Couple of ideas: work together with other department members. Volunteer to go help at their school concert in trade for them coming to yours.
Or get classroom teachers or PTO people willing to help.
Have a student teacher, or observation student to help.
No reason you can't just offer one color of recorders and not let them choose. Choose your school color, or plain old black.
Stage lineups can be made more efficient by using cafeteria tables with a name list on the end. Or post it notes on the walls of the hall. Kids go stand under their name.
The reduced instructional time is the one biggest worry. The rest can be worked around. Is it harder. Yes, definitely. But lots of us do it.
On 4/20/15, bec wrote: > After teaching 10 years with two music teachers at my > school I am going to the only teacher next year. Okay I > know I am spoiled, but I am really worried about how to do > programs etc with only one teacher. We usually have one > directing, one accompanying or maybe running the sound > system or seeing the kids on and off the stage. How do you > do it all by yourself? > We have a large choir now - almost 100 students. Can't do > that next year. I am even worried about combining 30 4th > and 30 5th graders. Argh - ordering recorders that come > in 7 colors for for 280 4th and 5th grade students. Then > there is making scenery or hanging decorations: one to hold > the ladder....... > Our school has a reputation for having good choirs, etc. > I am so afraid that I will lose all that next year - seeing > the kids only one a week.
I always had about 50+ in our elementary school musical, a program that I ran by myself after school. PARENTS did the scenery, the costumes, supervised backstage. I got a friend to do my sound for me so that I didn't have to worry about it. When we were able to perform at the MS stage, we had a dad who volunteered to do the lighting for us, as long as I gave him a basic plan. Once in awhile, another teacher would come along and help, but for the most part, it was parents.
Here's the thing. I went to a workshop on Saturday, and became COMPLET...See MoreHey everyone! It's been a LONG time since I've been on this board! I hope you all are doing great! I've been busy, busy, busy! The year has been pretty good, but of course, it's April, and I'm thinking about the best ways to store the materials I've picked up this year.
Here's the thing. I went to a workshop on Saturday, and became COMPLETELY inspired with ideas for my students! I love having workshops like that where I walk away and want to be an even better teacher! However, for this to happen, I need organizational help! I know I need to use more visuals and manipulatives for my students -- and for formative assessments -- but of course, the problem is where and how to store them.
So, how do you store your hands-on items for your kids? By skill? By grade level? In boxes? In bags? Best ideas are appreciated! Thanks!
Sorry, ca...See MoreSnip > So, how do you store your hands-on items for your kids? By > skill? By grade level? In boxes? In bags? Best ideas > are appreciated! Thanks! > > kitmusic/OK
I just googled music teacher storage ideas
and got several wonderful links, including some pinterest things from other music teachers.
Though the end of the school year is coming in a couple of months, I am already thinking ahead to next year's concerts. What are some of your favorite "go to's" for K- 6 concert material...i.e. songs/musicals/plays/themes...
Another fav was "What do animals need?" about habitats and all the songs came from Silver Burdett.
We did a third grade program about rain and rainbows - again mostly Silver Burdett songs. We used ribbon streamers for the rainbow song and danced to "I love a Rainy Night". There was no dialog, but instead related poems read between the songs.
Our Veteran's day program every year includes lots of songs from K-8 plus the traditional patriotic songs and maybe God Bless the USA with sign language.
I am hoping to get lots of great ideas from other readers.
So ...See MoreI have a 4-5 grade choir that meets after school for 1 hr each week. We've already learned many songs for the semester and my singers voted on the two pieces they most wanted to do at our big district showcase in a few weeks. We also will be performing out in the community over the next few weekends at community carnivals, fairs, etc.
So here's the problem. Starting a brand new song right now seems to not make much sense, since we won't have enough time to learn one well-enough to perform at our community events and we've already had to select our pieces for the big district event. Any ideas for what we can do in the meantime since we don't really need to heavily practice our "old" pieces every single class meeting from now until the beginning of May?
Choir games? Other songs to sing just for fun? Should we try to record a piece to put online on our school website? HELP!!!!
Or..try to add some choreography to one of the pieces they already have?
On 3/31/15, JJ-AZ wrote: > I have a 4-5 grade choir that meets after school for 1 hr > each week. We've already learned many songs for the > semester and my singers voted on the two pieces they most > wanted to do at our big district showcase in a few weeks. > We also will be performing out in the community over the > next few weekends at community carnivals, fairs, etc. > > So here's the problem. Starting a brand new song right now > seems to not make much sense, since we won't have enough > time to learn one well-enough to perform at our community > events and we've already had to select our pieces for the > big district event. Any ideas for what we can do in the > meantime since we don't really need to heavily practice our > "old" pieces every single class meeting from now until the > beginning of May? > > Choir games? Other songs to sing just for fun? Should we > try to record a piece to put online on our school website? > HELP!!!! > > Thanks for any suggestions, > ~JJ~
I teach a 2-week intensive ukulele program for 3-5 twice per year. 3 hours per day. The time is broken up into ukulele, dancing, lunch, and recess.
I'm thinking of starting centers for it.
They would be:
1. working in groups of 2-3 with me 2. plucking single strings 3. strumming chords 4. practicing rhythm 5. practicing treble clef notes 6. working on songs
Do you have any awesome suggestions for games for rhythm and treble clef notes for 2-3 students at a center?
On 4/08/15, 3rd year wrote: > Hi all. > > I teach a 2-week intensive ukulele program for 3-5 twice per > year. 3 hours per day. The time is broken up into ukulele, > dancing, lunch, and recess. > > I'm thinking of starting centers for it. > > They would be: > > 1. working in groups of 2-3 with me > 2. plucking single strings > 3. strumming chords > 4. practicing rhythm > 5. practicing treble clef notes > 6. working on songs > > Do you have any awesome suggestions for games for rhythm and > treble clef notes for 2-3 students at a center? > > Thanks!
Hi there, I'm looking for a book that presents various Native American chants that I can teach to my students, and how to use drums with them. We have a selection of tubano drums, and my students age from 2-8 grade. Thank you!
My 1st graders are starting to prepare for their concert, and I need a piece to accompany their movement piece, which is about the life cycle of a plant- starting from seed, sending out roots, growing, blooming, then withering, dying, and all that's left is a seed.
Any ideas?
Classical, Jazz, anything that works with this idea would be great.
So...I've finished 2 levels of Orff and I use Gameplan as my curriculum. I would say I love half of it and want to replace half of it.
Here's my question: in Orff class, with adults, marching and chanting rhymes was fun. For my kids, chanting is not so much fun. They look and act really bored when we repeat a chant over and over.
There's a LOT of chanting in Gameplan.
Do you regularly use chanting in your classroom? Do your kids enjoy it? I'm looking at maybe scrapping most of the chanting in Gameplan for other activities.
(There are a few chants that have been greatly enjoyed...but not many. Jeremiah Blow the Fire was a good one. So was That's the Way to the Zoo.)
For the younger ones (and maybe you've already been doing this, but....) I've found that when repeating a chant several times, it helps keep students' interest to vary the type of voice used. We start with speak, whisper, shout, sing, then we branch off into high voice, low voice, robot voice, cowboy voice, pizza man voice, opera voice, goat voice, any goofy thing you can think of. Sometimes I just make something up and see what they come up with. One day I said scared voice and it ended up being absolutely hysterical! One kid tried to "hide" behind his instrument and got all the other kids laughing, then it became a contest of sorts to see who could come up with the most expressive way of speaking. They love doing it, they keep chanting/speaking because it's not the same, and they're having fun while I get a few more chances to assess individual kids on what we're learning.
Hopefully something here will help. Good luck! ~JJ~
Couple of ideas: work together with other department members. Volunteer to go help at their school concert in trade for them coming to yours.
Or get classroom teachers or PTO people willing to help.
Have a student teacher, or obser...See More