Down in the Valley is a fantastic song for introducing the blues scale to your elementary music students. The accompanying motions are easy to teach and the “Let me see you make a motion” section adds an element of creativity to the otherwise structured movements. If you’re looking for more examples of songs with a blues scale, check out The Telephone Song. DOWN IN THE VALLEY SONG RECORDING DOWN IN THE VALLEY SONG NOTATION Down-in-the-Valley-Two-by-Two-NotationDownload PARTNER GAME This game can be played with partners or as a circle game with the focus being on the two students in the mid ..read more

Any elementary music teacher will tell you that it’s difficult to create singing assessments for hundreds of children, which is why I’ve been a fan of the iDoceo app for ten years. The app feels as though it was made for music teachers, and I believe the price ($12.99 at the time of publication) is well worth it. iDoceo can do so much, but today, I’m focusing on its use for assessment. To do that, I’m using a fantastic song called Ducks and Geese. This song can be used to assess singing so and mi, quarter and barred eighth notes, or musical form. This time, we’ll be looking at how to ..read more

Willowbee is great song for practicing movement, rhythms, and the pentatonic scale. For younger grades, I would focus on the movement and listening for syncopation. For older grades, I would encourage creativity by having them create a hand-clapping game that mimics the syncopated rhythms. Movement (K-2) You know I love adding to and changing traditional dances, so the following is my version: Students form two parallel lines facing each other, scarves in hand “This way you willowbee…” Students join hands with person across from them (via scarves) and perform a sawing motion to the beat as ..read more

I’ve heard countless teachers fret over how to review or teach basic music concepts to older students. I encountered a similar problem in my first few years of teaching. I desperately wanted a way to review all the music elements in a way that wasn’t too “babyish”, would give me an idea of what my students knew, AND didn’t take up a whole lot of class time. I settled on a slideshow that could do all of these things. As most music teachers’ lessons do, it evolved a lot throughout the years. The end result was a slideshow that included a pre-test and post-test, a simplified definition of the ele ..read more

I’ve been working from home for almost ten years now. It’s hard to believe. It seems like just yesterday I was receiving hugs from second graders and longing for a view of the outdoors from my windowless classroom. I miss the students, but not for one second do I miss the job. I know that the exodus of teachers continues, so I thought it was time I revisit a topic I’ve written about several times before. That is, five things you should know before working from home. As with any subjective topic like this, not all my advice will apply to you. But if it does, I hope it will better prepare you fo ..read more

If you follow my Instagram Stories, then you know that today’s idea for Old Mister Rabbit involves a little bit of crafting. This song is perfect for teaching about tonal centers, and the simple notation makes it easy to transfer to recorders or ukuleles. Student Choice This song has a wonderful tonal range for your youngest singers and offers a great opportunity for student voices. Here are some ideas: Ask students what else the rabbit might eat from the garden (a traditional take on this song) Sit in a circle and pass around a rabbit puppet and have the person holding the rabbit sing out a ..read more

Hob, Shoe, Hob is a versatile song that you can use to teach mi, so, and la, and quarter rests. It would also be easy to incorporate rhythm instruments into this song with your lower elementary music classes using my free printable. A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON HOB, SHOE, HOB Hob, Shoe, Hob doesn’t require a whole lot of context, but I’m sure that many students would be curious about the process of shoeing horses. And thanks to YouTube, you can show them exactly how that process works. It’s also important to explain to students that horses’ hooves are made out of keratin, the same stuff as our na ..read more

This is my least favorite part of winter but I’m still excited to share with you some of my winter favorites. In this post you’ll find plenty of easy lesson ideas for a brand new year, feel-good shows for relaxing after a school day, and miscellaneous treats that’ll make your life a little sweeter. Quick & Easy Lesson Ideas This part of the year always feels like a such a slog to me. I have no motivation, it’s too cold, and summer is too far away. I’m sure you can relate. So besides reviewing procedures and classroom expectations, what lessons will make you dread those cold, early morning ..read more

Any elementary music teacher will tell you that it’s difficult to create singing assessments for hundreds of children, which is why I’ve been a fan of the iDoceo app for ten years. The app feels as though it was made for music teachers, and I believe the price ($12.99 at the time of publication) is well worth it. iDoceo can do so much, but today, I’m focusing on its use for assessment. To do that, I’m using a fantastic song called Ducks and Geese. This song can be used to assess singing so and mi, quarter and barred eighth notes, or musical form. This time, we’ll be looking at how to assess so ..read more

I’ve heard countless teachers fret over how to review or teach basic music concepts to older students. I encountered a similar problem in my first few years of teaching. I desperately wanted a way to review all the music elements in a way that wasn’t too “babyish”, would give me an idea of what my students knew, AND didn’t take up a whole lot of class time. I settled on a slideshow that could do all of these things. As most music teachers’ lessons do, it evolved a lot throughout the years. The end result was a slideshow that included a pre-test and post-test, a simplified definition of the ele ..read more