Classroom Art Music
Gordon Neal
Because I teach 23 third and fourth grade classes in the course of a week, I have limited time with each class (only two 30-minute periods per week). So I decided to have all the classes contribute to creating one set of music room rules that we would all share, rather than having each class create their own rules.
When we finish making our list of actions that will help us meet our music goals, every class has had a say, and the list is quite long. Over the weekend, I take the chart home with me and summarize the long list into four or five short, concise rules by looking at each category and selecting and combining words or phrases that are in that category. Then I write these out as our Music Room Rules on a poster board and place it in a prominent spot in the music room:
If you are like me, you have agonized over choosing the perfect early childhood classroom to care for your child as you head back to work. My children are grown now but I clearly remember as a young mother, feeling that the future success of my child hung on the nursery school class I chose. I checked up on the certifications and experience of the staff. I examined the curriculum and daily schedule. I inspected the room for safety flaws and looked for any indication of less than cleanly equipment. I certainly expected a higher standard of the Centers and Schools than I maintained in my own home and my own parenting!
I am a teacher, blogger, and curriculum designer. I strive to help empower teachers with rigorous and engaging classroom activities as well as informative blog posts with actionable tips for the classroom.
The music teacher before me had ordered a full keyboard lab that basically sat in boxes collecting dust for years. The Classically trained pianist in me was super excited to incorporate keyboards into my elementary music teaching curriculum.
If you are using a full keyboard lab, students will be at varying skill levels. Some of your students have taken piano lessons before and some have never touched a piano a day in their life. Just like you differentiate instruction while teaching other objectives, you will do the same thing while teaching piano skills.
The idea of using piano keyboards in the elementary music classroom might make you nervous. Putting the kids at the keyboards and listening to them bang on the keys sounds like a great time (note the sarcasm).
If you are wanting an idea of a great keyboard to start on (I have the same one in my home), then I recommend the this one that comes with the keyboard, headphones, music stand, pedal and bench. I recommend some other keyboards you can check out here. If you are wanting a piano, you can find really great ones at your local music stores or even on Craigslist. Whether you go the digital piano route, or are wanting an upright piano, the choice is really yours.
Centers in the music classroom are becoming quite a hit. Set up a few keyboards and use them as one of your center stations. At the center, students can compose, practice rhythms with the drum sounds, or play a melody you have on their music stand.
Anytime I begin teaching at a new school, the first thing I do is take inventory of the music room. What instruments, movement props, materials, and books are part of the room? Then I make a list of everything I need to teach my curriculum in a deep and meaningful way.
When I began teaching in my current school, I was brought in to rebuild the program. Most of my instruments were broken or in disrepair. I left a building where I had fantastic parent support and spent seven years building a 2:1 ratio of about every instrument you could want. Now I had rhythm sticks so old and used that you could barely tell what color they were!
Then I began prioritizing my list. What instruments could I purchase quickly that would have a high impact in my classroom? What instruments would take funding and planning to obtain? Every instrument on my wish list was prioritized from high need to low need, so that I could lay out a plan on how to obtain them.
Meet Mike Massaro, a recent Music Education graduate and commuter from Swedesboro, NJ (Gloucester County). He had the great opportunity to take his musical skills outside of the classroom and was able to direct the jazz band and marching band at a local high school. He tells us more about his experience and his passion for music education.
The most amazing aspect of this has been being able to learn from and collaborate with my student colleagues and the incomparable faculty from both colleges. Being around other people who want to see you learn is what truly can put your college education to the next level.
As an educator, my belief on this is very firm and was inspired by one of our CPA adjunct professors, Mr. Gerry DeLoach. The passion for what it is that you are teaching is what will drive you forward as an educator. Your knowledge and ability in your specific subject or field is what makes you tick. It is so important to keep that flare to learn alive. What you do in your field sets your ability for what you can do as a teacher. How tall will you let that ceiling be?
I tend to separate grade levels into lower (K-1-2) and upper (3-4-5) elementary when doing overarching planning such as creating an opening sequence. For my younger musicians, I tend to keep things pretty much the same lesson to lesson, as establishing that routine really puts them in the correct frame of mind and develops focus essential for later components of the lesson. Often, my opening sequence for K-1-2 will include some or all of the following elements:
After setting the stage through all this rich exploration and practice, my students are ready to dive into the meat of a lesson. Although it seems like the previous lesson segments were pretty meaty in and of themselves, the bulk of my lesson is dedicated to purposefully playing and creating, where students have the opportunity to actively make music. The majority of our class time is spend in this exploration phase, with a few interjections here and there from myself to facilitate and element of musical discovery.
Did this blog spur new ideas for your music program? Share them on Amplify! Interested in reprinting this article? Please review the reprint guidelines.
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) provides a number of forums for the sharing of information and opinion, including blogs and postings on our website, articles and columns in our magazines and journals, and postings to our Amplify member portal. Unless specifically noted, the views expressed in these media do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Association, its officers, or its employees.
Before we get going, I believe it is important for me to share that I am not an expert on Hanukkah and am still learning myself every year, as I do not celebrate Hanukkah myself. However, I feel it is so important and valuable to research and share what I can about the musical traditions associated with Hanukkah with my students and, particularly for my students who celebrate at my school, I always want them to feel seen and feel it is the least I can do for them to be represented. It is so important to me that I expand my scope of lesson repertoire to allow my lessons to be culturally relevant to all my students. Of course, I will still make mistakes, but I am trying my best to find authentic content to be teaching whenever I feel I am not an expert!
I want to shoutout Aileen Miracle and her blog for the initial inspiration for this lesson idea, as I first saw it over there and found a wonderful recording by Rachel Buchman, which you can find below. It has a really cute melody and the first verse is a riddle, which after singing to my students, I prompt them for what holiday we are talking about. There are 4 verses and it gives a great little overview about various Hanukkah traditions like the menorah, latkes, dreidel, and presents. I find it such a joy to sing with my students and a wonderful introduction song for them to first introduce them to Hanukkah.
For the B section, students face their partner and take 4 steps Backwards and 4 steps Forward. This makes the inner circle get smaller and the outer circle larger. Next, the students do a Right Elbow turn with their partner for 8 beats, ending in the same spot. This repeats one more time for a total of 32 beats (162).
In addition to learning the real Dreidel game using the symbols on the dreidel and chocolate coins, which is super fun and valid in of itself, I also like to challenge my students with a game after learning the Dreidel Song.
Those are my lesson ideas for incorporating learning about Hanukkah in the Elementary Music classroom. I hope you found them helpful and, as always, if you have any questions or lessons of your own, feel free to share them down in the comments below!
Music chimes in the background of our lives; and the special songs -- the ones that creep up our spines -- push to the foreground and move us deeply. Music allows us to feel and daydream, think and set goals.
It's not a special event or an activity. My students anticipate, expect, and even demand music everyday. And, in the words of Gene Simmons, they want it "Loud, I wanna' hear it loud, right between the eyes." They get what they want, for sure. But I do have to say that from the beginning of my classroom musical revelation, the music has been for me just as much as it's been for the kids.
So, I don't play "kid" music all of the time. Yes, there are times when it's needed, but most of the time I'm exposing my students to "kid-friendly adult music." Kids love the tunes I play for two reasons: 1) They know they're not "kiddie" songs because they don't feature a cheesy organ or steel drum. 2) They notice that I love the songs, too.
When I was a kid, I wanted to spit blood and breathe fire. Silly, I know. But then I wanted to play guitar. Then I joined a band. Now I'm using music to inspire others and connect with students. Sharing is the new teaching. Let's share.
c80f0f1006