Regardless of repertoire or method books used, implement these 4 stages of teaching music reading and your students will be confident readers.
Music lesson plans for the first week of school need to be fun and informative. Here are four ideas to get to know your students and get them making music!
Preparing for Your First Elementary Music Teaching Job. Organized Chaos. Top 5 suggestions to help you get ready over the summer for your first elementary music job.
Music theory worksheets are valuable tools for individuals who are learning or studying music. These worksheets provide structured exercises that focus specifically on note values. With a range of activities and exercises tailored to different skill levels, music theory worksheets help students grasp the concept of note values and their significance in creating rhythm and melodic patterns. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced musician, these worksheets are designed to enhance your understanding of note values and improve your musical performance.
An easy way to teach kids rests when learning to read music.
From the minute my students walk in to my classroom to the minute they leave, I take them through a sequence of activities and routines that work seamlessly together to ensure that student learning is optimized. For me, having a flow during the class time is the critical element in teaching the lesson concept. Without […]
Use our free printable music activity as a boredom buster with kids stuck at home or as a fun part of music education in a classroom.
Free sheet music of traditional nursery rhymes and children's songs and free fun and easy music theory printable worksheets for kids.
Music Theory Printables mit einem schönen pastell floralen Design. Seiten: 1. Tonarten 2.Intervalle 3. Grundlegende Waage 4. Werte notieren Ich habe diese Poster kreiert, weil ich etwas informativ, aber auch dekorativ an den Wänden in unserem Musikstudio zu Hause haben wollte, wo ich Unterricht gebe. Diese passen auch als Wohndekor, so dass ich es genieße, sie im Raum zu haben, auch wenn ich nicht unterrichte. Wenn du gerne mehr musiktheoretische Ideen oder einen anderen Designstil hättest (z.B. nicht floral), würde ich mich freuen, mehr zu erstellen!
Sometimes your brain is just overloaded, and you can't process any more information. And by sometimes I mean music teachers in December. For those days when you don't have any more space left in your brain to think, here are some lesson ideas that require very little mental energy (but are still fun and educationally valuable). 1. Winter Play-Along by Mr. Henry's Music World OK yes this is a video and yes there are a million play-along videos out there but this one has rapping, singing, steady beat body percussion, movement breaks, and rhythm notation reading (quarter, eighth, and half notes and quarter rests). You might think it would be too corny for the older grades but I have found my students loved it, even up to 4th grade, when I used this last year. Have students do the song/ rap the first time with the body percussion/ motions, then repeat it and have them sing/ rap as well! The song is guaranteed to get stuck in your head too. 2. Instrument Merry Go Round This is one of my favorite lesson activities to use when I know it will be difficult for students to focus, I know they need a mental break, or we need something to get us back on a positive track after some negative class periods. The best part is you can easily throw in some practice with multiple concepts depending on what you're working on at the time! Have students sit in a circle and get out one instrument for each person (or let them pick one themselves). Have the instruments sitting on the floor in front of them but tell them not to touch them until you tell them. Show them a gesture to cue them to pick up their instrument quietly without playing it, then tell them to play when your hands are open and stop when you close your fists. Then gesture for them to put the instrument down, and scoot one spot around the circle to the next instrument, and repeat. Once they get the hang of it you should be able to keep them moving around pretty quickly without anyone saying a word. You can add in some concept review by doing different gestures to have them play at different dynamic levels or speeds, or tell them to echo the rhythms you clap, or call out groupings of instruments (pitched, unpitched, shakers, woods, etc) or names of specific instruments and only those instruments play. This works with truly any age group, from preschool to adult. 3. Animal Music Composition Play a couple of examples from Carnival of the Animals and discuss how the music conjures the image of the animal: what instrument timbre, pitch and rhythm elements, and expressive qualities match the animal? Then tell students to either individually or in small groups create a song about an animal using instrument sounds. That's it. Those are the parameters. At the end of class, have students play their composition and ask the class to guess the animal. For older students, have them identify the musical elements they used to try to convey the image of their chosen animal. What do you do to keep things going when your brain is fried? This time of year can be overwhelming, for teachers and for students!
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…
There's so much we can't do in music in a pandemic. But there's still a lot we CAN do. Check out this post on music learning for COVID times.
Pass the Shoe is a fantastic song for practicing steady beat in the elementary music classroom. It's a short song with a catchy tune, making it easy for students to internalize. The accompanying game can be modified in multiple ways to fit nearly any age group and skill level.
So classroom management is something that takes time to fine tune, but it’s something that really should take tons of our attention. Non-negotiable rules in music class are the things that are our MUST do, shouldn’t ever happen rules. A good management plan is something that we should nurture right away and continue to focus […]
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.
Extra Beat, Take a Seat is a really fun game to play with upper elementary students to help them count beats. This can be played with no materials or rhythm sticks.
Have you ever had to teach with no voice? You know, that situation where you don't feel sick enough to call off and write sub-plans but can't sing to teach new songs and your voice is all raspy- if you have a voice at all? When I loose my voice, I try to make lessons as normal as possible, just with out a new song (unless I have a great recording). Many of the games listed below we incorporate into class all the time, so it is no problem for students to understand when I have no voice! Students are still responsible for singing- I just give them the pitch on a glockenspiel and they sing without me. The hard part for me is not talking, but especially my older students are pretty good at reading directions and listening respectfully and carefully when I cannot talk above a whisper. When I found myself in this situation a few weeks ago and came up with/ pulled out some great ideas that involve little to no talking on the teachers part. Many of these games worked especially well with older students because they could read the instructions on the board. The little ones I had to talk a little more- but not much! I have also heard of teachers making signs with common instructions like "Move to a Circle" "Stand Up" "Sit Down" etc. which would be really helpful for the littles! Many of the games I used were rhythm games- but could definitely be adapted for melody, vocabulary, and more! 1. Centers/Stations- I have written about stations before- see this POST- and LOVE them, especially when I am not feeling well. I can just get the students all set up with written directions at each station (and voice recorded directions) and they are ready to go. Many of the games we do in musical centers or stations they play all the time, so not a lot of clarification is usually needed. They are so great for review, and for me, one station is always a worksheet so I get some great data for where students are on a specific concept. 2. Write the Room- Karla Cherwinski has been posting a lot of WRITE THE ROOM products on TPT. Basically it is a rhythm or melody pattern scavenger hunt. Flash cards (sometimes themed) are hidden around the room and students have a work sheet to fill out where patterns they find have to go in a specific box. This helps them practice identifying patterns, and writing patterns and notes. Bonus- While it may seem very simple, it is a great assessment tool! 3. Partner Rhythms/ Vocab- Have you ever played the ice-breaker where you have a "Hello, My Name Is" sticker stuck to your back and you have to figure out which celebrity you are and then figure out who your partner is? I adapted that game to use rhythms/ vocab in music. For the rhythms, I just had 2 of each rhythm on my name tags. For Vocab, some had two of the same word and some were musical opposites (such as forte and piano). First students had to figure out their pattern/ word by either asking "YES" or "NO" questions OR in the case of reading rhythms, asking a friend to clap/ stomp/ snap their pattern (friends were not allowed to just read the pattern out loud- too easy!). Once students figured out their pattern/ word they had to find their match. This activity is also great for differentiation- give the music stars harder patterns or new vocab and give those who are struggling simpler patterns or vocab they learned a long time ago. After everyone had their partner, we were able to write songs (by connecting with other groups), find specific vocab, and more! My students LOVED this game. Click the link to check out my Music Vocab Set on TPT- you can print on a sticker sheet OR just print on paper, laminate and then use tape to stick them to your students backs. Rhythm versions coming soon! 4. Composition Worksheets/ Manipulatives- Give students a specific composition worksheet or manipulative and let them work for a bit. Beat Strips are great, especially when preparing a concept. I also have composition worksheets where students are given directions step by step like this Valentines Day one. Students choose 4 4-beat valentine phrases and write the rhythms in the boxes. Then they add known solfa. Some classes I am more specific and say things like the solfa must be stepwise, or they must end on do, or follow a chord progression etc. After they write their solfa, they come to me and we sing or play it on an instrument together and finally they transfer to the staff. Only 4 measures- but they are typically really proud of their songs. A way to differentiate this activity would be to give star students a trickier time-signature than 4/4! Check out my valentine worksheet HERE (see picture to left for an idea). Composition can be much more simple though, where they use Beat Strips to write fun patterns (either with notes, or in the prep stage, silly words that go with the season). Even the little ones can do body-percussion composition or classroom instruments composition with worksheets like these. Picture from http://www.themusicclef.blogspot.com/2013/03/sound-songs.html 5. Song Sort- I got this idea from one of Aileen Miracles Sub Plans Sets on TPT- Out of the Wild. Students get 10-12 cards with song titles on them and they sort the cards into 2 piles- those with a specific concept, and those without. After they are done they can take all the cards and write a silly story using the song titles (ex. Pretty Little Suzy met up with Dinah and they took an Old Brass Wagon to a farm. When they got their they saw a Chicken on a Fencepost and they were so surprised... etc.) Aileen has tika-tika in her set but I have made many more because this is a great activity for no voice, stations, and a sub! 6. Kooshball Games- These are also explained in the stations post. On the board is many shapes all linked to patterns (sometimes circles, but more fun ones are popping up on TPT all the time!). Students toss a koosh or beanbag at the board and a rhythm or song pattern should pop up for students to read or sing. (The file pictured was shared with me in Grad School- so if it is yours let me know and I can credit you. I love them!) 7. SMARTboard ID Games- Games like "Can You Hear It" where students touch an icon on the SB and a pattern plays. On the screen are 3 choices for students match the sounds they hear to their visual representation. If they pick the right answer, a congrats screen pops and the class can move on. If the answer is wrong, a try again screen appears and students can go back. 8. Folk Dances- Especially for groups that already know many folk dance moves and positions, they could practice known dances or learn a knew one with just written signs like "Peel the Banana (or Orange)" "Elbow Swing" "Grand Right and Left" "1st Pair Sashay Down the Alley" etc. It would also be fun to have the students use the signs to make up their own "Folk Dance". 9. Group Movement Work- Have students make up their own folk dance (see above), or simple movement to a song. Sometimes I have mine make up moves to the form (rhythmic OR melodic) or have them demonstrate the lyrics, or phrases. We did this recently with "Who Has Seen The Wind" and the movement came out great! Students were able to choose form or lyrics and then the class had to say which it was when they were presenting. 10. KAHOOT- or another quiz game- I recently posted about a great website I just found out about- getkahoot.com where a teacher can make a quiz (or use on already made) and students use their own device (phone, ipad, computer- whatever is available in your school) and it works like restaurant trivia. A question appears on the main screen and the choices pop up on the individual devices. Students have a certain amount of time to answer and results are shown after each question. To learn more- be sure to read my post on it HERE. What do you do when you don't have a voice?? Sound off in the comments below!
If your third or fourth grader is starting to think about taking up a musical instrument, help him get the basics of reading notes with this handy sheet!
There’s no such thing as too much practice when it comes to note names. Repeated review can get dull if it lacks variety, though. If you need a fresh way for students to review bass clef and …
Come listen to this collection of 25 pieces of classical music for kids. Classical music is not just for adults. Kids will love them!
