Assessment in the music classroom can be tricky. Many music teachers only see their students once a week--and sometimes even less--so fitting in quality curriculum, engaging songs and dances, games, books, and more needs to be balanced with assessing students' musical growth. Today I'm writing about seven things to consider when assessing in the music classroom. Why am I assessing? Your first response might be, "Because I have to!" Many of us do have to report grades, but what if you didn't have to? Why would you do it? Your answer might be because it provides you with dat…
With Halloween coming up very soon, today I'm writing about some of my favorite listening lessons to use for this fun time of year! There are lots of "spooky" pieces of music that are perfect for Halloween! Here are a few of my favorites. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg: This is one of my all-time favorite pieces! The story itself, of Peer running away from the trolls and the Mountain King, is very engaging, but then the music really draws students in. So many musical concepts can be taught through the piece: tempo and dynamics, as it starts slow and quiet an…
With Halloween coming up very soon, today I'm writing about some of my favorite listening lessons to use for this fun time of year! There are lots of "spooky" pieces of music that are perfect for Halloween! Here are a few of my favorites. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg: This is one of my all-time favorite pieces! The story itself, of Peer running away from the trolls and the Mountain King, is very engaging, but then the music really draws students in. So many musical concepts can be taught through the piece: tempo and dynamics, as it starts slow and quiet an…
Hi everyone! Today I'm blogging with my five favorite pins for the month of October! #1: Making phrase lengths physical This video is SO awesome! It shows a beautiful movement activity to "Fur Elise," in which students are paired up and use a tennis ball to show phrasing. I love how focused the students are, and how beautifully they show the phrases! #2: Domino Music Notes This is a really cute idea for having students think about the number of beats in each pattern. They play dominos with rhythm patterns, matching up dominos with other dominos that have the same number of beats. Lov…
Today, I’m continuing my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching , Kimberly Geswein fonts , and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts! #1: Instruments of the Orchestra website My third and fourth graders are learning about instruments of the orchestra right now. I'm having my third graders focus on the strings family, since they are doing a dulcimer unit, and my fourth graders focus on the woodwind family, since they are playing recorders. After showing this strings slidesh…
Today, I’m continuing my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching , Kimberly Geswein fonts , and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts! #1: Instruments of the Orchestra website My third and fourth graders are learning about instruments of the orchestra right now. I'm having my third graders focus on the strings family, since they are doing a dulcimer unit, and my fourth graders focus on the woodwind family, since they are playing recorders. After showing this strings slide…
Today I'd like to post a few links that could help you as you begin preparing for any school performances this year! Podcast: Recently, I recorded a podcast about preparing for performances. You can listen to it by clicking here . You can also find my podcast by searching podcasts on iTunes, with the search "Mrs. Miracle's Music Room." Blog post: Here is a blog post about my fifth graders' performance of the musical, "On the Day You Were Born," which I based off the book of the same name by Debra Frasier. Program checklist: Click here for a free program checklist;…
Today, I’m continuing my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching , Kimberly Geswein fonts , and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts! #1: Arpie This week, some of my classes received their "reward day," in which for half of the music class, they get to vote on what they'd like to do. They received this reward for earning a certain number of points for behavior. Before they vote, though, I give them a separate reward: time on iPads! I put them into their groups, a…
Today, I’m continuing my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching , Kimberly Geswein fonts , and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts! #1: Arpie This week, some of my classes received their "reward day," in which for half of the music class, they get to vote on what they'd like to do. They received this reward for earning a certain number of points for behavior. Before they vote, though, I give them a separate reward: time on iPads! I put them into their groups, a…
Today, I’m returning to my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching , Kimberly Geswein fonts , and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts! #1: Grizzly Bear My Kindergarteners have been preparing loud and quiet. One of my all-time favorite songs for this is "Grizzly Bear," which you can see below: The kids love the song, as it starts very quietly and gets louder and louder, until they shout, "Roar" at the end! For the game, I have students walk in a circle, coun…
Today, I’m returning to my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching , Kimberly Geswein fonts , and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts! #1: Grizzly Bear My Kindergarteners have been preparing loud and quiet. One of my all-time favorite songs for this is "Grizzly Bear," which you can see below: The kids love the song, as it starts very quietly and gets louder and louder, until they shout, "Roar" at the end! For the game, I have students walk in a circle, coun…
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