Blog
Elementary music teachers have a lot of content and standards to keep track of. Many of us feel more confident teaching some concepts than others. For example, I’ve always been solid with rhythms and feel that I pass that along well to my students. However, a common...
Ready or not! It is back to school time! Even if you were working hard to avoid looking at the calendar, it is hard to enter any store and not see all those gleaming new school supplies right at the front! As much as it always seems too early to see school supplies...
Picture this: it’s the first day of school. You put on your best teacher outfit and feel refreshed and ready to start the year. Your classroom is *nearly* complete, and you feel set up and ready for the new year.
Your students arrive and...
I am getting ready to move to a new classroom. This will not be my first time setting up a classroom space however, this time I have a lot more information to consider as I set up my room. Over the last 6 years, I have worked hard to understand how trauma can impact the...
Happy Fall!
If you are reading this, that means that the wonderful, amazing, slightly anxiety-producing time of year is upon us - back to school! Even if it is still 90 degrees and 70% humidity on your first day of school, your first day lesson plans can be as cool as...
As music teachers, we are responsible for seeing the entire student population every week. Depending on your school size, that can be 500 (or more) names! It can be difficult to learn so many names quickly, especially when you’re new to the...
Want to quickly spike the heart rate of a music teacher? You might be able to do it with just one of three phrases: MacGAMUT! Norton Anthology of Western Music! Back to School!
Although many of the texts that are popular in undergraduate studies...
Going back to school can fill teachers with many emotions. For many of us, one of the first emotions is excitement! The students are coming back and it’s a fresh start! However, it inevitably also fills many of us with varying degrees of anxiety and dread (especially...
I can’t believe it’s July already! While you’re taking time this summer to relax and get your curriculum ready, you should also take some time to think about things you may need to purchase for your classroom.
Here are some of my personal favorite...
We all know students get anxious about the first day of school, but so do teachers! I have struggled with anxiety and jitters leading up to the first day of school every year I have taught.
Along the way, I’ve come up with the...
“Summertime! And the living is easy!”
Those words from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess really sum up summer break for me. Summer is a time for teachers to recharge and spend time with family and friends they may not have seen during the...
One of the hardest things about teaching is trying to make the most out of the instructional time we have with our students. One of the easiest ways to do this in a meaningful way is to create a scope and sequence for each grade.
Starting...
