A free resource for Movement & Music Educators
There was an Old Lady All Skin And Bones: Part 1 One really enjoyable aspect of Orff-Inspired teaching is being able to use “recycled songs.” These are songs that one can “spiral” from year to year adding new levels of engagement and skill. In this two-part post, Drue Bullington demonstrates how one simple folk song… Read more »
Steps to Prep the Recorder: Get your students making music the first day they play! By Kate Bright, recorder enthusiast The very first time I picked up a recorder, I fell deeply in love with this sweet instrument. I grew up as a clarinetist, but developed jaw problems and had to quit woodwinds forever –… Read more »
Dinosaur Stomp Intended Grade Level(s): 4-5 grade levels with paired readers* from 2-3 grade levels Materials: Saturday Night at The Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields; ISBN: 978-0-7636-3887-0 Choose rhyme stanzas from the book suitable for paired reading*. You can choose longer or shorter stanzas depending on grade level. Create sentence strips with the selected rhyme stanzas so pairs,… Read more »
What’s Cool for Back at School? Lynn Osborne shared this lesson in our “Back to School Lesson” contest from last year, and was the first runner up from our entries. In this lesson she shares her process for getting to know what her students like about school and a variety of ways to explore sing, say,… Read more »
Fun With Composers: Marriage of Figaro Fun with Composers, by Deborah Ziolkoski, is an Orff approach to classical music that provides an integrated approach to the arts. Classroom teachers and music specialists can successfully incorporate their user-friendly interactive listening lessons that highlight children’s literacy, art activities, drama, movement, instrumental play and more! Marriage of Figaro is a… Read more »
Name Games “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie Name games are a fun way to brush up on remembering students’ names from last year and learning the names of new students. Roger Sams shares two name games that are musical, fun, and… Read more »
Body Engagement: Multiple Functions of a Movement-Inclusive Classroom For many, the joy of attending a music workshop is interwoven with the interactions we have with the other participants in the room. When we apply our own creativity to the work at hand, we develop a stronger investment in our learning and emerge with more than… Read more »
Take it Outside! As the weather gets warmer, and classrooms get much warmer (especially for those of us without air conditioning) taking the kids outside can be a nice change for music learning! I’ve compiled a selection of lesson ideas for meaningful and engaging music lessons in the out-of-doors. Games: Any of the singing games you… Read more »
Colors Springing, Voices Ringing Orff Schulwerk and New Beginnings This lesson will use a process in which important nouns, verbs, and descriptive language are chosen and used as a springboard for individual and group creativity. A canon will serve as a unifying piece of music and a music literacy component will take shape as this piece… Read more »
Drip, Drop, Pitter, Patter, and Explore! Spring is in the air, or so we hope! The weather is often a topic of conversation, and the sounds of spring offer a wonderful opportunity to sing, say, dance and play in the music classroom. Music educators usually agree that some important goals for the youngest learners through… Read more »