Let’s look at some ways to introduce the instruments through a few different pathways:  a fingerplay, a circle dance, and a picture book. We’ll prioritize using them respectfully and playfully. We’ll highlight playing technique to students who are new to these instruments, or to students who need a refresher. Let’s jump in!      JUMP TO ACTIVITIES Dona Arana (fingerplay) “Come Back, Ben” (picture book) I Don’t Care if the Rain Comes Down (singing game)   Barred Instrument Exploration: Setting the Tone Here is a quick guide to getting started with barred instruments ..read more

There are some gems in our repertoire collection we can use over and over, with several grades to highlight different musical concepts. Dona Arana is one of those for me. Today we’ll look at Dona Arana in three different contexts: Kinder and 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and older beginners.      JUMP TO ACTIVITIES Vocal Exploration (Kinder & 1st) Creative Movement (2nd & 3rd) Chasing Game (4th & 5th)   Dona Arana: THe Song This is a delightful Hispanic fingerplay! Because of the nature of how folk music spreads, and because of the prominence of the Spanish language an ..read more

“What will I teach this year?” “What grade does this song work for?” “What do I do after this unit?” These are questions we all ask in our teaching, and we can start to explore their answers with a curriculum outline, or curriculum map. A curriculum outline is one document that can make our planning time both manageable and meaningful. Today we’ll: Look at a curriculum outline example Talk about how it’s constructed Look at other possible sequences Think about what’s missing in the document Let’s jump in!     Curriculum Outline Here is an example of the curriculum outline ..read more

One of the joys of a repertoire and concepts-based curriculum is that we get to imagine songs and rhymes through many different lenses. This is what allows us to extend a song across several lessons in a single grade-level, and as we’ll talk about today, how we can extend a song or rhyme across multiple age groups. Today we’re working with the Mexican children’s game, “Zapatitos Blancos.” This game is a hit from Kindergarten (and younger) all the way through 5th grade!     Zapatitos Blancos Importantly, this game can stand alone as its own musical experience. Speaking the rhyme and ..read more

If we were to walk into an active music room, we would see students singing songs, playing games, moving, and playing instruments, among many other things. Where does writing fit into an active music room? In addition to copying notation, how can we use writing notation as a part of the learning process so students are equipped to showcase the results of their learning? Today we’ll explore possible ways to go deeper with writing activities in an active music room, using a framework called Depth of Knowledge. All the resources in this blog post will be available to download at the bottom of the ..read more

In music education, the learning phases of preparation, presentation, and practice are unique to the Kodaly framework of teaching and learning. As a part of the preparation phase, teachers lead students through a process of experiencing the target musical pattern without the Western theory musical label or notation. Physical preparation is a key component of this experience-based learning sequence. Today we’ll explore possible ways to explore rhythmic and melodic elements through the lens of physical preparation activities.      Why Use Preparation? The preparation process begi ..read more

One of the main barriers to including creative processes in elementary general music is that there never seems to be enough time! Despite the fact that most music teachers say they value the creative arts, the reality of teaching music is that there is limited time in a lesson, and limited lessons in a year. We spend our time in active music rooms joyfully singing, playing, speaking, moving, reading, writing. It can sometimes feel as though creative processes are one more thing to cram into an already-full lesson block. In this podcast episode, Anne Mileski and I talked about the value of usin ..read more

Listening lessons can provide beautiful opportunities for a breath of fresh air in the music room! At times, these may look like using activities that are, on the surface, “just for fun.” However, they add an element of curiosity, imagination, and artistry that can flow into our regularly-scheduled curricula.  In this podcast episode I shared thoughts on “one-off” lessons that are not connected more broadly to the curricular sequence. One of the functions of a “one-off” lesson, in addition adding a fresh activity into the routine, is that there are times we need breathing room in our teac ..read more

One of the most effective musicianship and classroom management strategies I know of is to bring students into the classroom musically. When we begin the warm up routine with an active musical entrance procedure, students are immediately immersed in the tone of the lesson. Active musicing as an entrance procedure can take many different forms. Students might enter the room listening to music, they might enter speaking, they could enter with body percussion, they might copy the teacher’s movements, or they might sing. Today we’ll focus in on songs for entering the classroom, specifically geared ..read more

In many situations, elementary general music teachers are required to tie their lessons back to the National Core Arts Standards or local standards for music education. In the case of local standards, these have most often developed in reference to the National Core Arts standards. For some of us, aligning our active music experiences to the National Standards can feel tricky. This may feel like one of the highest priorities for our administrators to see in our lesson plans. Yet, it might be an area that was overlooked in teacher training courses. Today we’ll look at the National Standards for ..read more