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May 10, 2015

Five Favorite Music Freebies!

Two blog posts in one week? Wheww, I'm on a roll!

Today, I'm linking up with Noteworthy By Jen to talk about freebies. Teachers Pay Teachers is full of freebies, as every seller has to post them. It gives you fun activities, guidelines, and/or samples of work from the seller to see if you'd like to purchase more things from their store. There are so many to choose from - it was hard to only pick five! Each picture is linked to the TPT site where you can grab the freebie!





  1. Garage Band Rap Project Lyrics Sheet and Final Grading Rubric
    I am so excited to be the recipient of a grant for iPads next year (more on this in a future blog post)! Now, I’ll need more things to utilize the apps, including GarageBand. This project freebie looks great for my older students to express their creativity!



  1. FREE Create Your Own Mystery Song
    I love Cori Bloom’s mystery activities! This free blank template allows you to create your own mystery song to use with your students. There are two choices for you to use depending on what you want your students to discuss.



  1. American Composers Flipbook Freebie
    American composers are sometimes left out because we focus so much on Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. This flipbook allows students to learn and collect important information about American composers, including a new favorite, John Williams. There are more from different eras if you like what you see!



  1. This Year Rocked! End of the Year Memory Book FREEBIE
    What a fun activity for the end of the year! My students love going over their favorites and sharing with their friends. It’s a great memory keeper and reminder of a whole year of learning in music.



  1. FREE - A Soup Opera (Children's Lit & Music Mini Lesson)
    Now, for some shameless promotion! This is my new freebie in my store and it’s so fun! The   lesson is great for music teachers, but also works well for substitutes or those who aren't musically inclined. The story is "A Soup Opera" and features a CD attached with the book. It's a great lesson to talk about voice types, plot, and opera, while allowing students to brainstorm, write and share their ideas. Check it out!







Make sure to click on the linky party picture to be directed back to the main site - you can see everyone else's top music freebies!

May 08, 2015

Elementary Music Programs 14/15

I'm finally done with programs! I do have a few short performances at events in the next two weeks, but big grade-level programs are done for the year! HOORAY!

Finishing them up got me thinking. I love hearing other people's ideas and seeing local music programs, so I thought I would share my programs from this year. I'll give you as much information as possible, but due to copyright, I can't post any of the music here. It is all very accessible, though!


Thanks to Jena Hudson, Aileen Miracle & Whimsy Clips for the graphics!





First, I'm going to give you a little background on my program "history." The previous teacher before had wonderful programs, but the logistics were difficult. She normally had each class learn 2-3 pieces on their own and then an opener and closer to sing with the large group. This made for a lengthy concert, as well as downtime for the audience. I tried this my first two years and realized it wasn't for me. Now, I have all of the students up on stage at the same time (roughly 120 each program) where they can all learn the music, play instruments, dance and be the stars of the show! The parents love that they can take photos through the whole performance and the program is short enough to head home and put the little ones to bed. 


I do a program for each grade level, with 5 classes making up each grade. This is a lot of kids on stage, but the teachers are so helpful in making it successful! Some day, I'll write a blog post about the stories I have during program practice....oh, my goodness, the things I've heard!


Anyways, I've listed my songs and their locations below. Some programs tend to be the same theme each year, while others change. It is noted, but please let me know if you'd like anymore information. Here are my elementary music programs from this school year:





















As programs tend to take a lot of class time, I try to always include a variety of things in programs. We do movement, actions, instruments, etc., while also reinforcing concepts while learning. My parents want to see a "show." It takes some time to think up unique musical experiences, but the smiles on the kid's and parent's faces after the show is perfect :) I'm already thinking up next year! Several of these have extra things mentioned in italics. If you are interested in learning more about any of these pieces, please email me at msmusic4life88@gmail.com & I'd be happy to give you more information.


Have a great weekend!

May 04, 2015

Making May Musical

It's finally May - hooray! Only 14 days of school left for me :)


I'm also excited because it's Teacher Appreciation Week and TPT is having their annual sale. Most TPT stores will be 20% and you can save an additional 8% with the special code at checkout. I've linked up to share a resource I'm excited to sell, a resource I'm excited to purchase and a fun set of clip art I've been eyeing.





  1. Up first is my resource! I just posted this fun introduction to summer through children's literature. I love using books in my classroom - they are a great way to show students correct reading, get them thinking and make connections. This book and song "Summertime" has beautiful pictures. It's also a nice introduction or review of lullabies - a calming thing that some of us need to remember this time of year! I've also included some assessment and take home pieces for the students.








     2.  Another sellers item - wow, there are a lot! I have been looking at The Yellow Brick Road's  "Composing with Movement" for awhile now. I love movement and this would be a great lesson to use at the beginning of the year.







       3. Clipart - wow, I am addicted! There are so many sets I've been looking at lately. I'm already thinking about fall, so I'm really looking at these awesome sports digital papers. My classroom theme for next year will be sports related because our students really need to be better sports. Look for that product as we get closer to fall!





I hope you are able to fill up your cart and save! I know I am - Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!