Story of Self-Esteem". I use kids health.org a lot. It has great articles written so that kids can understand the concepts. The website even has a read-aloud feature. My students LOVE it because it is a computer voice that often pronounces words incorrectly and they think that is hilarious! After we added our notes to our health notebooks, I introduced the "Garden of Greatness" craft. I had each student brainstorm a list of things that he or she is good at, things that made them feel important, or things that made them feel unique and special. I passed out strips of bright colored paper and circles pre-labeled with their names. Students glued between 4 and 8 of the strips onto the back of the circle. When that was done, they turned over the flowers to the front side and wrote ideas off of their list onto the strips of paper. To finish the project, I collected the flowers and stapled them onto the bulletin board. As I stapled, I wrapped each petal to the back. The finish product turned out great! Bright, colorful, and full of FUNSHINE!! Thanks for visiting! Here are few new resources recently added to my TeachersPayTeachers store: Get it FREE! Click on the graphic to go to my TpT store to download!
SHARE HELLO WORDS: U.S.A.: HELLO HAWAII: ALOHA FRANCE: BON JOUR SPAIN: BUENOS DIAS JAPAN: KONNICHIWA CHINA: NIHAU INDIA: NAMASTE MEXICO: HOLA and the list continues! There’s so many ways to say “HELLO”! As part of my concerts I like to share the “hello” words from the different countries and languages we are learning. I have […]
This is the second blog post in a series devoted to Music workstations. Check out the first blog post about Getting Organized for Music Workstations to learn about planning and setting up your teaching space. In this post we are going to talk about what students will actually do at each workstation. Often the activities that I have students complete in centers are ones that we've already done as a whole group. This gives students confidence and results in less off-task behavior. Not every activity lends itself to this kind of introduction so I always try to include a task card or directions at each station. In the lists below you'll find links to blog posts (mine and others) and products (mine and others) that may help you in planning and creating activities for your students. So...what can students do at a music workstation? Sing Use puppets and Wee Sing songbooks, lyric sheets from songs you are working on or seasonal songs to get students singing! I always tell students that the puppets can sing only. No talking. Include lyric sheets and have students cover part of the page with sticky notes, poker chips or painters tape and sing through it. Great for memory work! Vocalizations-Such a fun way to help students explore their voices. My kiddos love this one and this one. Encore-I love this game! Play Instruments Print out simple folk songs that are color coded to Boomwhackers or hand bells. Rhythm Stick Reading (also try Maraca Rhythm Reading, Triangle Rhythm Reading, Tambourine Rhythm Reading and Rhythm Instrument Reading which uses several instruments.) Pick a story or poem for students to read. Have students add sound effects while reading it out loud. Recorder Composing Station Xylophone Composing Station Work on Rhythm Swat the Rhythm Noodle Notes Craft Stick Rhythms Rhythm Blocks (Mega Blocks) Play Dough Mats (get them here) Musical Yahtzee (Layton Music) Use Martha Stanley’s Mighty Music Grid to practice drawing notes, composing simple rhythm songs to clap together and more. Rap It, Clap It, Music Match It (I love this one and this one. Oooo! And this one is free!) Practice Identifying Pitch Names Treble Clef Twister Staff Wars on the Smartboard or tablets, kids love this! (Shhh! Me too!) Flashnote Derby Bottle Cap Staff-Such a fun way to practice placing notes on lines and spaces, identifying pitch names and “spelling” on the staff. Create an Original Mnemonic Device –Have students brainstorm new sayings to help remember the lines and spaces of the treble clef staff. Matching Games Flashcards and Worksheets Swat the Staff Caterpillar Rhythms-See them in action here. Learn About Instruments Mystery Instruments A brown paper bag, a classroom instrument and a detective sheet. Read about instruments. Apps to Try: JazzyABCs, Garage Band, Virtual Drums, Mini Harp, Music Keys, Piano Pals. Wow...there are so many more amazing apps I could list here, but to save time I'll let you link me up in the comments section. Instrument Family Punch Cards Misspelled Instrument Punch Cards Instrument Coloring Sheets Watch videos about instruments from YouTube. I love the ones that show how an instrument is made. Read Books and Articles about Music and Musicians Set up a classroom library! There are many great books about music, instruments and composers that students love to read. Books that are also songs are great choices as well as books that can be read rhythmically. Composer biographies are great for upper elementary. Check out www.makingmusicfun.net for free biographies and worksheets. Music Alive Explore Composers of the Month Composer Coloring Sheet and Bulletin Board –Bulletin Board pieces could be used in a center. Listen to Great Music Set up a listening center in your classroom and choose music that coordinates with things you are studying in class. Add listening sheets to the station to encourage students to listen for specific musical elements. Color and Write About Music Color by Symbol Color by Dynamics Meet the Composer Coloring Sheets Composer Writing Prompts Younger students can write or draw about music. Musical Writing Prompts Play Games Dynamics Dash and Dynamics Tower-from Denise Gagne’s Music Centers Kits 1 and 2 Bop-It and electronic Simon Says -They are great for rhythm, coordination and melodic memory. Candy Land-convert and use for note differentiation. Musical Jenga Amy Abbott from Music al a Abbott has a great selection of music themed games. Check them out! Everything Else Talk About Tunes- Students pull out a topic and everyone in the group takes a turn answering. Teacher Time-Be a workstation! Use your time with each of the groups to assess pitch matching, instrument skills and more! You can get a bundle of music workstations in this set: Music Workstations MEGA Bundle Whew! That's quite a list to get you started! This is really just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many student centered activities that we can plan as part of our regular curriculum that really let students take the lead in their own education. They are fun and engaging for students and easy to set-up and assess for teachers. Do your students work in centers or workstations in your classroom? What kind of activities do you do? Share with me in the comments. I'm always looking for another great idea to get kids singing, reading, playing and moving! The next post in this series is filled with tips and tricks for making workstations work in your classroom. Music Workstations Tips and Tricks Like these ideas? Pin them for later!
I created this graphic organizer to be used with any fictional story or novel. I also thought it would work well for the days my students earn time to watch a movie. I often feel like we are wasting time, even though they've earned it AND everything I show is based on literature, so I think this will do the trick for my guilt. Any Book Graphic Organizer
The terms “up” and “down” cause so much confusion in my elementary music classes! My kids are used to hearing these terms used by their families interchangeably for both pitch and volume and as a result, frequently come to music confusing these concepts. If I had a nickel for every time I demonstrated using a high voice and a student said it was loud…or vice versa... Needless to say, when we start working with “high” and “low”, I become extremely particular about the vocabulary both the students and I use. So, initially I wasn’t too enthused about this book I found in my closet which used the forbidden words. But, then I read through it. It has tons of opportunities for vocal exploration, has a simple refrain that allows students to identify melodic direction, is easily transferable to the xylophones, and, well, it’s just charming! When reading the book, I sing each refrain using this melody: The first time, I sing the ascending line, pause and ask the students what direction the music moved (“it moved higher”), then sing the descending glissando and ask the same question (“it moved lower”). After a few repetitions, the kids are joining in with the singing and I ask them to show me the direction with their bodies. When the book is finished I pull out these cards and stick them on the board: Then I ask the students if they can arrange them to show me the way they sound. “You’re showing me with your bodies that they move higher, can you show me with the cards, too”? This is usually their first attempt: And here it is, my first opportunity to show them that we read music just like we read words, from left to right- even when the music is not on the same vertical plane. I use my hand to show them how I track from left to right. “Oh no! These words look like they all happen at the same time. How can you move them so I can tell which is first”? It may take some additional guidance, but eventually we get here: Then I add the last card. I sing the whole phrase, being sure to sing “Fall Down” on the same pitch. “Something’s not quite right. I want it to sound like this (model), but right now it sounds like this (model)”: We finally reach our end product: I usually wait until the next class to add the xylophones. We review the melody and I project a picture of a xylophone. We discuss which end is high and which is low and how we know. Depending on the experiences your students have had, there are a number of different techniques that can be used to play the ascending line. I have my students use alternating mallets and then they play a glissando from the top of the xylophone down. You could even add non-pitched percussion instruments into the story as there are many other sound effects in the book! I hope your students are as taken with this story as mine were! -Audrie
Do your preschoolers need help with writing? Check out this easy, fun Pre-Writing Activity for kids. Build Fine Motor Skills and coordination.
Snake Alley Band: Rhythmic Ostinati Music Lesson. Organized Chaos. A great lesson for kindergarten and lower elementary on speech patterns, rhythm ostinato, and ensemble skills using a book.
It’s never a bad time to think about your big-picture goals for the upcoming year. Especially now, many educators are taking this time to get organized and make plans for next year to be their best year yet. When we start planning our year, it’s a great idea to start with a broad overview of each
Kodaly teachers all know the importance of the Kodaly method for helping children to learn how to sing and get the full experience of music education. It’s an amazing philosophy that embraces the whole child. I’m inspired by Zoltan Kodály and his revolution in the teaching of music that began in Hungary. Some of the key […]
The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.
Research based teaching strategies you can use today with a free printable chart.
Looking for a fun way to teach crescendos and decrescendos? The Monkey Game is the most requested game in my elementary music room-- and will be yours too!
Fourth graders took rhythms to a whole new step last week! After reviewing note values, they substitutued their own words for each not...
