Multicultural A few weeks ago I talked to music ed students at a local university about Kodaly and I was thinking about this. There are a bunch of music “methodologies” and not only that, but many people choose to teach using a mix (which is a good thing!). I definitely operate heavily Kodaly but I was trying to identify when this became “my thing”. I think it’s a number of reasons but here are a few that led me to become a Kodaly teacher. This is a huge one for me. Kodaly teaching doesn’t rely on pre-set song lists so you can seamlessly bring in materials to highlight other cultures. If you f ..read more

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. If you have been following me on socials for a while, you know that I have been doing a book a day for AAPI Heritage Month for a few years. I was thinking that this year, it may be a good idea to put them all in one place so I decided to share all of the books here so you can reference them easily throughout the year instead of having to scroll back through socials, and if you want to incorporate them during AAPIHM (or any other time of year!) you can! (Full disclosure: some affiliate links. I get a small kickback and it won’t change your ..read more

I see constant requests for help finding songs for moving up ceremonies. I figured I’d do some consolidation and put some popular options in one place! Here’s a big list of moving up songs for prek, kindergarten, and upper elementary (4th or 5th grade) graduations. PreK/Kindergarten I’m Growing Up – Amidons Dynamite Kinder Graduation – The Music House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQr98L92mPw&t=2s Everybody Has Music Inside – Greg and Steve Ready to Go – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBio_J-UaT4 I Like Being Little A Lot – Susan Bernhardt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMZsNaNmf3Y Ma ..read more

Upper Elementary and Middle School may be the worst offenders of the “I don’t want to sing” club. Finding engaging games for them to play while they HAVE to sing is one way to help break down that wall. Here are four of my favorite singing games for upper elementary and middle school. Sansa Kroma This is an easy passing game and great if students don’t have a lot of experience with passing games. There are two options, a pass on the beat, or a small tapping pattern. This could also be a nice lead in to a cup game. Students sit in a seated circle. Students each have a rock. The passing patter ..read more

The woe of the elementary music teacher. Singing. It can be difficult to get students on the same page sometimes. Sometimes it’s unhealthful singing, sometimes it’s not wanting to sing. Whatever the case, here are some things you can do to encourage good singing in the elementary music classroom. Long Game Teaching students to sing well is not a quick fix. For teaching the skill, you can add in parts of it all the time. Don’t let kids lounge in their chairs when singing. Teach them to sit up straight, not lean on their knees, or to take good breaths Don’t let singing games sound sloppy. If it ..read more

Once the weather gets warmer, we definitely start feeling the crunch. We want to be outside. The kids want to be outside. No one wants to do anything except enjoy the spring. But for teachers, it’s crunch time. Even more so if you have planned concerts, musicals, and the like. So what can you do to get a grip? Here’s some tips on handling crunch time. Visualize The has always felt so corny to me. But there are things I visualize. True story: I can’t figure out what to wear in the morning unless I mentally pick it out and visualize what I’m wearing the night before. So try visualizing how some ..read more

Yup. Backwards. When I first started having to do concerts, I was super caught up in picking music, then picking parts, then picking this and that, etc. But I never saw where I was going. After a couple times through the wringer, and a few years feeling panicked about the deadlines, I started something new. Planning backwards. So let’s talk about how to plan a concert backwards. It’s like curriculum planning When you plot your curriculum, you start with the end goals in mind. What do you want your students to know at the end? What do you need them to be able to do? With a concert, you do need ..read more

It happens. First, let me say this. If you are actually sick, please stay home. I know sub plans are a pain, and you only have limited sick days, but no one wants those germs. Sometimes you aren’t really *sick* but you’re recovering or fighting some laryngitis. So you make that call and go to school with no voice, a weak voice, or just wanting to rest your voice. So how do you teach? Here are some ideas for no voice music class. Centers and Worksheets You can set this up with minimum instruction and students can work independently. It’s always a great way to get in some easy assessment, and se ..read more

When you start learning and teaching folk dancing, it feels like there is simultaneously a TON of info and also a whole bunch of stuff that isn’t quite clear. You have instructions, but they seem a little like a new language. You have videos, but until you feel some of it, or try it with students, it’s hard to get just right. And while there is a bunch of information out there, it isn’t all created equal. So let’s folk dance and get to some of the important info. Abbreviate This! We’re teachers. We should be accustomed to all the abbreviations, but that doesn’t make them less frustrating when ..read more

Folk Dancing is a staple of a lot of elementary music curriculums. Movement is great for kids. Dancing teaches social skills, working with a partner, and a group, and helps students with coordinated movement, understanding of music, and to regulate their body. And it’s FUN. But we don’t spend time on folk dancing in elementary music methods classes. If it is introduced, it’s brief at best. So let’s folk dance and get some of the basics down. Heads up: Generally the things we are talking about (for now) are from Western folk dances from England, Scotland, Ireland, and the USA. Basic Vocab Here ..read more