Classroom Shopping List for the After Christmas Sales

Teachers are savvy shoppers.  We wait for sales, use coupons and scour dollar stores for classroom necessities.  The sales right after Christmas are the perfect time to stock up on goodies for your classroom.  Here are a few ideas for things to toss in your shopping cart.

Wrapping Paper

As the self-proclaimed Bulletin Board Lady, I am always on the look out for fabulous rolls of wrapping paper that will look great on bulletin boards.  During the after Christmas sales I look for patterns that will work at other times of the year.  Snowflake patterns look great in January.  Red stripes and patterns work well for Valentine's Day in February.  Think outside the season!

Paper Plates

I love using plates for movement activities all year round.  I've used the to illustrate form, as percussion instruments and even for costumes.  I purchase discounted plates during the after Christmas sales to use as bulletin board borders.

Tablecloths

I'm always on the look out for tablecloths that may work on the tables that I lay my programs on at winter concerts.  They also look great on a bulletin board.  During busy Decembers they have been the only thing I've had time to get up on a bulletin board.

Kahoot: A fun way to assess

A month or so ago, I learned about an amazing website for assessing students in a very fun way, from my colleague Emily. The website is called Kahoot, and today, I’m sharing how to use it in your classroom, how to create your own game, and more!

Kahoot is a really interactive way for students to show what they know. So how does it work?

If you want to use a game that’s already been made, you can find one by going to kahoot.com and searching. There are many music kahoots already pre-made! If you search aileen1126, which is my username, you’ll find several that I’ve made—one for high do, one for recorder, and several for beginning band.

Once you decide which kahoot you’d like to play, you simply click “play.” Your students can play the game on ipads, smart phones, or Chrome books, either individually or in small group teams. They go to kahoot.it on their device, and they enter the code which has come up on your screen, after you hit the word “play” for the kahoot you want.

Just remember—you are on kahoot.com, and the students are on kahoot.it.

3 Instruments To Keep Close This Year!

It never gets old to see surprise and delight in the eyes of students when they pick up and play an instrument.  Include an instrument, any instrument, into your lesson and it immediately becomes a class favorite that students talk about and ask for over and over.  What's even more exciting is when I discover or rediscover an instrument that I, the teacher, can use for my own purposes.  I love finding new and interesting ways to integrate instruments into my instruction and am always on the lookout for ways to include a click, shake, scrape, ring, or thwak into my lessons.

I wanted to share three of my favorite instruments to use in the classroom and a few different ways to utilize these little gems in day-to-day instruction.  Whether you have a room that looks like the inside of the West Music warehouse or are teaching from a cart with barely room for a CD player, you can easily incorporate these instruments into your daily routine.

#1 - The Shekere

This is an instrument that has been sitting on my shelf unused for years.  Of course students would get it down for certain projects or songs but the shekere never found a place in the daily life of my classroom.  Then last Spring I went to an amazing workshop with Chris Judah-Lauder, a  brilliant, Orff trained teacher from Texas.  I learned a lot that morning but one of the things that Chris kept doing was walking over and picking up the shekere.  She would use it to keep the beat during exercises or group songs.  It wasn't too loud but the timbre was easy to pick out from the group.  When we would do large group works she would often play the steady beat as she walked around and kept the song going.

Planning for Teacher TLC

It's that time of year again.  Teachers are getting ready to head back to school by decorating their rooms, attending professional meetings and lesson planning for the first week of school.  During this busy time, don't forget to plan a little time to take care of yourself too!

Eat Well

What will you take for lunch?  Is there a way to plan a crock pot meal or freezer meal that provides lots of flavor and needed nutrients without stealing time away from your busy day?  I know that when I eat well, I feel well!  A pop tart for breakfast, microwave popcorn for lunch and take out for dinner doesn't provide the fuel that you need.  Plan some meals to ease yourself back into the school routine.

Sleep

No, really.  Your mom was right.  A good night of sleep can make a world of difference. I know that you are busy and that there are many things on your to do list.  Sleep is your body's way of rebooting and preparing for a busy day of meetings, lesson plans and smiling children.  Don't stay up to finish that plan.  Whatever you are doing can probably wait.  Get some sleep.

Five Favorite First Day Activities for Music Class

If you're like me, you are thinking a LOT about the first day of school, because it is coming up soon! The first day of class is important for discussing rules and procedures, but it doesn't have to be ALL about rules. Today, I'm blogging with five of my favorite first day activities for music class.

Name games

I have 700+ students, and I do know all of their names...but after not seeing them for a couple months, it's good to have a refresher! I wrote about a couple of my name game favorites in this blog post (which also has helpful tips for remembering so many names!) One of my favorite name games is "Jump in, Jump out"; here's a video of the game below:

David Row at Make Moments Matter also just recorded a podcast all about name games!

Talk to kids

My first several years of teaching, I was so focused on reviewing rules and procedures, going down class lists, etc., that I didn't take the time to ask kids what they had done this summer. Yes, it does take away instructional time, but it's SO good for building a rapport! You might not have time to ask every single kid what they did this summer, so you could say things like, "Raise your hand if you went to the beach this summer," or "Raise your hand if you went out of the state this summer," or "Raise your hand if you played video games this summer," and then, if time, have a few individual conversations from there (like "Sam, which video game did you play the most?" when you see Sam raising his hand.) I use an app called Smart Seat to do seating charts, and like to take pictures of half the class in the first lesson and half the class in the second lesson so they populate the seating chart. When I'm taking the pictures, I'll ask each kid what they did this summer.

Rhythm Ideas for the Music Room

Looking for fun ideas to practice rhythm in the music room? Are you tired of the same ol', same ol'? Below are four ideas from four of our bloggers!

From Linda:

I don’t know about you but I love creating form using word chains! I especially love using manipulatives that the students can rearrange to create their own composition. So go ahead and grab that stack of beanie babies you use for tone matching and steady beat activities and Let’s Make Music!

Set out 4 beanie babies in a row and have the students echo you. Each beanie baby will receive 2 beats. Rearrange the 4 and have the students echo you again. Continue the process substituting different beanies and changing the order.

Eventually, start speaking the A section “Let’s Make Music” while you are arranging four beanie babies.

Stories and Song: Literature in the Music Room

What can I say about literature that hasn't already been said? Honestly, I have never met a music teacher who didn't use childrens literature in his/her lessons from time to time. As for me, I truly enjoy incoroporating literature into my elementary music classes. I find that students are more engaged in the lesson and more likely to comprehend the story. Let's be honest, literature lessons are just plain fun (and my administrators LOVE that I'm utilizing core curriculum in my "specials" classes). It's just a win all around!

General Tips for Using Literature in the Music Room: 

1. Artie Almeida has some wonderful lessons that incorporate literature and mallet instruments in her book Mallet Madness. It's one of my favorite resources for using literature in my classroom. She also has a second book Mallet Madness Strikes Again; both are worthy investments for any elementary music teacher.
2. Take the extra prep time to photograph the pages of your book and put them into a PowerPoint presentation format. This way, students can see the pictures as you read the story aloud. Another bonus: I often hear my little ones whispering along.  
3. Create a book display in your classroom. This will lend your library to being used more frequently. You might also consider adding some pillows around your bookshelf to make it enticing. 
4. Add quiet reading to your center rotations. My students love it when I add the "Reading Center" into our rotation. The rules are simple: choose a story and read quietly to yourself or a partner. 
5. Use a YouTube video reading of those nifty tales! If you're anything like me, you like to listen to a story to familiarize yourself with repetitive words, musical elements, verbs, and anything extra you can draw attention to in your lesson. Or sometimes your voice is completely shot and you just can't read the story yourself. I've been there, believe me. A video is the best solution for these situations. Another reason I love those YouTube videos: I keep many of my teaching books at home to read with my little one and I'm incredibly forgetful. Yep, sometimes I just forget that darned book at home!  
6. Don't be afraid of singalong storybooks. There are so many to choose from, and most of your kiddos will be able to sing along as you go. This makes a great five-minute-finisher at the end of a class. 

Here are some of my favorite sing-a-long storybooks

A Few of My Favorite Books 

(and how I use them)

BEAR'S LOOSE TOOTH  

by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

This delightful tale has beautiful illustrations and is very appealing to younger elementary students. I've used this book for several years with great success; the lesson is simple and straightforward and my first-graders always have a blast.

Teaching Procedures:

I typically read through a story once before introducing any specific learning concepts. After the initial reading, I add a tremolo on neighbor tones and we talk about what I'm doing and add the vocabulary term to the technique. We practice whole-note and half-note tremolos, then create a short rhythmic pattern for the words "bear's loose tooth". (Example: Bear's = whole note    Loose= whole note     Tooth= half note)

Here is a video reading if you'd like to check out this cute story! 

THE GINGERBREAD GIRL GOES ANIMAL CRACKERS 

by Lisa Campbell Ernst

This series is just darling. With vibrant illustrations and creative storylines, your students are sure to get a kick out of any of the stories. The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers happens to be my favorite because it easily lends itself to musical instruction.

Teaching Procedures:

I begin this third-grade lesson by teaching the simple melody/chorus to the children. It uses the same melody as Row, Row, Row Your Boat so the kiddos should already know it well. I teach the song by rote and then add a steady Do/Sol accompaniment on an Orff instrument or BoomWhackers. I usually use C & G because the key of C is perfect for elementary aged students. 

After I teach the chorus, we read through the story once adding the song/accompaniment as it comes up in the story. Afterward I ask students which words occur most often-- you might have to help your kiddos with this-- and we choose instruments to represent those recurring words. I usually start them off by suggesting a temple block for the word crackers, and then the kids come up with all kinds of ideas from there. We "perform" the story together at least once more and then discuss the form: AB. 

The kids really enjoy participating in this lesson because every child ends up with an instrument. It's always an exciting class to teach!

A very simple melody: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Lastly, if you'd like an energetic reading of the story, Here is a great YouTube video. This gal does a wonderful job making the story exciting for little listeners.

LLAMA LLAMA RED PAJAMA

by Anna Dewdney

This last idea is silly; believe me, I know. I came up with this nutty little melody one evening while reading to my two-year-old, Claire. We use the term reading pretty loosely in my house because you're as likely to hear us singing the story as you are to hear us reading it.

Teaching Procedures:

I first sing the story to the children, showing the pictures on a PowerPoint as I go. They usually start to hum along by the time I've sung a few pages, and this is how you can tell they're really listening. For younger elementary, you might consider teaching them the "llama llama red pajama" then have them sing with you whenever you reach that part. For older students in grades 2-4, you could add melodic instruments on a bordun or you try having them play the melody on an Orff instrument as they sing "llama llama red pajama" along with you.

Another version: This video option is also a sing-a-long. Although it's different from what I have suggested, it is a cute version of the story and I really enjoyed it. I hope you do, too.

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As always, we welcome your input and your ideas. Let me know what you think, and if you have any favorite stories that have been successful for you. I'm always looking to add new books to my collection. 

Sing. Teach. Love!