Teachers are often told the value of borrowing (or “stealing”) lessons and ideas from other teachers. With the growing popularity of Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and teacher affinity groups on Facebook, it is easier than ever to share and find
13 Tips for Giving Better Directions
Approaching my 20th year of teaching, I am thinking about how different my practice is now, compared to my first years. There’s so much that methods classes just don’t teach you! Some aspects of teaching can only be learned through
Energize your music class with these Kahoots!
I know I’m really behind the times on this, but I discovered Kahoot! this year, and my music classes can’t get enough of it! After I use one to review a lesson, they always ask for more. If I say
Back to remote learning?
Happy new year! I’m enjoying the last few days of my Christmas break, but also starting to put some details into my plans for the upcoming term. We’re having one week of online learning at my school, to give people
Singing and Online Learning
Singing is central to music classes in primary school. But with many teachers going online, we are facing new challenges that none of us were trained for. In all of my music teacher circles, people are asking for tips on
Fostering a Growth Mindset
There is a lot of talk about growth mindset in educational circles these days. You have probably read about the experiment where a teacher was told she was getting all the brightest students in one class, and when she treated
10 Tips for Using Learning Centers in Specialist Classes
I’ve been experimenting with learning stations, or centers, in my music classroom. I’m always intrigued when I walk into classrooms that are set up with exciting experiments, games, and other provocations for learning. But a long time passed between admiring
20+ Questions to Guide Inquiry-Based Learning
A teacher new to PYP asked me recently, “How do you do inquiry in a specialist class?” I remember how confused and overwhelmed I was when I first landed in a PYP school. I was the only music teacher there,
Dynamic Displays
Do you find it difficult to display all the things you’d like to for your many classes? Try using your interactive whiteboard or projector as a dynamic display for each of your classes. Create a desktop-sized graphic that can be
Metacognition and Student Reporters
These ideas can be used in any class, or any subject, but arose as a solution to a specialist situation. Specialist teachers have such limited time with students—and so many students—that getting an overview of students’ learning becomes a perpetual