Finally! The Taxonomy of my Music is complete! While I’m working on my Digital Art assignments I enjoy watching my favorite TV shows. I bring this up to help you get a sense for how long it t…
I love movement props for my preschool and kindergarten music groups. One of my favorite movement props? Hands down, the Stretchy Band . The stretchy band is exactly that, a big band that is flexible, stretchy and made with elastic and a soft, colorful fabric. The Stretchy Band is machine was
Looking for a fun way to teach children about form? This is one of my favorite lessons! Manipulatives and movement, what could be better?
DIY Song Cubes to help children learn music "old favorites" and practice finding and keeping the beat; for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten.
I've been using student-led warmups at the beginning of my elementary general music lessons for years now and I am a big fan! I've gotten a lot of questions about the warmups I do and how I do them, and over the last few weeks I've been sharing my favorite activities for lesson warmups in my K-6 general music classes (26 in all!) that focus on important musical skills and concepts. In this post I've compiled all of my posts on how I set up and manage the student-led warmups in general, all of the different activity ideas, and the visuals I use to run them. First of all, my warmup activities start as soon as students start coming into the room- it's more like a "do now" where I don't wait for the class to all be seated before I start. Once I get it going, I hand it off to the small group of students assigned to lead warmups (the job rotates throughout the year) and they take over, giving me time to finish setting up, pull aside a student who needs a checkin, etc while the others are engaged in the activity. Here's the full post on how I run my warmups: Besides the benefits from a management perspective, I've found the warmups very helpful for student learning because it gives me an easy way to quickly touch on those skills and concepts that need regular "drilling" for students to attain and maintain fluency, especially steady beat, rhythm, pitch, reading notation, and music vocabulary. In each of the posts below you'll find 4 or 5 different activities I use with different grades to practice these fundamental skills and concepts in quick and easy (and fun!) ways: All of these can truly be done without any special slides or equipment, but I got several request to share the slides I use- for those who want something ready-made at your fingertips to implement all of the different warmups mentioned above, here they are: If you haven't tried using warmup activities at the beginning of your elementary music classes, I highly recommend trying them out! It took me a long time to be convinced I should do it, but I have been hooked ever since I started. If you have more ideas for activities, or questions about anything, please leave a comment below.
These low calorie, high protein pitas are the answer to your quick flatbread needs. Super soft and simple to make – no yeast required. Music to my ears. I love making these pitas in a pinch when I don’t want to wait around for dough to rise. There are only three common ingredients in this […]
Real talk: classroom management has always been my biggest struggle as a teacher. I think that this is true for a lot of teachers. It’s one thing to read about classroom management strategies in a college classroom, but it’s a whole other ballgame when you’re standing in front of a roomful of middle schoolers and you are somehow expected to keep them all in line! I’ve had a few tough groups over my first few years, and I needed something to up my classroom management game. The classroom management strategy I’m going to share with you today has been a total game-changer for me, and I hope it can help you, too! This strategy is called Behavior Bingo. To implement it, you will need a 10×10 chart numbered from 1-100. I used to draw mine out on big chart paper, but I’ve since created this handy printable board so that I don’t have to draw it out each time! You will also need 100 popsicle sticks each labeled with a number from 1-100. I keep these in one of those metal pails from Target, and you will also need another pail for the sticks to go in once you have pulled them. You will need a board and set of numbers for each class you are using this with – I have used it with up to 4 classes at once! I marked each class’s set of sticks with a different color and then discarded them all into the same tub. If you don’t want to buy or have to label all the popsicle sticks, I have also seen teachers use small slips of paper numbered 1-100, or even just a random number generator online! Here are the rules that I use: The object of the game is to get 10 numbers in a row (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) and get a bingo. At the start of each class, I write the numbers 1 2 3 on the front whiteboard. During class, I erase a number any time the students are not meeting my expectations, starting with 3, then 2, then 1. At the end of class, however many numbers are left on the board is how many popsicle sticks they get to pull that day. For example, if only the 3 was erased, then they get to pull 2 popsicle sticks. They can earn up to 3 numbers each day. The students pull out the correct number of sticks for that day. I let them take turns. I hold the jar up above their heads so they can’t peek inside. Then I color in the numbers that were pulled on the bingo board. You can certainly adjust these rules to meet your needs. For instance, you could use a smaller or bigger bingo board, depending on how quickly you want them to earn their reward. With the 10×10 board, it usually takes 1-2 months to earn the reward. You could also adjust how many numbers they can earn each day. Another thing you could do is tie the numbers to specific goals. For instance, my students know that at the beginning of class they need to be in their seats with homework out and working on their warmup. If this doesn’t happen, they know I will erase a number. As for the reward, we choose this as a class before beginning the game. I have the students brainstorm ideas (I tell them that they need to be something either relatively inexpensive or free and can only take up about 20-30 minutes of class time) and list them all on the board. Then I have the students vote for their top two choices. Some ideas we have come up with in the past include an ice cream party (I bring the ice cream, they bring the toppings), root beer float party, time outside, free time, board games, donut party, dodgeball, or popcorn and a short movie. I write their choice at the bottom of the bingo board as a reminder of what we are working toward. And that’s it! It’s very easy to keep it running, and it has been very motivating to my students, especially when they are down to only one number left for the day. You can find the printable board that I use in my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you’re interested! Do you have any awesome classroom management strategies? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
Looking for engaging, musical games to play with your students? Here are a few of my favorite games and activities for elementary music classes, children's choirs, and elementary group classes.
Mixology is a Mixing Ebook that comes with free 101 mixing checklist and frequency chart that's gonna help you learn mixing from the scratch
Music is great for language development, bonding and creating new neural pathways for babies. So, being a music teacher, I got super excited to research some fun, developmentally appropriate, interactive songs & rhymes to teach to my baby. And now that I've compiled my favorites, of course I had to share with all of you!! This will be a first in a series of blog posts about songs to sing with your baby and/or toddler.
Top 3 Units for Middle School General Music. Organized Chaos. Ideas and resources for project based learning with middle school general music students. World music, composition, and careers in music.
There are few things as relaxing and inspiring as clouds, but you can't always go outside to look at them. Make a hanging cloud to enjoy the sight of the sky anytime you're stuck indoors. Cut four equal strands of thin wire with wire...
Here are my favorite five piano pedagogy books to help you keep your piano studio professional and to keep your students engaged.
10+ music and movement activities for toddlers and preschoolers that get them up and moving their bodies, strengthening their fine and large motor muscles.
These healthy lentil wraps are an easy vegan dinner that tastes amazing and will fill you up!
Have you discovered Iwako erasers in piano lessons yet? My piano...
Inside: Authentic & easy Spanish songs to learn Spanish and for beginner classes. As a new teacher, I so badly wanted my students to feel the magic of Spanish. I loved my Latin music, and thought they’d love some realsongs to learn Spanish, too. The problem was that I didn’t know HOW to bridge authentic resources
Don’t miss out on one of our favorite toys for targeting all kinds of developmental skills...while making music!
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is being able to incorporate the fine arts into our homeschool days.
Totem poles, the traditional wooden structures with artistic carvings, have always fascinated adults and children alike. There are numerous opinions of explorers and scholars from around the world as to the use and purpose of the tall cedar monuments. Whether they were used for depicting tribal history or telling a story, they have become a […]
Every year when I go shopping right after Christmas, it's always the same thing....stores like Walmart and Target pack the shelves with organizational totes and containers. I thought it was just ME, but apparently it's
Put together the perfect teacher planner to improve classroom organization! No more messy binders filled with teacher papers!
