Assessment. This is one of the favorite words in education these days. Principals love assessment, district chairs love assessment…. Do teachers love assessment? Not really. Do kids? No. But you can change that. At least you can change that in the elementary music room. Most of us see our kids about once a week. My… Continue reading Assessment without “Assessment”
Tag: music lesson
What do I do with Fifth Graders? Lessons and Tips
If you are a brand-new elementary music teacher, you might be thinking—what do I do with fifth graders? Well, even if you are not brand new, you may be thinking-- what do i do with fifth graders? If you haven’t started teaching yet, you may be confused. Let me explain. We all know that the… Continue reading What do I do with Fifth Graders? Lessons and Tips
Free Music Lesson: Bate Bate Chocolate
Do your students speak Spanish? Whether they do or not, they will enjoy Bate Bate Chocolate! I have been using this with my 2-3 grades. I find it perfect for that age (and with students who speak no Spanish) because there are very few words. Out of the few words, the students usually know how… Continue reading Free Music Lesson: Bate Bate Chocolate
Vamos a la Mar Orffestration
We are now entering week three of Hispanic Heritage month lesson on my blog! This week I am going to talk about the Guatemalan folk song “Vamos a la Mar”, which means let’s go to the sea. I have been using this with my second and third graders, and they love it. I also taught… Continue reading Vamos a la Mar Orffestration
Free K-1 Music Lesson: It’s Raining and Que Llueva
Do you want to know something? I love Hispanic heritage month. I love all things multi-cultural, and Hispanic Heritage month gives me the perfect excuse to do a lot of Spanish songs, Spanish dances, etc. My students are not Hispanic, and I am enjoying being able to expose them to different things through music. For… Continue reading Free K-1 Music Lesson: It’s Raining and Que Llueva
Ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage month is one of my favorite things to teach. Many people have schools with large groups of Hispanic students. I do not. But it is still fun. If you do not usually do music lessons from different cultures, this Hispanic music is one of the easiest ones to start with. A lot of… Continue reading Ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month
Things I’m Doing Differently in my Second Year of Teaching
My first year of teaching was ok. A lot of people have these stories where every single day of their first year of teaching is awful and they almost quit and so on and so on. I will say that I did not hit that point until about February. That’s a pretty good time line,… Continue reading Things I’m Doing Differently in my Second Year of Teaching
DIY Music Manipulative: Battleship
Funny story: Last year, I was working really hard to get my students to learn the notes of the treble clef. Towards the beginning of this adventure, I gave them all staves to look at, and bingo chips. I’d say, “Put a chip on line one. Put one on space four.” And on and on.… Continue reading DIY Music Manipulative: Battleship
Easy-Peasy Differentiation in the Music Room
Differentiation. Woo that is a scary word… especially if you teach elementary music. We tend to sit through lectures and professional developments about differentiation and shudder in despair. I can’t do that, we think. This doesn’t apply to me. Well…. Yes and no. Now, some lessons really don’t lend themselves to differentiation. Some do. And… Continue reading Easy-Peasy Differentiation in the Music Room
Free 3-5 Music Lesson: Extra Beat, Take a Seat
This is one of my favorite games! I learned it from my mentor during student teaching. I am not sure where she got it from. I haven’t seen it in any books or on the internet. If you know where Extra Beat Take a Seat comes from, feel free to let me know so I… Continue reading Free 3-5 Music Lesson: Extra Beat, Take a Seat