A free resource for Movement & Music Educators
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 »
Venturing into Vocal Improvisation One of the beautiful parts of Orff Schulwerk teaching is that there are so many different avenues toward creativity. Every teacher, during their Orff training, finds areas where they feel comfortable expressing themselves, and others that feel less natural and more exposed. This is part of the beauty. Everyone finds areas… Read more »
Fairy Tale Tableaus – A Lesson for Dramatic Play The element I find that separates Orff Schulwerk from other teaching processes is the creativity factor. I had no problem setting students up for success and giving them the tools to improvise and create with untuned percussion and the barred instruments. I felt I covered the… Read more »
Be Our Guest! Exploring Vaughan Williams through Kitchen Utensils A food-themed exploration of Vaughan Williams’ “March Past of the Kitchen Utensils” through movement and play! YOU’RE INVITED! As educators who use movement to initiate music learning, we often explore a variety of themes to make connections with our students and to make these experiences lively… Read more »
Harvesting Creativity: Using Folk Repertoire as the Seed for Making New Music As Orff inspired music teachers, we all believe that one of the ways students demonstrate musical literacy is by creating new music. In order to have students in upper grades feel confident in their creative skills, though, it’s important to have younger students… Read more »
Chinese New Year 2018: The Year of the Dog Celebration of the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on Friday, February 16. To help your students welcome The Year of the Dog, Chet-Yeng Loong has shared two wonderful activities, including an excerpt from her book NI HAO! Sing and Chant Your Way to China!* Happy Chinese… Read more »