Steps to Prep the Recorder

Recorder

A student’s journey on the recorder must begin before they even touch an instrument. Kate Bright shares her strategy to ensure that all elements are in place. With proper preparation, your students will be making music on the first day they play!

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Lesson: Ang Sinina Ko’ng Bag’o (My New Dress)

my new dress

Ang Sinina Ko’ng Bag’o (My New Dress)   Ang Sinina Ko’ng Bag’o (My New Dress) is a Cebuano rhyme in the Visayan language that my mother grew up hearing during her childhood in Cebu, Philippines. Speaking Visayan Visayan is one of many languages/dialects spoken in the Philippines. Generally speaking, Filipino languages use the same phonetic…

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Dinosaur Stomp

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,…

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Take It Outside

Take It Outside

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…

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Drip, Drop, Pitter, Patter, and Explore!

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…

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Lesson: Fairy Tale Tableaus

fairy tale

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…

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Lesson: Be Our Guest!

movement

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…

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Lesson: Harvesting Creativity

Harvesting Creativity

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…

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