Oodles of Music

All Around the Buttercup With Easy Orff Arrangement

Are you ready to add barred instruments to classic songs and games? This All Around the Buttercup resource includes an easy Orff arrangement that is taught with body percussion, speech, and great visuals. It includes the classic game and a new one or two with some fun twists. Buttercup is a wonderful song to teach quarter notes and rests and eighth note pairs, as well as so, mi, re, do patterns.

Listen to it here

There’s something for kids grades K-3. K and 1st can play a bordun and 2nd and 3rd can add on the melody and a super FUN ostinato.

All ages can play the classic game as well as some NEW versions to kick it up a notch!

With a so-mi-re-do, many teachers use this song to present “re” to their students.

It’s a beautiful example to our youngest students to hear one sound, two sounds, or NO sounds on a beat!

This low prep resource hands you a couple or MANY lessons, READY to teach!

Listen to it here

PS: I added a 2nd and 3rd verse in case you want to lengthen it for a performance!

The Best AI Tools For Music Teachers

Discover the time-saving benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) for music educators. As AI revolutionizes education and the world, it offers a powerful ally to music teachers by streamlining administrative tasks, creating and personalizing instruction, and providing time-consuming research, which then frees up valuable time. Explore how AI empowers music educators to focus on what truly matters – nurturing musical talents and fostering creativity.

Let’s look into the time-saving and (hopefully) stress-reducing efficiency unlocked by AI and the many sites that will be available to us over the next few years.

Discover the time-saving benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) for music educators related to concert programming, unit planning, differentiation, curriculum, scaffolding, and classroom management.

Reminder: It’s ONLY a tool. Teachers should vet the information very carefully.

Generating Multiple Choice Assessments

For guided reading or general information activities and assessments, use a multiple-choice format.

These can be used:

in hard-copy print
with devices using Google Forms, Kahoot!, Quizizz, Gimkit, canvas, Blooket, moodle, and more!

Printed Copies

Write this prompt. “Use the following article about Mozart to generate 10 multiple-choice questions. Give two printable copies, one with the correct answers annotated by placing a check mark (√) at the beginning of each correct response and one without. Add a list of the 10 correct responses for easy grading.” (add Mozart biography here)

This will work well in ChatGPT.

Growing List of AI Sites

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Bounce High Bounce Low With NEW Rhyme And Orff Arrangement

Find engaging ways for your students to play BARRED INSTRUMENTS with a NEW easy-to-teach rhyme melody and Orff arrangement, that goes with the CLASSIC song Bounce High Bounce Low.

This song is perfect for you to prepare, present, or practice “la” with its so, la, so, mi pattern as well as for you to teach quarter and paired eighth notes.

Bounce High Bounce Low song with Orff arrangement and new rhyme melody.

The new rhyme extends the learning into a beautiful ternary ABA form and is part of this practically no-prep, multi-lesson resource.

Listen on TPT

The resource includes:

A presentation in both PPT and Google Slides versions
A VIDEO of the song arrangement in both presentation formats
A PDF copy of the sheet music

Not enough barred instruments? On the bordun, use Boomwhackers or ukuleles. On the melody, use melody bells or Boomwhackers.

❤️❤️❤️ The ukulele part can be played using a C6 chord-ALL OPEN STRINGS! Check it out!

PS. There’s a wonderful call & response creative activity that incorporates rhyming, geography, and music terms! WHAT? Yep, SO fun!

Join the hundreds of other teachers who get timely tips delivered to their inbox EVERY Monday! The Oodles of Music Newsletter!

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Easy To Use Evaluation Table For Music Teachers

Documenting our effective teaching practices for our evaluations can be daunting. Showing proof with artifacts and documentation gets confusing. This table lets you look up WHAT you’ve taught and then spells out some of the criteria that it checks off.

Determining our professionalism, community involvement, and lesson planning is more straightforward. The below Google Sheet begins to get you thinking about the instruction portion of the evaluation process.

An easy-to-use table that helps teachers determine artifacts and documentation for their evaluations.

Scroll right and left to show headings: Dances, Body Percussion, Creative Movement, Song Repertoire, Unpitched Percussion, and Ukulele.

Copy and paste or copy and edit the ideas in the table for the artifact or self-evaluation part of your documentation.

Thinking about common classroom activities and criteria they exemplify is easier than taking each criteria and finding a classroom activity that fits it.

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You might also like these other teacher-related resources.

Easy Outdoor Music And Movement Activities For Kids

Looking for simple and fun ways for your music classes to be active and engaged outdoors? Check out these easy outdoor music and movement activities for kids! Why outdoors? To enjoy the weather, quiet time during testing, or just a change of scenery for a brain break.

Earth, Wind, and FIRE

Take any upbeat song such as Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Let’s Groove Tonight” and create easy movement.

Intro (stand and bounce to the beat)
Verse (lots of words so keep it simple-WALK to the beat)
Chorus (easier lyrics so stop and do simple choreography)
- arms up, arms out, arms down, arms out (repeat)
Bridge (freestyle)

Walking and freestyle are a snap! Just something simple for the chorus and BAM, you’ve got it.

How to Implement Successful Music Centers

Whether you call them music centers, workstations, stations, or group activities, kids just call them FUN! Learning stations give kids a variety of activities to explore a single objective or many musical objectives. Here are my best tips on implementing music centers.

Why Centers?

Centers were always a HUGE hit with my students! I think there are a couple of reasons.

They loved the variety of the day but also the variety in the music curriculum. It was a SPECIAL day! I usually set them up about 4 times a year, once every 9 weeks.

Centers offer kids a chance to explore lots of musical objectives and is a valuable and engaging learning tool.

How to Use Movement in Elementary Music to Empower Kids

Movement in music can be more than a stress reliever, a brain break, a way to experience another culture, or other very worthy objectives. It can also be a way to empower ALL kids through positive interaction with the teacher.

I was scrolling social media and saw this quote.

“Go and love someone exactly as they are. And then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered.”
Wes Angelozzi

It reminded me of a technique I learned as a teacher that provided deep and meaningful connections to my students.

Let them know what you notice!

I wanted kinders and first graders to move (step, skip, float) to changing music examples.

DURING or AFTER their movement I would say,

Vivaldi’s Spring With Orff Arrangement, Movement, And More

Are you looking for the classics taught with ACTIVE music-making?

This resource with lots of movement teaches students to play and sing (new Spring lyrics) the main theme to Vivaldi’s Spring Concerto with Orff barred instrument ostinati, AND a recreation of the thunderstorm using instruments.

Hear It!

What I love about this resource!

PLAYING this famous theme, not just LISTENING to it
The “B section” thunderstorm is SO fun
Learning with speech and movement
Differentiated with the use of colors, images, and stepwise learning
An ARTS Integration activity-draw a picture!
Teacher helpers with
- higher-order questions
  - “I Can” statements
    - a pre-filled checklist that can go into your evaluation folder

Rattlin’ Bog Song And Orff Arrangement For St. Patrick’s Day

You can now sing, do the motions, and PLAY this Irish favorite, The Rattlin’ Bog, with a lively Orff barred instrument arrangement (and optional ukulele part) for St. Patrick’s Day, all during March, or whenever you want that cumulative song, breathless laughter FUN!

Find It on TPT

Easy Costume and Basic Attire Ideas for Elementary Concerts

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.

Check out Stage Decorations and
Concert Ready tips and ideas!