The beginning of the year is full of introducing new things in the music room. This week my first graders are just beginning their introduction to mallet playing and barred instruments. Before we ever touch the barred instruments I always like to have some practice with my little ones on how to hold their mallets… Continue reading Early Mallet Playing
Category: Instruments
Star Unit…Part 1
I have been working on this “unit” in my classroom for many years. Tweaking lessons, adding things, and trying new stuff out. This year I finally felt like I found a set of lessons that clicked with my students and the goals that I set out for them to learn. I have loved doing this… Continue reading Star Unit…Part 1
I Got a Letter
I love this song for sooo many reasons. It has a great feel to the song and you can cover so much curriculum across a bunch of different grade levels. Basically the main concepts that I worked on with my students were Low La, Whole Notes, and Improvisation. FREE lesson plan for this song: I… Continue reading I Got a Letter
You’ve Got Mail…part 2
Here is the rest of the "mail". I started in part 1 talking about the first 3 songs in my concert; Writing a Letter, Postcards, and Bills Bills Bills. This post will discuss the remaining songs; Amazon Boxes & Flowers. I Got a Letter has it's own post: I Got a Letter Amazon Boxes: Just… Continue reading You’ve Got Mail…part 2
Project Based Learning: Composition
Last week I presented at our Board of Education meeting about Project Based Learning in the music room. I want to share with you what I shared with them. I think that almost all of what I do in my Orff classroom is Project Based Learning, PBL. I just had a discussion with a colleague… Continue reading Project Based Learning: Composition
Mallets, Music, Movement and More 