Be Thankful

A reflection exercise on Thanksgiving weekend as a monumental year winds to a close. What do we have to be thankful for in the year of 2020?

How to create a Self-Directed Playlist using SeeSaw

Using the ed-tech platform SeeSaw, I’ve been able to create self-directed independent learning playlists (menus). These are amazing for asynchronous learning, independent learning, self-directed learning, or even learning centers. The menus are easy to navigate but provide students with the choice and voice that is so essential when trying to foster participation and buy-in. This…

Continue Reading

1

Innovative Instrument Families

Explore the idea of instrument families with these fun, engaging, and creative lesson ideas. Although essential, this can sometimes be a stale topic but inject some fresh air into it with these new activities. Perfect for remote learning, using Google Slides, Seesaw, or Nearpod – your students will be instrument experts by the end of…

Continue Reading

No Instruments? No Problem!

Teaching remotely can be a real challenge. Teaching music remotely can seem impossible! Students often don’t have the resources or instruments necessary to participate in traditional activities. However, I’ve found great success in this first month of online learning by using found-percussion. Just like STOMP! students are clapping, slapping, and taping their way to success…

Continue Reading

2

BOY-o-boy: Gathering Beginning of the Year Data

As the school year begins, teachers are setting up their classrooms (or virtual ones), prepping materials, and establishing norms. It’s tempting to do it all in advance, and might not seem like the best time to gather data. However, this is when you can get some of the most important and meaningful information all year….

Continue Reading

1

Concerns about Returns: What is the future of schooling?

Teachers at my school report back in exactly one month from today. We haven’t heard about what our school’s plan of action is yet, so I can’t say precisely how it’s going to look. UPDATE:, Chicago Public Schools did release a hybrid model earlier this week, but it leaves me with more questions than answers….

Continue Reading

1

Pacific Islander Heritage Month (FREE materials)

May is Asian American, Pacific Islander Heritage Month. An important celebration, but one that doesn’t typically draw the fanfare of February’s Black History Month, or Hispanic Heritage Month. However, with the popularity of Disney’s Moana and Lava songs I have found an easy engagement piece that allows students to access a part of the world…

Continue Reading

At-Home Learning: Using Google Effectively

With so many homebound students, and so many trying distance learning for the first time it can be a real challenge. However, there are tools and tricks you can use to make the whole things easier. Most people I know use Gmail just fine, but actually all the programs in the Google Suite are powerful…

Continue Reading

Virtual Sing-a-longs!

How are you coping with distance learning? Don’t forget about the fun songs and community carpet time activities as well. As the music teacher I’ve been hosting daily sing-a-longs with my students, here are some of my favorite ideas and songs. 

Roll-a-Song: An Introduction into Digital Composition

A quick, fun, and engaging activity to help your students enter the world of digital music. This 1 hour lesson is tech-centric but relies on entirely free to use programs. It covers key vocab like melody, harmony, and rhythm then transitions into a dice rolling random composition tool that has your students effortlessly making multi-voiced…

Continue Reading

1 2 3 4 5 13
Skip to toolbar