First graders are at such a fun age. They are curious, but can follow directions a bit better than their Kindergarten counterparts. They are excited, they are joyful, and they can really start diving into musical literacy! In today's blog post, I'm writing with tips for teaching first grade. Routine In this blog post , I wrote about my tips for teaching Kindergarten, which included routine. With first grade, routine is still important. Just like I do with Kindergarten, I start with a singing game, such as "Apple Tree" or "We are dancing," and then we do the song "…
Looking for strategies to address physical, visual, and aural learning styles? In this podcast episode, Katie and I discuss learning styles, strategies, and more! Listen to the podcast here: Links mentioned in the podcast: Walk and running card freebie Solfege Podcast: Music Teacher Coffee Talk Amy Abbott's body staff: Low Sol: Hands on knee Low La: Hands slightly above knee Low Ti: Hands slightly below waist Do: Hands on waist Re: Arms crossed over chest Mi: Hands on shoulders Fa: Hands on side of head Sol: Hands on top of head La: Hands in air, slightly above head Ti: Fingers in air above head (like …
The term "differentiation" has been used more and more often in education lately. What does it mean? How does it apply to the music room? According to Carol Ann Tomlinson--an expert on differentiation-- differentiated instruction is defined as factoring students’ individual learning styles and levels of readiness first before designing a lesson plan (from this blog post from Concordia University- Portland.) So what does this look like in the music classroom? I've heard many music teachers say that differentiation happens naturally in the music room. I agree...to a degree. There IS…
Lately, I've been writing with classroom management strategies in the music room. In this post , I wrote about star students, and in this post , I wrote about a point system for your music classroom. Today, I'm writing about one of my favorite ways to keep students' attention throughout the lesson: transitions! I first learned about transitions when I began my Kodaly training at Capital University. In a music lesson, transitions are how we move from one activity from the next, so that kids stay engaged, and the lesson flows smoothly. Although I've thought of this as more of a les…
Today I'm writing with one of my favorite chants for the music room, "2, 4, 6, 8." You may have heard of the chant: "2, 4, 6, 8/ Who do we appreciate?" This one is a bit different! It goes like this: Now you may be thinking...okay, great...but what's the game? This is one of the few that I have in my music room that I don't have a game for. Now, I could do some research to find one (and feel free to comment below if you do a game with it) or I could make a game up...but I like to have a few songs and chants that just don't have a game. ("Miss White"…
Upper elementary can be a tough level to teach. They are sometimes "too cool" for school, and self-conscious of their singing voices. Academically they are advanced, yet musically they may need the basics. In this blog post, I'll detail my tips for lesson planning for the upper elementary music room. Keep reading for how to receive a free upper elementary music lesson with songs, materials, and more! A little background about my situation: most of the fifth graders I teach, I've had since Kindergarten. I know, I'm very lucky! But I have been in other situations, where th…
As a music teacher, we have the opportunity to buy some really fun things for our classroom! Perhaps you've seen tennis balls or ribbons in another music teacher's room, and you've wondered how they incorporate those props into their music classroom. Here are my five favorite props for the music classroom: #1: Stretchy band I first saw a stretchy band as a way to incorporate movement into an early childhood music class. There are truly SO many possibilities for using the stretchy band (which you can purchase here .) My favorite way of using it so far is to help students learn how to …
As a music teacher, we have the opportunity to buy some really fun things for our classroom! Perhaps you've seen tennis balls or ribbons in another music teacher's room, and you've wondered how they incorporate those props into their music classroom. Here are my five favorite props for the music classroom: #1: Stretchy band I first saw a stretchy band as a way to incorporate movement into an early childhood music class. There are truly SO many possibilities for using the stretchy band (which you can purchase here .) My favorite way of using it so far is to help students learn how to …
As I wrote about in this blog post , teaching Kindergarten is so different than any other grade! They are at times so sweet, at other times so needy...and their attention span is about as short as they are! That being said, I truly enjoy teaching Kindergarten music. Today, I thought I'd blog about my favorite activities to do with Kindergarteners...the activities that I look forward to teaching, and the ones that they ask for lesson after lesson! #1: Grizzly Bear I first started teaching this song several years ago, to practice the musical opposites loud and quiet, and oh my goodness, I…
As I wrote about in this blog post , teaching Kindergarten is so different than any other grade! They are at times so sweet, at other times so needy...and their attention span is about as short as they are! That being said, I truly enjoy teaching Kindergarten music. Today, I thought I'd blog about my favorite activities to do with Kindergarteners...the activities that I look forward to teaching, and the ones that they ask for lesson after lesson! #1: Grizzly Bear I first started teaching this song several years ago, to practice the musical opposites loud and quiet, and oh my goodness, I'…
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