I once interviewed a teaching candidate after she did a lesson that was…difficult to watch. The children weren’t following her line of questions and were losing interest in what could have been an exciting activity. “Did you stray from your
Top Tips for Teaching Rounds
I think it’s fair to say that teaching kids to sing a round is pretty standard fare in elementary school music. Rounds are a fantastic way for students to develop musical independence, to perform and listen at the same time.
The Game My Kids Want All Year
Even in this crazy world, I think we can all agree that one of the most important things in early childhood is developing a sense of steady beat. Music teachers have hundreds of ways to support this, but I’ve often
Nine Tips for Learning All Those Names
I am not good with names. Really not good. At one session a week, among hundreds of students, I consider myself successful if I know all the students’ names by the November conferences. (As I’ve calculated it, by that time,
Observing Earth Day with Your Students
Caring for our environment is becoming more and more important every day, and with Earth Day just around the corner, we have a perfect chance to integrate some environmental consciousness into our learning. Today’s students are very aware of environmental
5 Great Circle Games from Around the World
As I wrote last week, I love to play singing games with my classes. Not only are they fun and catchy, but they offer a lot of teachable content. It’s up to you what you want to pull out, but
5 Great Circle Games for Your Music Class
Singing, games, and holding hands! I love playing circle games with my kids. And my kids love playing them. They love the catchy melodies, the movement, and the challenge: For some games, that’s the challenge of doing the right thing
15 Fun Ways to Learn About Rhythm
I’m totally immersing myself in the philosophy that children need to experience music and internalize it, understanding it with the whole body, before we start “teaching” the elements. In addition, we need to present the learning to our students in
Exploring Musical Expression using Carnival of the Animals
One of the most important concepts we teach is communication through music, or what we might call musical expression. Music, I emphasize to my students, is not just here to entertain you or fill the silence at the grocery store.
Don’t Teach
I’m trying to incorporate more singing games and play parties into my music lessons. They are a great way to teach not only singing, but beat, pattern, form, etc. They also develop social skills, like eye contact, holding hands, taking