What's on my playlist for Fifth Grade?

What's on my playlist for Fifth Grade?

This week, I'm blogging about my playlists for each grade level, in my music room. For more information about how and why I'm using playlists, check out this post. Today, let's talk about fifth grade!

Here are three recordings from my fifth grade playlist:

#1: I Love a Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt

 A few years ago, I found a dance for this song in a resource from Sanna Longden, which you can now view for free here. My fifth graders LOVE this line dance...and when you find a dance that fifth graders love, then, well, you have to do it every year!

#2: Oh a Shoe a Shoe

As I wrote about in this post, I read "World Music Pedagogy, Volume 2," by Christopher Roberts and Amy Beegle this summer. It was such a great read, with really practical ideas for implementing world music listening lessons in your classroom. This song was mentioned in the book as a possible listening lesson, with opportunities for students to listen intently, identify words within the song, and discuss context to the song. I'm excited to try it with my fifth graders!

#3: Chakkardi Bhammardi 

from the Album Maa Na Pagla Volume 1

I learned this folk dance (called Dandiya Raas) from my colleague Meaghan many years ago. It's an Indian folk dance which can be performed with rhythm sticks (although originally it would be performed with sticks like these.) I taught Level I pedagogy and folk song research for DePaul University's Kodály program several years ago; here is a video of my class performing the dance:

It's a great dance for fifth graders!

I'm excited to announce the winners of my giveaway!

The winner of the $25 iTunes gift card and $25 credit to my store is Karina Gross!
The winner of the $15 iTunes gift card and $15 credit to my store is Melody Kegerris!
The winner of the $10 iTunes gift card and $10 credit to my store is Audrey Gale!

I've emailed all the winners. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Check out my other playlists here:

• Kindergarten playlist
• 1st grade playlist
• 2nd grade playlist
• 3rd grade playlist
• 4th grade playlist

What is on your fifth grade playlist? Feel free to comment below. Happy listening, and happy teaching!

What's on my playlist for Fourth Grade?

What's on my playlist for Fourth Grade?

This week, I'm blogging about my playlists for each grade level, in my music room. For more information about how and why I'm using playlists, check out this post. Today, let's talk about fourth grade!

Here are three recordings from my fourth grade playlist:

#1: Wade in de Water by Dominique Fauchard

I found the book "Unspoken" a few years ago, and fell in love with it. It is a wordless picture book about the Underground Railroad; you can view it on Amazon here:

After lots of digging, I finally found this recording that works perfectly with the book. I play the music, and usually turn the page after 16 beats (in a couple cases, I turn the page after 8 beats), then, the music ends right when the book ends. It's a great pairing with the story, and is a great way to get students thinking critically about the Underground Railroad.

#2: The Peddler by Louis Danto

I found this folk dance on YouTube and loved it!

The track above is a version of the song, which can be used to teach and perform the dance. I'll be using it with a program for "Caps for Sale" with my fourth graders.

#3: Bach's Musette

My fourth graders will be practicing tika-ti at the beginning of the year, and this piece is a great listening lesson for that! Students will read this rhythm for the A section:

For a more detailed slideshow with more ideas for practicing rhythm and form, check out this set, which includes a slideshow for the piece:

Here are the previous grade level posts:

• Kindergarten playlist
• 1st grade playlist
• 2nd grade playlist
• 3rd grade playlist

Stay tuned for my last post tomorrow, about fifth grade, and if you haven't entered the giveaway for an iTunes gift card and credit to my store, check it out here...today's the last day to enter! Also check out my Instastories this week for snippets of each song!

What is on your fourth grade playlist? Feel free to comment below. Happy listening, and happy teaching!

What's on my playlist for Third Grade?

What's on my playlist for Third Grade?

This week, I'm blogging about my playlists for each grade level, in my music room. For more information about how and why I'm using playlists, check out this post. Today, let's talk about third grade!

Here are three recordings from my third grade playlist:

#1: Sasha!

This is one of my absolute favorite folk dances! It is a really fun mixer that students LOVE. It looks like it's not available as a single track on iTunes, but can be purchased with this resource, which is a really wonderful book of folk dances.

#2: Wau Rauh by Sekaha Angklung Murni

from the album "Bali: Balinese Music of Lombok"

This summer, I read "World Music Pedagogy, Volume 2," by Amy Beegle and my friend Christopher Roberts. It is a really wonderful read for any elementary music educator. A lesson for this track, "Wau Rauh," was laid out in the book, and I'd like to try this with my third graders, to raise awareness of another culture, to have students think critically about instrumentation and melody, and to practice re.

#3: Kodály's "Musical Viennese Clock"

This is one of my favorites by Kodály! I use this in third grade after students learn 4-beat meter, or 4/4, so they can practice the conducting pattern. I've also used it in younger grades, to have students make up a story around a particular theme and then act it out.

If you haven't yet, check out these playlist posts from earlier this week:

• Kindergarten playlist
• 1st grade playlist
• 2nd grade playlist

Stay tuned for fourth grade tomorrow, and if you haven't entered the giveaway for an iTunes gift card and credit to my store, check it out here! Also check out my Instastories this week for snippets of each song!

Also, if you haven't checked out the TpT sale yet, today's the last day...you can get 20% off of everything in my store, and 5% more off with the code "BTSFRESH." Click below to shop!

What is on your third grade playlist? Feel free to comment below. Happy listening, and happy teaching!

What's on my playlist for Second Grade?

What's on my playlist for Second Grade?

This week, I'm blogging about my playlists for each grade level, in my music room. For more information about how and why I'm using playlists, check out this post. Today, let's talk about second grade!

Here are three recordings from my second grade playlist:

#1: Chimes of Dunkirk

This is one of my favorite folk dances for lower elementary, from a great resource of the same name, by the New England Dancing Masters. I've used it to practice quarter rest (since the students have to clap three times, then rest, then stomp three times, then rest), and it's also a great way to introduce the longways set!

#2: What a Wonderful World

By Louis Armstrong

I absolutely love these picture books, both for the song "What a Wonderful World."

    

By using either of these books, you can introduce students both to Louis Armstrong and to the beautiful song. I've also had discussions with students, about what they think makes a wonderful world.

#3: Rondo Alla Turka by Mozart

I love this piece by Mozart! It is great for practicing/ teaching rondo form, AND for practicing tika-tika, or sixteenth notes. I've had students read the rhythm for the A section while patting it on their laps, then for B they do another motion to the beat, then they tap the rhythm again for A, then do something different for C, etc. The rhythm is as follows (keep in mind, the first tika-tika is a pick-up):

For a more detailed lesson plan which includes several mini-lessons, check out this set:

Stay tuned for third grade tomorrow, and if you haven't entered the giveaway for an iTunes gift card and credit to my store, check it out here! Also check out my Instastories this week for snippets of each song, and read my first grade post here.

What is on your second grade playlist? Feel free to comment below. Happy listening, and happy teaching!

What's on my playlist for First Grade?

What's on my playlist for First Grade?

This week, I'm blogging about my playlists for each grade level, in my music room. For more information about how and why I'm using playlists, check out this post. Today, let's talk about first grade!

Here are three recordings from my first grade playlist:

#1: Potpourri by Eric Chapelle 

(from Music for Creative Dance, Volume 1)

I absolutely love this recording and use it a LOT in my room, not just with first grade! It's like freeze dance, but with several different types of music. Students find a self space, then move like they think each section of the music sounds, then they freeze! Then, they move again! You can also combine the activity with these free statue cards by Artie Almeida, with students freezing like each statue when the music stops.

#2: Highway No. 1 by the Shenanigans 

(from the album "Dance like a Kangaroo")

This is one of my all-time favorite dances for lower elementary! Students simply follow the directions within the song (like "jump jump clap clap clap" or "hop hop hop and stop") as they pretend to drive on Highway No. 1, which is a highway in Australia. The kids love the dance, and so do I!

#3: Sunshine on my Shoulders by John Denver

Several years ago, Christopher and Jeanette Canyon visited my school during an author visit, and I became acquainted with many of their books. This book is one of my favorites:

You can simply turn the pages as you listen to the recording. After we listen, we discuss what the book/song is about, and what makes us happy. I've even had students create lyrics based on the melody (i.e. "Ice cream in the morning makes me happy...") It's a great listening experience and a wonderful way to talk about emotions!

Stay tuned for second grade tomorrow, and if you haven't entered the giveaway for an iTunes gift card and credit to my store, make sure to do that! Also check out my Instastories this week for snippets of each song!

What is on your first grade playlist? Feel free to comment below. Happy listening, and happy teaching!

What's on my playlist for Kindergarten?

What's on my playlist for Kindergarten?

Recently, on Instagram, I posted a story about the playlists I was creating for each grade level. I had lots of people interested in what I had on each playlist, so this week, I'll be blogging every day with three recordings I have on each grade level playlist! Today, I'll start with Kindergarten.

So what do I mean about a playlist? For years, I have used an iPod to play music during my music lessons. Inevitably, though, there was a song here or there that I forgot to put on my iPod, or that I couldn't put on my iPod (since it's eight years old), so I had to use my school computer to find it...or then I realized that I didn't have it there either, so I'd run and get my personal laptop and plug it into my speakers. To make sure I waste no class time, I decided to create playlists in iTunes and make sure all the music I needed for each grade level was on that playlist. Then, when I get to that part of the lesson, I simply queue up iTunes and double click on the recording!

Here are my three for Kindergarten:

#1: "Hair up" by Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, and Ron Funches 

(from the "Trolls" soundtrack)

I just found this recording yesterday while listening to music in the pool with my youngest daughter...and it is SO FUN. It quotes "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg, but is a contemporary pop song. It has kid friendly lyrics, and a very consistent, strong, steady beat. I have an activity for keeping the beat that I call "Follow me," in which I keep the beat in groups of 8 and students follow me. So I'll keep the beat on my lap for 8 beats, then my head for 8 beats, then jump for 8 beats, etc. Once students are comfortable with this, I let student volunteers lead the beat motions. It's always a hit with Kindergartners. For years, I've used the "Keeping the Beat" CD by John Feierabend for this activity (which is a great purchase!); I'm excited to add this fun recording to the playlist for this activity!

#2: "Western East" by Eric Chapelle (from "Music for Creative Dance," Volume 1)

I love Eric Chapelle's recordings, and will be writing about them again this week! This particular recording is wonderful for practicing fast/slow. The recording goes back and forth between slow and fast. I learned an activity with this from a former colleague: during the recording, I have students move like they are in jello for the slow section, and like the room is full of chocolate and they have to eat it as fast as they can for the fast section. It is lots of fun, and a great way to practice fast/slow!

#3: "I Feel Crazy So I Jump in my Soup" by Laurie Berkner

Both my daughters have loved Laurie Berkner growing up...and I do too! This recording is also great for movement. I have students first listen to part of it and identify the movement words they hear (i.e. jump, gallop, swim). Then, I have them find self spaces, listen to the music, and do what the music tells them to do!

As part of this blog series, I'm running a giveaway all this week! The grand prize is a $25 iTunes gift card and $25 credit to my store. Second place is $15 for each, and third place is $10 for each. I'll announce the winners this Saturday, when I blog about my fifth grade playlist! Here's the giveaway, with directions on how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What are your favorite recordings for Kindergarten? Feel free to comment below. Click here to read more ideas and strategies for your Kindergarten music lessons. Make sure to tune in the rest of the week for more playlist ideas for other grade levels! You can also check out my IG stories every day for snippets of each recording...just click my profile pic if you see a hot pink circle around it!

Happy listening, and happy teaching!

10 Great Examples of Music Classroom Decor

10 Great Examples of Music Classroom Decor

Thinking about how you'd like to decorate your music room this upcoming school year? In this post, I'm showcasing 10 great examples of music classroom decor, to inspire you with your classroom! Here goes!

I love Tracy King's letters...and the decorations on the piano! Click here to read more about Tracy's farmhouse-themed classroom.

Amy Abbott at Music a la Abbott was so creative with this bulletin board! I love how the genie is rising out of the bulletin board, and how she uses an oddly-shaped space to create a board!

This next picture is from my classroom...I love storing my hand drums like this! 3M hooks are the best!

Jena Hudson at Sew Much Music wrote about her classroom decor in this blog post...LOVE the use of records with the silhouette.

Aimee from O For tuna Orff had a similar look in her classroom, with silhouettes. I also love how she stores her Boomwhackers!

Lindsay from Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Classroom wrote about her watercolor themed classroom in this post. I love how she incorporated paint chips into the bulletin board!

David Row at Make Moments Matter wrote in this blog post about his guitar wall...what an efficient and fun way to store them!

Angie from I Heart Teaching Music has a composer corner...such a fun idea! I also love the way she displays the movement cards by Cori Bloom.

Music with Mrs. Dennis has music notes hanging from her ceiling...so cute!

Elizabeth from Organized Chaos wrote about using a jewelry organizer for triangle storage in this post...how fun is this? It looks like a sailboat to me! And so much easier to find the beaters!

I hope this inspires you as you think about designing your classroom! Happy planning and designing!

Ideas for Musical Programs

Ideas for Musical Programs

Are you thinking ahead to next year, and wanting to plan your musical programs? In today's post, I'm compiling blog posts--some written by me, and some by others--that detail programs based off of children's literature and themes, so that you can adapt and use if you'd like!

Wangari's Trees of Peace: In this blog post, I detail using this book for a fifth grade program. Wonderful if you're looking to integrate multicultural music with your upper elementary students!

On the Day You Were Born: In this blog post, I write about using this beautiful book as a basis for a fifth grade program.

The Gratitude Tree: In this blog post, I discuss using this fun book--written by my friend Stacey at Expressive Monkey--as the foundation for a third grade program.

You Belong Here: In this blog post, I compile ideas for a third grade program for the heartwarming book, "You belong here."

Olivia's Birds: I loved this fourth grade program, and it was a great way to raise money for a worthy cause!

The Glow Show: My friend Amy Abbott at Music a la Abbott compiled lots of fun ideas for her program, which she entitled, "The Glow Show," using both folk and pop music.

The Day the Crayons Quit: In this blog post, Emily from Emily's Kodaly Music writes about how she created a 2nd grade program based off of the book, "The Day the Crayons Quit." Lots of fun ideas and songs!

Happy planning, and happy summer!

Ukulele Centers in the Music Room

Ukulele Centers in the Music Room

I've been super excited to dive into ukulele this year, as I wrote about in this post. In today's post, I'm writing about something new I've tried recently: centers for ukulele!

If you're wondering about centers in general, and how they should be set up, check out this post, as well as this helpful post by David Row at Make Moments Matter.

I typically set up four centers in my room, around the perimeter, and we rotate every five or so minutes, so that students can go to all of the centers. I like to have my centers all be focused on one concept, or one instrument, so all four of these centers were focused on ukulele!

In the centers I had students do the following:

Center #1: Students practiced several strumming patterns with a PowerPoint from my ukulele lessons set, with the C major chord. They advanced the slides themselves whenever they were ready to move on. Here is a picture of the PowerPoint:

And here is the ukulele lessons set:

Center #2: Students used these cards by David Row from Make Moments Matter, which you can view by clicking on the picture.

The cards were a great way to introduce students to some chords that we didn't have time to learn yet! Students choose a challenge card, then use the other cards to complete the challenge. You could also simply tell students to teach themselves a different chord by using the smaller cards with diagrams.

Center #3: Students finished these worksheets from my No Prep Ukulele worksheets (click the picture to see the worksheets in my store.)

On one side of the worksheet, they colored in all of the C major chords, and on the other side, they wrote silly sentences to match the names of the strings (the one they've learned from me is Aardvarks Eat Cool Grass, for AECG.)

Center #4: Students scanned a QR code on an iPad to be taken to this YouTube video by Bernadette Teaches Music. It's a really effective way to get them comfortable with the C major chord!

After they got done with the video, they could scan another code to be taken to the A minor chord playalong:

Check out Bernadette's YouTube channel; she has a TON of ukulele tutorial videos!

Here are the QR codes; feel free to take a screenshot and use them with your students!

C major:

A minor:

I actually had students watch these videos on something we have in our district called TangyTube, which takes out commercials. If you don't have something like that in your district, I suggest making Chrome the default browser on your devices and using this extension, so students don't have to watch any commercials.

Every 5 or so minutes, I played the wind chimes, and students rotated to the next center. I was able to float and help people one on one as needed! Because the sound of the ukulele is pretty pleasant, and because one of the centers didn't involve playing, it wasn't super noisy in my room. It was also awesome to see kids teaching themselves, teaching each other, and working at a pace comfortable to them.

Have you ever tried ukulele centers? Feel free to comment below, and happy teaching!