Virtual Music Programs

Today I'm sharing my two music programs from the 2020-2021 school year. While we met in the classroom (on a cart), CoVid-19 prevented us from having large in-person music programs. I decided to have two virtual music programs, one for JK-K-1 and the other 2-3. Each program was centered around a picture book that our principal read. Each class had their own song to learn and sing. After recording everything, I put all the pieces together and shared it with our families.

Below is a bit more information for each program. Also, do to privacy concerns, I am unable to share the programs with you. If you would like more information about any of the pieces, how things worked, etc. please email me at msmusic4life88@gmail.com and I'll be happy to help you!



The program for my Junior Kindergarten, Kindergarten and 1st grade students was based on the story Zoozical by Judy Sierra & Marc Brown. There were children's songs sprinkled through the middle of the book that made up most of the program. I did add a beginning and ending song to have enough material for each class I taught. I also created slides that announced the next song title and which class was performing. These were inserted after the text of the story (which my principal read). 

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The program for my 2nd and 3rd grade students was I Promise by Lebron James. Each page in this story talks about the qualities that the reader promises to do, such as "I promise to run full court and show up each time, to get right back up and let my magic shine." Each class represented one of these statements and their song reflected that. Instead of title slides, I put the song title and class on the video. My principal read the story and paused for the specific class to sing at that time. When the story ends, I took individual clips of students and groups saying "I promise to be me" to conclude the program. 

Again, if you have any questions, please reach out to me! Personally, the virtual programs took more outside work time to put everything together than actual class time. It wouldn't be my choice to continue this way but it worked really well for keeping everyone safe and entertained. 

Elementary Music Programs 17/18

Time to share my programs from the previous year! With my pregnancy, they were not my best showings or preparations. But, the kids had fun! 

Don't forget to check out my programs from previous years. You can search for them or use the sidebar. Let me know if you have any questions regarding my programs. Have a great weekend!

Dear Santa...Five music books you'll want to find under the tree!

Hope you are all having a joyous holiday season!
Today I'm sharing five books with you that I think are wonderful for Christmas lists! How many of us ask for supplies for our classroom for the holidays or end up using gift cards/money to purchase things? I know my husband just shakes his head at me occasionally for it. However, we just want to bring the best musical experience to our students - even at our own expense, sometimes.

I've included a nice variety of books and how I utilize them in my classroom. Each is linked to Amazon, but please contact me if you have difficulty locating the book. 




The Story Orchestra - Four Seasons in One Day
listening, composers, music appreciation, mood

My students LOVE this book! It takes the reader through Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" with beautiful illustrations and sound samples. Each page has a short musical example to press. More information, vocabulary and all of the sounds are on the back, too. If this book interests you, definitely check out her other story The Nutcracker for your lessons next year. It's wonderful for all ages!






It's a Small World singing, diversity, popular music/appreciation

I love books that include CDs. They are great for days when my singing voice is off, a substitute or when you want students to hear a different singing voice. But, it's always a fun time when you and the kids sing it! Aside from that, this timeless song is a great bridge for families AND it promotes diversity. Our building does a huge Culture Week in the spring and this will definitely be brought out to introduce different countries, traditions and more. 

Tap the Magic Tree

fingerplays, sensory, drumming

This book is wonderful for so many reasons! It is interactive so readers can do fingerplays with it as a large group or at a center. Personally, I like to use it with beginning drumming. Throughout the book I have my students participate on their drum (tap, whoosh, plop, etc.) to make the tree change. For example, here's one of the beginning pages:

I would have the students tap four times (steady beat) on the top of their drum. You can incorporate lots of different drumming techniques and teach appropriate playing with a relaxing story. It's a great sensory activity for my adaptive classes as well. I usually put on some calming yoga music as we read the story and drum together. 

Ada's Violin

orchestra, diversity/cultures, STOMP/found sounds, music appreciation

This is a relatively new story, but it's already a hit. It tells the story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay - a group of children that created instruments from recycled trash. I like to use it with my older kids to bridge them from learning about the orchestra to a STOMP unit. It also includes wonderful information, pictures and additional resources at the end. There are so many ways you could bring this into your classroom and it will definitely stay with the kids!

Tangled - It's Better When You Sing It
singing, steady beat, vocabulary, vocal exploration 

I discovered this new series at my local music store. Hal Leonard has put together stories (with Disney characters) that bring music to families with young children. However, they are great for my Pre-K and Kindergarten classes! I'll be using this one in January to help us remember the comparitives we talked about earlier in the year and get our singing voices working again. It has a fun song as well as online interactive activities for extension. Two other books are now in the series as well - Mickey's Found Sounds and Moana: The Beat of Your Heart. I can't wait to share these with our baby in a few years, too. 

-----------BONUS------------

Here's a story for you! We focus so much on our students and lessons that we tend to forget about ourselves. Take time this break to rest and rejuvenate! I definitely recommend this book to remind you about the good, the bad and the downright silly times you've had as a teacher! It is honest but REAL. 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and break. Our beautiful baby should be arriving in the next few weeks. What a whirlwind of a January it will be. Until later - take care!

Elementary Music Programs 16/17

Two posts in one week - look at me! All funnies aside, this post is always one that I get lots of emails about - programs!
This past year I moved to a new district. One of the good things about changing districts is that they probably haven't experienced the programs you've already put on. Because of this, I chose a winner from my previous year for Kindergarten again. I also chose two other "pre-done" musicals as this was something that this district has done in the past. I didn't want to drastically changes things immediately! I also did one of my own programs where I took songs from various resources. 
Again, due to copyright, no additional information is given other than the source. If you would like more information on difficulty, the types of music it entails, etc. feel free to email me at msmusic4life88@gmail.com. 

At my new district, I have roughly 100 kids split into 5 classrooms throughout the year. We not only sing but also dance, play instruments, use movement props and more. Again, please let me know if you have any questions about my programs - I'm always happy to help! *Thanks to Aileen Miracle, EduClips and I Teach, What's Your Superpower for graphics*

3rd Grade - Flakes!

2nd Grade - Happy!

1st Grade - It's a Hit!

Kindergarten - Friends & Family

Culture Day

Wow - the school year has gotten away from me! Sorry for my lack of blogging. I will definitely get back on track!
Today, I want to share with you one of the traditions are my new school district this year: Culture Day! 

This day is actually a weeklong celebration of countries around the world and their unique cultures. Each class picks a different country (usually the teacher picks the same one every year) and studies about it throughout the week. They create flags, masks, and do other activities that relate to their country. The hallways are lined with flags, the kids eat unique foods and there are even guest speakers! It really is a fun week - plus, it helps the students understand that we are all unique but share similarities throughout the world. 
On the final day, each class chooses representatives to share their country in the grand march in the afternoon. The kids line the gym and applaud as each country is called. They circle the gym twice dressed up and holding their flag. I also play music from each country so the kids can listen and jam along. Here's India:

So, what connects the world better than anything else? MUSIC!

I don't choose a country during this week - I share as many cultures as I can during this special week. Each class gets a day to just talk about their country and head instruments, styles and famous musicians. The next class, we do various activities from some other parts of the world. Here are some of the things we did this year in music class for Culture Day:

My primary students are junior kindergarteners, kindergarteners and first graders. We did several short activities each class period. Some examples are:

• ribbon creative movement to world music (love Putumayo World Music series)
• song stories like Creepy Crawly Calypso (Barefoot Books) & Kookaburra (Cantata Learning)
• Zumba from GoNoodle

Zumba was one of my favorite activities all week! Our guidance counselor previously taught classes and had these fun jingle scarves for the kids to use. Some tied them around their waist while others tied them across their chest. She even had some small ones to put on your wrists. We used Zumba Kids videos from GoNoodle, specifically Indian Moonlight and Bouje. The kids didn't want to take them off - they loved that jingling sound as they danced. I'm definitely doing this again next year!

My intermediate students are second and third graders, but these activities would work well for older kids, too. Here's what we did:

• World Instrument BINGO by Cheryl Lavender
• Music Express Magazine/John Jacobson - the kids loved singing and learning about the music from Moana! We also sang Wavin' Flag from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. John Jacobson's "It's a Musical World" is a great song set with information, dancing and translation for several world songs. I also use it for programs every now and then.
• Games (Se Se Se & Throw Catch) - both of these games are so fun and can take 5 minutes to a whole class period if the kids want to keep playing

Se, Se, Se is the Japanese version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. If you click the picture above, you can download the directions, game and accessory pieces for free! My students loved it so much that they had rematches at recess.

Throw Catch is a Zulu game. You can find some kids playing it on Dana Herro's (a music teacher) Twitter page.

 

My Severe & Profound students are kids with various special needs. They come to a separate music class just for them in addition to their regular music class. We do a lot of repetition of activities and try to meet their learning needs in addition to personal ones.

• "Hola" from Music K8 - I love this song! It is simple, repetitive and great for the kids to identify another language. We also add maracas to it and practice taking turns. Songs with multiple purposes are great for these kids!
• free movement (freeze dance, scarves, stretchy band) to cultural music
• "Waka Waka" with body percussion

As the year has gone by, I've noticed that my Severe & Profound students aren't affected much by noise. This isn't normally the case, but for the kids this year, they are fine with noise. One student doesn't speak much but does like to communicate with her body through sound. I had one of those lightbulb moments - we should do body percussion! The kids love it! However, there isn't much out there for basic body percussion, as these students' goals aren't to read 4 beat rhythmic patterns and such. Their goals are to follow directions, understand personal space, keep a steady beat, body awareness, etc. 

This led me to create several products in my TeachersPayTeachers.com store that appeal to other classes similar to mine. They feature only the picture of what should be done. The teacher can lead a steady beat, let the kids freely do the movement, create an echo or other things. It's up to the teacher to choose what works best for their kids. To celebrate Culture Day with my kids, I created a body percussion activity to "Waka Waka" - a song written for South Africa. It also features a Columbian singer named Shakira. It works well for little ones too if you're not ready for rhythms.

For all of my classes, I recommend this story written by Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon). I use it as a way to talk about respect, understanding and appreciation. They listen to me read the story, including the different languages and pointing out historic landmarks. We finish with listening to Rachel Rumbaugh (a music therapist) singing the story in a gentle way. It's a nice, calming activity to end class. My Severe & Profound students always need a calming activity, but this is great for all of the kids. As they listen, I ask them to think about being mindful during the week, but also when they leave school. You can sing the story yourself to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell" if you prefer.

Next year, I hope to do more folk dancing and bring out my ukulele (I'm just learning to play and no one wants to hear that! lol). You can bring world music into your classroom at anytime, but this week is truly a unique and special experience for our kiddos. Take care!

Kick-Off Books for Music In Our Schools Month

Happy Music In Our Schools Month! 

This is a great month to bring music to our students, building, school district and community. I love using children's literature in music class, especially as a way to start something new or important.

To help you kick-off Music In Our Schools Month, I'm sharing ten of my favorite music books to read to your elementary and middle school students.

• Ah, Music! by Aliki  - This book is really dense with information. However, it divides it into sections the students can understand, such as Music is Sound, Conductor, Practice Makes Perfect, etc.
• M is for Melody: A Music Alphabet by Wargin & Larson - This book is part of a series that helped students learn about subjects and vocabulary words through the alphabet. It is also based on national music standards!
• Music Everywhere! by Ajmera, Derstine & Pon - If you're looking for an easy read with multicultural information, this is it! The pictures and descriptions are wonderful and represent how many cultures make music throughout the world.

• Music Class Today! by Weinstone & Vogel - I read this story to my Junior Kindergarteners at the beginning of the year, but it can be used at any time. It tells the story of music class, complete with instruments, scarves and one little boy who isn't sure if he wants to participate. The author has recorded the story into song, too. Love!
• Music Is... by Stosuy & Martin - This story introduces styles, sounds, instruments and more to little learners. The pictures are bright and vibrant featuring different ages and races throughout.
• Music is for Everyone by Barber & Smith - I cannot say enough awesome things about this book. I read it to the kids at the beginning and end of school, including once more in March. The rhyming text helps connect the many different genres and sounds of music. I also recommend using this at the beginning of a music appreciation class and having student share their favorite kind of music (yes, it includes rap and heavy metal!). So many uses!

• I Got the Rhythm by Schofield-Morrison & Morrison - I found this neat book at our school book fair last year. The girl in the story hears rhythms, beats and sound everywhere. She starts snapping, dancing and moving along. This is one of those stories that you can introduce and then come back to for scat, improvisation, rhythmic speech, etc.
• The Music in Me by Pinczuk - This sweet story is about a little boy and his love of music. Everyone around him is playing an instrument and he just can't get it right. He eventually learns the music is inside of him thanks to the Magic Music Man. Bobby McFerrin helped with the creation of the book and has some accompanying tunes.
• The Really Awful Musicians by John Manders - If you're looking for a book for older children, this one is always a favorite of my kids. The story and pictures are hilarious! The musicians of the kingdom are so bad that they are all captured and fed to the crocodiles (big selling point for older kids right there!). A few head for the border, meet up and try playing music together. It's terrible. Eventually, they learn to play together and write down the first musical notation. It's a goofy story, complete with sound affects all the way through. I also like using this with a beginning chorus or band because it teaches students to work together and listen to one another.

If you are only looking for one book this month, I highly recommend "Sing" by Raposo & Lichtenheld.  This timeless song (from Sesame Street) has been given new life with this lovely picture book. The first few pages have no words, only the pictures of birds singing and flying away. One small bird doesn't have a song - yet. The CD is included and is great to leave for a substitute or just have fun and sing along. If you want to share a book with a wonderful message, make it "Sing."

I hope you have a wonderful month spreading the joy of music! Please let me know if you are unable to locate one of the books I've listed and I'll help you find it. Take care!

Valentine's Day for All Ages & Abilities

This week is Valentine's Day! I'm excited to share with you some new activities I've stumbled upon and created to use in the elementary music classroom.

Upper Elementary
First, we'll start with the older kids. I think it's tough to find activities that are fun for them but not lovey-dovey or girlfriend/boyfriend focused. Even at 3rd grade, my kids are already thinking this and it stinks! It leads to hurt feelings, low self-esteem and so on. Here are two ideas you can use with your older kids that are a little more unique.

"One Love" is a great song by Bob Marley. His daughter took this famous song and created a beautifully illustrated story book about loving our friends, family and community. Sometimes we need to take a step back and think about what "love" really means. This book is a nice way to do that and promote friendship and creating a better place for everyone. I like to pair it with a listening glyph from my set of Listening Glyphs for Black History Month. This gets the kids listening and thinking of the meaning of the words, but you can also use this for review or assessment. 

I heard about the singing game "Ida Red, Ida Blue" my first year of teaching. I played the game with an envelope and it worked great. This year, though, I found this adorable felt mailbox at Target. I knew this would be perfect for Ida! Technically, you can play the game throughout the year, but I like to bring it out for the first time in February. I cut out some small hearts and wrote movement words on them. Then I stuffed the mailbox. Here's how the game is played:

As the song is sung, the teacher walks around the circle with the mailbox. At the end, the teacher "cuts" between two students with the mailbox. One student opens it, the other pulls out a movement card. I usually say "ready, set, go" and both students have to go opposite ways around the circle doing whatever movement was chosen (chicken dance, run, skip, etc.). I also slip in a few free choice cards. The first student to get back and touch the mailbox wins. The other student has to sit down. I put the card in my pocket and it can't be chosen again. The teacher keeps cutting between students and having showdowns until there are only two players left or a winner (sometimes I let the last two be winners so there isn't as much frustration). 

The kids love it and sometimes, it is pretty hilarious! After that, my older kids beg to play it at least once or twice a month for the rest of the school year.

Lower Elementary

These activities are geared more towards lower elementary, but you can always use or adapt them for older students. 

I've always enjoyed using the finger play "When You Send A Valentine" with my little ones. However, I decided to put it to music this year. As I was working on it, I planned on using our hand/desk bells to make the sound. But, I decided to bring out a metallophone instead since we had just been using them with Freddie the Frog. It would work with any kind of ringing instrument, though, so please use what is available in your classroom. Here's what the set up looks like:

That envelope was another Target felt find. After teaching the students the song, I have one student sit in the chair, facing away with their eyes closed. As we sing, I hand the envelope to a student who places it underneath the chair quietly. After the first "ring the bell and run," the student gently taps a few notes on the instrument. Then, they run back to their spot and sit until the song is over. The student in the chair turns around and gets one guess to figure out who gave them the valentine.

It's pretty hard to guess the right person, but the kids think it's a hoot! It's also a nice lead-in to "Doggie, Doggie" where we begin solo singing with a similar set-up.

This last activity is great for really little ones including special needs students. It uses the song "Viva Valentine" from Music K8. If you don't have the song in your collection, you can stream a sample of it from their website. I strongly suggest getting it though - it's so versatile! 

I do this activity on two consecutive days. The first day, I pair students up and have them face each other. With my special needs class, I have them sit across from their para or helper. I give one partner a maraca. During the song, they shake and play their maraca. Occasionally, I say the word "pass" or "switch" where they give the maraca to their partner to play. They are actually switching every time the song says "valentine." The second day, we identify that and then they have to listen to know when the pass. It's a nice way for students to understand sharing, passing and listening while also playing their instrument correctly. Egg shakers work well with this, too!

I hope you are able to find an activity in this post to use with your students. 

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!