Classroom management is HARD. Yet we all know those ‘magical’ teachers who can connect with even the most challenging students. I have noticed that these educators exhibit the traits of a warm demander. The post Becoming a Warm Demander first appeared on Teaching With Orff ..read more

Teaching With Orff has partnered with some amazing educators to bring you online workshops designed to provide new ideas for lessons and enhance your teaching, whether your classroom is in person or virtual. The post Online Workshops first appeared on Teaching With Orff ..read more

The spring semester is a perfect time to let students have a little more independence and the opportunity to create. Who doesn’t love to create with drums? Most of my students do! This Ice Cream Canon is a fun lesson to use in the spring. This lesson can cover several concepts based on your curriculum or students’ needs. The foundational concept here is rhythmic Canon. There is also an opportunity to use rhythmic building bricks, student creation, and improvisation. To me, the beauty of the Orff Schulwerk process is that there are many paths. I can tailor my lessons to what my students need or ..read more

Earth Song: A Creative Movement Activity Using Earth Song by Frank Ticheli, students are given elemental composition tools to craft unique movement accompaniments to a poignant and timely vocal piece with themes of peace and hope – just in time for Earth Day 2024! Earth Song is a gorgeous vocal composition with origins in the work Sanctuary for wind ensemble. Diatonically living in F major and a strong form in 4/4 time, the lush and swelling 4-beat phrases elude traditional cadential harmony, and settle into an E phrygian resolution by the end. The atonality and undetermined harmonic destinati ..read more

After completing your final Level of the Orff certification process, you’ve received your AOSA Certificate in the mail. Matting, framing, and hanging the powerful token of your accomplishment, you sit in wonder at the future possibilities. As the late Avon Gillespie (Master Orff Schulwerk educator and 2017 American Orff-Schulwerk Association Distinguished Service Award recipient) reminds us, “in Orff Schulwerk nothing is ever finished. We are not involved in mere problem solving, but in possibility seeking.”  While Gillespie’s poignant statement refers to the enactment of the Orff approac ..read more

Are you considering taking an Orff Levels course this summer? Your colleagues share their insights about this transformative professional development experience. Why Take Orff Levels? What to Expect When Taking an Orff Level Making It Work: Level I by Elaine Larson Making It Work: Level II by Betsy Kipperman Sebring Making It Work: Level III by Rob Amchin Links to Learn More and Find a Course Near You! 2024 AOSA Teacher Education Course List Frequently Asked Questions about AOSA Teacher Education Levels Courses Handbook for Orff Schulwerk Teacher Education Courses The post 2024 Summer Orff Lev ..read more

Elemental Explorations with “Peter and the Wolf” by Kate Bright Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is one of the mainstays of music education. Since its composition in 1936, it has been used to teach the instruments of the orchestra to students around the world. My question is this: how can music educators transform a traditionally passive listening experience into an active elemental experience?  Let’s start with movement!  To set the stage for Peter and the Wolf, I first let students explore each of the main themes with movement. (This website is a useful resource as a place t ..read more

This drumming and moving lesson plan from Chris Judah-Lauder is sure to energize your intermediate grade musicians! All you need are hand drums and some space. Grade Level: 5th-8th Materials Needed One 8”, 10”, 12” or 14” hand drum per student or Use available hand drums to make four groups using like-sized drums. Objectives The learner will: Experience four-part canon Improvise over a four-beat phrase Perform creative movement Formation Students begin in self-space. Teaching Process Teach the text to the A Section by imitation. Teach the movement with text using body percussion. S ..read more

Suggested Age Range: K-2 Objectives: The learner will… Match visual clues with corresponding rhythm cards Compose body and instrumental percussion for found rhythm clues Perform each found rhythm for each specific section in the story Reinforce rhythm reading Materials:  Harry’s Horrible Hair, a book by Theresa Cocci  Website: www.theresacocci.org Storybook Flashcards Unpitched Percussion Instruments  Orff Instruments Synopsis: Meet Harry, a downhearted little dog who is saddened by the stares and laughter of others who only see his horrible hair. When his friend Miss ..read more

A melody and movement lesson for Grades 1-2 OBJECTIVES Demonstrate melodic patterns that include same/different and 3-pitch melodies Demonstrate rhythmic patterns that include quarter note, paired eighth notes, and quarter rest Demonstrate a steady beat while contrasting rhythms are being performed Play and identify pitched percussion instruments MATERIALS Melodic percussion instruments and mallets (xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels) Visuals Colored Scarves for movement PROCESS Day One Teach the song through directed listening and echo. Invite students to listen as the teache ..read more