Re: Tough 3rd and 4th crowd...oops! one more thing!

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These courses are offered every summer, in various places all over the
country. Many of the clinicians move from place to place teaching over
and over again. I really DO think it would be possible to do both in one
summer. Just maybe not at the exact same place.

On 11/30/12, newmusicteacher wrote:
> Thanks, kitmusic.
>
> I was going back and forth about whether to do Kodaly or Orff. I
> really don't like that they both run at the same time everywhere,
so
> you can't do Level 1 of both over one summer. Since I have the
summer
> off, I'd love to do both each summer, and finish the level 3
> certifications for both in 3 years. But since they always run at the
> same time, I really wanted to do Kodaly first, since I'm a former
> opera singer, and I love the Kodaly emphasis on sight singing and folk
> songs. And since Feierabend was a past Kodaly president, and I
want
> to use his curriculum in all my classes, eventually, Kodaly seems like
> a really good fit for me.
>
> Here is what I was thinking...let me know if this is a good idea...
>
> I was going to try to do Kodaly and World Music Drumming levels 1
> through 3 at the same time, then do Orff. Kodaly and WMD (that's an
> unfortunate acronym) don't run at the same times during the summer, so
> I could get certified in both in 3 years. Then I could move on to
> Orff.
>
> If you REALLY REALLY think I should do Orff first, let me know. I'm
> also hoping to have the Gameplan curriculum for all of my grades
> within the next 6 months...
>
> On 11/29/12, kitmusic/OK wrote:
>> I completely forgot! The points ideas that the other poster gave you
>> are great! It's always good for them to have something to work
> towards.
>>
>> That said, you might also ask their classroom teachers and see if you
>> can piggy-back off of their behavior plans as well. I have a second
>> grade teacher who uses marbles as rewards for her kids. They can
>> earn marbles for just about anything and everything -- and they can
>> earn them in my class too! Her marble jar and how she uses it is
>> genius, so I'm always glad to contribute. In fact, it's so
>> successful that there are two other classes who are earning marbles
>> in their classrooms and when they come to me and to the other
>> specials teachers. Since those teachers have started using those --
>> my behavior problems have pretty much disappeared.
>>
>> One thing I do, I put the agenda on the board because those classes
>> earn a marble for every activity we finish (keeps the talking down --
>> and keeps their focus), and they earn a bonus marble (at least one)
>> for really good behavior and self-control. Putting the agenda on the
>> board really helps my students follow what we're doing and know what
>> is coming next. I don't make it complicated -- it takes me two
>> minutes to tell them what we're doing.
>>
>> That's just a suggestion. It might help some of your worst offenders
>> keep focus -- or at least know when the activity that they hate is
>> getting over with. :)
>>
>> Also, keep your activities fairly short. Remember, kids are used to
>> sitting in front of the TV -- and we get commercials every 8-10
>> minutes. So, keep activities about that long for those 3rd and 4th
>> graders -- changing activities quickly -- getting them up and moving,
>> and give them fun songs to sing will really make a difference! I
>> promise! :)
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> kitmusic/OK
 

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