3-5 Primary School |

It’s not just Enrichment, it’s Essential.

Schools are bolstering their education programs to address what is being called “learning loss”, but the longer school years and high-dosage tutoring are missing the point. Sometimes it feels like we’re only treating the symptoms of “learning loss” but not addressing the cause. I think a holistic arts education for each individual learner is needed…

Musical Story Time – An Arts Integration Unit

Combine disciplines with this fun and engaging arts-integrated unit. We take four classic children’s books, and read them aloud, then add in a musical concept and re-read the stories integrating our new musical skills. Whether you’re trying to incorporate music into your story time or stories into your music time, these will interest and involve…

Black Panther Drumming: Music, History, & Culture

The film Black Panther was a huge hit, Chadwick Boseman (its star) passed away in 2020, and the new film will be released in 2021. (2022?) It’s relevant pop culture that is here to stay and will engage students of all ages for years to come. This lesson is a great way to tie-in pop…

Sing about Martin!

A small collection of resources I’ve compiled over that deal with Martin Luther King. Call and response songs, biographical raps, read-alouds, sign language, and other videos help give students different ways to participate in this lesson. While MLK can be a somber holiday, it can also be a celebration of his life.

How to host a Virtual Winter Concert

With everything up in the air at the end of the year, the annual “Winter Concert” might be low on the list of your priorities. Don’t scrap this time-honored tradition, use the new setting, and circumstances to re-invent what it can be! Sure packing hundreds of students and parents into a gymnasium might not work…

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…

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…

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….

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…

Bruno’s Winter Workshop

There is a lot of hard work and practice that goes into a concert. Students across all grade levels take time out from their day to practice. Much of the show is student created including several song selections, parts of the script, costume ideas, decorations, flyer & program design and much more. Here’s a “behind…