From basic black to an 80s-themed concert, find the perfect costume and attire for your elementary performing group. The goal is to give guidelines that will allow every student the chance to find what they need for the performance.
Fairy tales are great tools for vocal, instrumental, and movement exploration for all students in the music classroom. From simple storytelling to a story with sound effects to a grand production, fairy tales are engaging and capture the imagination.
Start with the story, add body percussion, vocal sound effects, and then transfer to instruments. See the tables below as examples.
If you’re looking for a multi-lesson flexible unit that includes a fun round with an Orff arrangement, this is it!
This low-prep resource can be used for
Successful parachute songs, games, and activities teach musical and movement concepts, let students explore through creativity and improvisation, and provide a physical activity for fitness, a brain break, and a social-emotional learning (SEL) outlet.
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Breaking down a classroom activity by procedures will make your lesson more effective. When activities fail, many times it’s because a classroom routine or process is missing. I spent twice as much planning time on HOW to teach than WHAT to teach.
Are you ready for your kids to have an Orff experience and play instruments but don’t know how to begin? Learn techniques that give kids instant success playing barred instruments in your music classroom. Using clear terminology and introducing techniques as you play, students will be creating and improvising almost immediately.
The below video details techniques I found worked very well in my teaching. You may find tips that you can apply or modify for your students.
Below are the points I made in the video.
Getting Started
-I turn my instrument so that my low end and their low end are the same direction in the room.
-I use room references (window wall, door wall) instead of left and right.
-Echo speak in 4-beat phrases.
-Explore the low and high sides of the instrument.
-Use terms such as long/low/big and short/high/little
-Use the note name C and also introduce the octave C in the middle
-Use one hand or both hands randomly. Let students do what is natural for them.
-Begin to combine echo patterns that use both high/low/middle references.
Stepwise movement using letter names.
-Reminders not to PLAY on the letter names if they are located on the end of the bar.
-Give them PRACTICE TIME.
Review of Essential Agreement to PLAY BEAUTIFULLY.
Playing Technique
-Not a baseball wind-up but a good basketball dribble.
-A nice low bounce that lets the bar ring.
Fuzzy Wuzzy-one hand at a time, then try with two.
-Play in different directions.
-Play in pentatonic
-Improvise or take time for them to create a way to play.
-Easy to switch partners if you don’t have a 1-to-1 instrument situation
Arrangements
-Form: woods, metals, tutti or soprano, alto, tutti or solo, tutti, solo, tutti
Do a round-robin
-every student improvises, one after the other. T can play a broken bordun to accompany.
“We Shall Not Be Moved” transforms itself into a song to remember Black History, Civil Rights, freedom rights around the world, and the power of music with its simplistic style perfect for learning in the music classroom. Perfect for exploring in class or performances, and easily integrated into-
Table of Contents
You need to have several “tricks” to pull out of your back pocket when kids need to have a break, to expend some energy, to divert attention from something else going on in the room (a potential meltdown for ex.), to prepare them for a high-concentration activity, or when you the teacher need to have a mental break yourself.
And so, the Jumping Game was born!
I used anything with a good beat that I knew would engage the kids. If we were near a seasonal event, I’d play something related.
Here’s my Spotify list of some possibilities or use the player below!
Do you need a storage solution for your ukuleles? Maybe the ukes are new or you’ve had them a while and your current storage isn’t working. Here are lots of ideas for hanging, shelf, and rolling cart solutions, or repurposing storage in your classroom.
Some of these items are from Amazon and as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.
Jumbo
Command Hook
6-Pack
IKEA Tjabba Magazine File
Set of 2
About $0.99
Wall Mount Hanger 6 Pack, with Screws – Easy To Install – Fits All Size Guitars, Bass, Mandolin, Banjo, Ukulele
Set of 6
Heavy Duty Vinyl Coated Screw-In Tool Hanger 50 lbs from Home Depot. A little over $2 each.
I initially used this toy storage bin (to the right) to store my ukuleles. (to the left) I used the tubs, which are SO strong, for small percussion storage in a shelving unit. Loved that the bins were in different sizes.
Building Plans $10 for this rolling cart.
If you are looking for an accessible instrumental piece in 6/8 meter for barred instruments with an Orff arrangement, this is it! Taught step-by-step, this classic tongue twister rhyme is perfect for winter, spring, or really any time of the year there is weather 🤣.
An added plus is the language arts lesson on synonyms. Put that on your end-of-year evaluation!
For grades 3-6, this over 50-slide resource is in both PowerPoint and Google Slide versions.
Listen to the music on TPT!
