So, I absolutely LOVE the anchor charts I’ve been seeing on blogs and on Pinterest. Apparently, anchor charts are supposed to be minimalistic so as not to confuse the children with extra inf…
I wanted to do something for my choir kids as a thank you for all their hard work this semester. This was a relatively affordable "gift" even though I ended up getting the giant sized Symphony bars (since Walmart didn't have enough of the XL bars stocked....) I conned my sister into helping me cut out the tags and tie up the ribbons. Here is the finished product. I designed the tags in powerpoint. Here is a closer picture and a PDF if you'd like to print your own.
I'm back!!! Sorry for the gap in posts. The end of the year was a bit crazy for many reasons and blogging had to be put on the back burner...
I almost forgot that I had scanned these to share with you! A few weeks ago we listened to "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven. First graders discussed tempo, mood and dynamics and then created these written/drawn responses. They had some pretty heavy thoughts about the song. It was a great opportunity to talk about how music captures emotions. We discussed music that is used for weddings, funerals, parades, parties, etc... What insightful young men and women I teach! UPDATED: Just to answer a few questions that I've recieved in the comments or via email for teachers wishing to teach this lesson: To introduce the piece I talked about Beethoven and explained that sometimes (not always!) but sometimes composers like to tell stories with their music the way authors do with books. I asked them to listen to the piece and then asked them to label it generically by asking them what the tempo was, what instrument did they hear, what was the "mood" of the piece. Then I asked them to imagine they were creating a movie. What would be showing on the movie when they heard this music. We shared two or three examples and then went to the sheets to express our ideas. Too many examples and students don't think about their own response, but on which response they heard that sounded the best! This sheet is part of a Primary Writing Prompt Kit that you can find HERE.
Ping-Pong Rhythms is another game that a small group of students can play. While others work with the teacher on instruments or on a s...
About 3 years ago, I decided to come up with a way of tracking behavior in the music classroom for the group as a whole. I wanted to keep with the music theme but have something each class could ke…
Enjoy today's 15-Minute Music Lesson for Wintertime and study "Winter" by Vivaldi along with "Let it Go" from Frozen. Link to free printable, etc.
This fun activity is an Orff arrangement and rhythm composition for first or second grade. It is a great introduction to music composition for your little ones! It is a group rhythm composition project that I use at the end of first grade to review quarter note, two eighth notes, and quarter rest using fun playground 2 beat rhythms. First, students learn a simple arrangement of Teddy Bear on the Orff instruments (Orff arrangement is included!) Then they are divided into small groups and given a set of rhythm cards (printable in color and black & white) and asked to arrange them into their own composition. Students can transcribe their composition on the included composition worksheet or choose an extra from the included list! This product includes: 24 Teddy Bear themed rhythm cards (6 printable cards per page) * Color and Black & White * Standard and Stick Notation * Rhythm with Text and Rhythm Only Simple Orff arrangement of the song 'Teddy Bear' A teacher's guide Sample lesson plan and teaching process Printable composition worksheet (sample included) Printable "Extras List" for student compositions worksheet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ More Orff Arrangments & Composition Lesson Plans: See Saw Teddy Bear Rain, Rain ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Follow me on Facebook for updates and freebies!
Children’s songs like “Jimmy Crack Corn” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” have deeply racist roots. They have no place in school music programs.
High Shoals Elementary School Music Blog, Oconee County GA, Orff Music Instruction
The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.
Song Index
Classic games are a great way to engage your class and be a valuable tool every music teacher should utilize. Why should you consider adding them to your repertoire and how to get started are discussed.
This poster is a visual breakdown of music rhythm notation. Whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest and sixteenth rest values are clearly displayed in a minimal, stylish design. The design mimics an ink stamp with subtle texture - please see closeup! Perfect addition for your music room!
Teaching kids to sing is very important, but can be challenging. There are ways that kids can be taught to sing that are not difficult for the parent or teacher to implement.
This center, unfortunately, is not the most fun center. I welcome suggestions on how to make this center more fun. I’m tried to have students read a bio about a composer of their choice and…
There are many roads to wellness. Meditation, yoga, exercise, and healthy diet are all effective therapies for bringing down stress levels. But we shouldn’t discount an activity we once used to while hours away as children, and that adults by the millions have taken to in recent years.
Using drums is one of my favorite things to do! Students can't get enough and see it as a special treat and we cover so much content!
This is the second post about how I introduced the kids to quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, etc. Be sure to visit the first post: Introducing Quarter Notes, Half Notes and Whole Notes Here are some games that are set to go, but that we have not yet played together. I'm sharing it now, though, along with my other music-related resources. Move forward the value of the note you pick up (thus, a half-note moves forward 2 spaces, a quarter note moves forward 1 space, a whole note moves ahead 4 spaces, etc.) Climb the Mountain Sheet: Cards for Climb the Mountain Game: I made the die with a different note (quarter, half, dotted-half, whole note and eighth note) on each side. Musical Yahtzee Sheets are from here: http://laytonmusic.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/musical-yahtzee/ We also used The Big Book of Music Games, Grades K – 5. (Affiliate Link) This is a great resource for learning music symbols & notes. It is NOT a book for playing musical games like singing games or group games (such as square dancing type activities), but is absolutely perfect for our purposes (learning notes, various music symbols, learning about intervals, etc.). This book of more than 275 pages of games and activities you can photocopy. It’s really awesome! UPDATE, Fall 2015: My youngest is now 7 and this semester the kids will be learning/reviewing notes, rhythm, music notation and more. Using a lot of free resources, I have put our Music Curriculum plans together into a 8-week plan (it might take us longer) that is a free download over at my new location, homeschoolden.com. The packet is 15 pages or so AND it has hyperlinks to many *amazing* free music resources (including the ones I show below and dozens more!). Again, you will find that new post over at my new location, homeschoolden.com: Free Beginner's Music Curriculum: Learning Notes, Rhythm, Music Notation and more See you there! ~Liesl You'll find links to lots of the different games and activities we'll be using: Free Beginner's Music Curriculum: Learning Notes, Rhythm, Music Notation and more Follow our Musical Journey in Pictures this Semester (Fall 2015): Free Beginners Music Curriculum packet Music Curriculum: Week One — See what we actually did during the first week with photos. Music Theory Curriculum: Week Two — Post on Wed. 9/15/2015 We used the Climb the Mountain Game you see above! Plus did a number of other activities. Music Curriculum: Week Three in Pictures P.S. You might be interested in these related posts. These are also free! Kids Songs Packet Patriotic Songs for Kids You might be interested in these free composer resources if you are doing Music Appreciation. Composer cards, poster, lapbook and more: Music Appreciation: Famous Music Composers See you soon over at our new location: homeschoolden.com or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page. ~Liesl Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
Virtual Sheet Music® Premium High-Quality digital sheet music for piano, op.9, Op.15, Op.27, Op.32, Op.37, Op.48, Op.55, Op.62 & Op.72, and Two Nocturnes Op. Posthumous, COMPLETE. I wish the hands where separated in the midi file, It's a real hassle to always have to clean up the "High quality midi files" before use... We loved it. Thank you for providing the Chopin Nocturns!! The download was easy and the printed copy is very clean!! Nocturn op. 9 in b minor offers exquisit sentiments to the listener and performer, sorrow mixed with sweet relaxing thoughts. yet I feel very much fascinated by Nocturn op. 9 in Eb. I am a poet and I think Eb is the best background for romantic poems. my only comment is that I miss fingering. otherwise, the sheet music is perfect! I have tried several nocturnes. Love Chopin. This music is clear and easy to read. Virtual sheet music is great, My Chopin piece is wonderfull Thank you so much This site is great! I find a real treasure with all the notes and music I can get with my membership! The PDF are great good clear size of notes. I am so glad I find this site for all my music notes! This website is so great. I’ve been able to find everything I want and need. My Chopin piece was exactly what I wanted. This edition is over 4 pages and easy to read, unlike free versions found on the internet. The piece is posthumous and I am finding it difficult to determine the most correct version. There are significant differences between editions. these works could very well be, collectively, chopin's magnum opus. these nocturnes are my favorites.
I created these pencil cups my first year teaching. I laminated them and they have lasted 7 years and show no signs wear. It is just one way I try to reinforce music vocabulary through everyday tasks. Students are not allowed to use my pencil sharpener because it disrupts instruction and because many students do not know how to use an electric pencil sharpener properly. So, if their pencil breaks, they put it in the flat can and get a new one from the sharp can. FREE PRINTABLES
I’ve been asked several times about how I go about creating posters and resources for my classroom so, today, I would like to describe that process to you as well as highlight some tools I us…
The other day we had a pre-planned fire drill. The teachers knew it was coming but the students did not. Since it was scheduled to happen 15 minutes before the end of my 4th grade class, I rushed through the last activity and made sure the instruments were all cleaned up in time for the drill. Then nothing happened. For about 7 minutes. Woops. We all have times when we have extra time to fill in class, whether because the lesson went a lot faster than we thought, or the homeroom teacher is late, or something else unexpected happens. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite time-filler activities that I keep in my back pocket for moments like these. The Salami (sol-la-mi) Game I get requests for this one almost every time the class lines up and realizes that the homeroom teacher isn't there yet! I sing a 3-note pattern on solfege with Curwen hand signs, usually using only mi, sol, or la, and the students echo me. But if they hear me sing the notes sol-la-mi (which sounds like the word salami), they don't sing. It is basically like the "Poison Pattern" game, if you've ever heard of that. I've also done a variation called the "Me Dodo" (mi-do-do) Game as well, which is pretty fun too :) This is an easy game to use while waiting in line, but I have also used it to fill time in class by doing different levels of the game- get faster, take away hand signs and/or solfege syllables etc. Move with Different Music I know that is a very vague title for an activity, but I don't know how else to describe it. I use this whenever I have extra time while we are still in the classroom, or if it becomes clear that the students need a quick mental break or a chance to get out some wiggles. I have all of the students spread out around the room. They must stay in their spot, they cannot touch any other person or thing, and they cannot make any sound. Then I start playing random snippets of music from my iTunes. The more random and disparate the better. I try to switch between serious classical pieces, pop songs, world music, and everything in between, switching moods, tempi, and genres. I tell the students to show the changes in music with their movements. This is actually a great way to assess student comprehension of a particular musical element- I have used it as part of regular lessons to have students show the changes in tempo with their movements, or instruments, or dynamics, or... you get the idea. It's also a fun way to expose students to a variety of music. Spell Words with Rhythms Unless I have something else that needs to be up there, I keep a set of simple 4-beat rhythms up on my lined whiteboard, with each 1-measure pattern labeled with a letter of the alphabet (I usually have A through H). If I have some extra time, I have students first practice clapping each pattern, then we try to spell words by clapping several patterns in a row (like clap rhythm B, then A, then D, for example). The students love coming up with their own words to spell with the given letters, and it is a great way to improve sight reading skills since their eyes have to jump around the board from letter to letter. SQUILT (Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time) This is a great one when a class is riled up and I want to calm them down before sending them back to the poor homeroom teacher. I tell students there is no agenda here- just a chance to listen to a new song, in the same way that we might have time to read a book just for the pleasure of reading. If there is time, I invite students to share any thoughts or observations after listening, but in this case I do not pose any particular questions or ask them to listen for anything before starting the piece- I simply tell them to listen and pay attention to the music. What are your favorite time fillers for the elementary music classroom? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below!
Fall is my favorite season.. well, that and spring. But, I really love the "seasonings" of fall; cinnamon, pumpkin, nutmeg, cloves; sugar a...
Music education ideas, activities, games, and songs | Technology tips for the music classroom | Resources for the elementary music room.
Carnegie Hall's listening adventure, "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," takes you and your students on a fun safari through the African wilderness in a hunt for all of the instruments played in the orchestra. This is the second part of my five-part resource for this excellent website. If you missed the previous post, you can click here for the Four Families Introduction resources. 1. Documents and Multimedia First, I want to make sure that I give credit where credit is due. I did not create the website, the text, or pictures for any of the resources I am sharing with you. The interactive website, the images from the website, and the text used in the student worksheets were created by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. The black and white drawings of the instruments come from "Music Instruments: Blackline Masters" in the Share the Music series published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. The color pictures of instruments come from the Nashville Symphony Orchestra "NSO Kids" teachers/parents website. I merely put them together in a way that worked for me as a teacher. I created a SMART Notebook file and student worksheets to accompany this lesson. Occasionally, my school's internet is down, and thanks to Murphy's Law, it always seems to go out when I need it the most. Although the website works great by itself, it's always nice to have back-up materials just in case. Dropbox Folder with all files SMART Notebook File Student Worksheet (PDF) I have been playing around a bit with Prezi. I recently created a "Prezi" presentation to go along with the flute. Press the arrows to move from slide to slide. I love how information can easily be hidden within the presentation. I even have a YouTube clip in there somewhere! Flute on Prezi I am still new to Prezi, and I have learned that although this tool is great for sharing information, it can take a long time to make a presentation look good and flow well. My students loved the one I made above, and I plan on making more. 2. Movement and Demonstrations Although this website is primarily dedicated to interactive websites, it is important to understand that interactive whiteboards have their limits. With each instrument on this website, I have a number of activities that I use to get my students up and moving in some way. For the flute, I have my students stand up and turn themselves into a flute! Their head is the head joint, their body is the body, and their feet are the foot joint. We go down to our knees to become a piccolo because a piccolo is missing the foot joint. We pretend to play keys on our body, we point to our lips and mouth for the lip plate and embouchure hole. For the oboe and bassoon, I have my students create a double reed by clapping their hands together. To make the single reed for the clarinet, we turn one hand to a fist (the mouthpiece) and use the other hand (the reed) to clap against it. I also have an oboe reed and bassoon reed that I show to the students. I blow through them and let my students hear the different sounds they make. If any of your students have a woodwind instrument, this is also a great time for show and tell. I had a few students bring instruments from band or from home to share with everyone. 3. Final Thoughts - Sharing Ideas I am thrilled with the positive response IWB-Music has been getting on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest. Facebook already has over 100 fans! I would love to hear how you use these resources in your classroom. Please leave comments and share or retweet what you like! Thanks for reading and continuing to share great ideas!
Breathing exercises for singing can significantly help in the way you control your breath. Learn to level up your skills here.
So, I absolutely LOVE the anchor charts I’ve been seeing on blogs and on Pinterest. Apparently, anchor charts are supposed to be minimalistic so as not to confuse the children with extra inf…
When I run music tech workshops for teachers, I have a secret aim: an aim to teach at least one […]
The Music Theory & Transposing Poster The Perfect Teaching Aid For All Music Teachers The Music Theory & Transposing Poster is a handsome reference chart that makes teaching and using music theory as easy as DO-RE-MI. The poster is designed for musicians, music teachers, arrangers, songwriters, band leaders, choir directors–anyone with an interest in Read More
This is my 12th year teaching orchestra, and I'm still learning and discovering more efficient ways to teach students and take care of ...
So, I absolutely LOVE the anchor charts I’ve been seeing on blogs and on Pinterest. Apparently, anchor charts are supposed to be minimalistic so as not to confuse the children with extra inf…
Musical instruments are instruments created or adapted to make musical sounds ...
When I started my second year of teaching I slowly began to see that I could find things on Pinterest besides DIY projects, recipes, and cute outfits. I could find ideas to for the music classroom. Now, there weren't a ton of music education pins back then, but there were some really great ones that gave me fresh ideas to bring to my music room. Now, my music Pinterest boards are so many things. - A way to organize resources by concept - A way to share my ideas - A way to save the stellar ideas of others - A glimpse of what I hope for my music room If you have never used Pinterest before, you really must check it out! You can search for pins or boards using the search bar, and follow any person or board that interests you. If you are looking for some new boards or music teachers to follow, check out this list and you will see some of the best resources for elementary music teachers. 1. Lindsay Jervis from Kodaly Inspired Classroom That's my Pinterest page! Check out my favorite boards, Kodaly Inspired Music Classroom, where I pin my very favorite ideas for my classroom as well as resources I have created, and my board, Children's Literature for the Kodaly Music Class. 2. Aileen Miracle from Mrs. Miracle's Music Room I love Aileen's board, Music Education Games, which is full of games for the Kodaly Inspired Classroom. You should also check out her Music Centers board. It has so many great ideas and resources to help you attempt centers in the music room, which is something I would like to gradually do more of. 3. Amy Abbott from Music a la Abbott Amy has a lot of great boards. My personal favorites are her Music Education Blogs which links to tons of her amazing blogs posts and her Elementary Music - Listening board which has tons of great links and videos for listening lessons. Notice the red box that says "Follow". Somehow I wasn't already following all of Amy's boards. You can select individual boards to follow or follow all of a pinner's boards by clicking that red "Follow" button. Now, I am following all of Amy's boards! :) 4. Cori Bloom from Rhythm & Bloom I love Cori' Classroom Organization and Storage board! It is filled with a lot of little tricks to help you keep your space organized. You should also check out her Music Listening board to see some of her amazing resources to incorporate more listening into your music lessons. 5. Tracy King THE Bulletin Board Lady Be sure to check out her board, Mrs. King's Music Class. This links to a lot of her blog posts and products. You should also follow her Bulletin Board Ideas. Now, she is the Bulletin Board Lady after all, so she doesn't just have one board for bulletin board ideas. She has pinterest boards full of pins for back to school, composers, and every month of the year. There is no shortage of bulletin board ideas here. 6. Jena Hudson from Sew Much Music When checking out Jena's boards, be sure to follow Music Class Ideas, which includes all kinds of ideas to try to incorporate into your music classroom. I also have gotten a lot of great ideas from her Technology in the Music Classroom board. 7. David Row from Make Moments Matter If you aren't already following David, you probably just need to go ahead and follow all of his boards. They are seriously chalk full of some of the best ideas out there! First you should visit his My Classroom board to get a peek at what he is doing with his kids. I also love his board for Teaching Form. So many great ideas! 8. Sara Bibee from Music with Sara Bibee Check out Sara's board Music With Sara Bibee to see all of her amazing resources. You might also love her Elem Music board. It has some great videos of singing games! 9. Elaine Ford from Mrs. Ford's Melodies If you visit Elaine Ford's pinterest boards, scroll down a bit to find her music ed boards. She has a great board called Classroom Ideas that is full of music classroom organizational and decorative pins. So much inspiration! I LOVE LOVE LOVE her board Music & Literature. I've already found some new books to add to my wishlist from this board. 10. Brittany De Laruelle from Make Music Brittany's boards look super organized and her board covers make it easy to find anything you might be looking for. My personal favorites of her boards are Melody Concepts and Rhythm Concepts boards. I hope that gives you lots of boards and/or music teachers to follow on Pinterest! What would we do without Pinterest? _____________________________________________________ As a part of my #ThankfulMusicTeacher blog posts, I want to say a special "Thank you!" for all of the teachers who are using my resources in their classrooms with their kiddos or in their planning. Take a picture of a resource in action (it can even be a freebie from my store) and post it on my Facebook or send it to me at [email protected] to receive one free item from my store of your choice ($3 or less). I will be sharing these photos on my Facebook and/or blog, so please let me know if I need to cover any student faces. Happy to do that! :) (Ends 11/30/15)
What are the greatest moments in classical music history? The bits that make you immediately rewind and play them again? Simply, the most surprising, shocking, beautiful or weird bits in classical music? Here are 10 moments that will make you say 'OMG'…
