King Elem, Silent Night, LIGHTS ON!

Then, just as quickly as the lights had gone off, they magically came ON AGAIN!

King Elem.

"Silent Night"

Patty, Lynnae, a Piano, and

Super Students Who Sang Their Hearts Out!

King Elem, Ding Dong Merrily (in the dark)

No Lights

No Electricity

No Soundtrack

No Problem!

Nicely Done!

King Elem, Sing Noel (in the dark)

King Elem.

"Sing Noel"

(in the dark)

BEAUTIFUL

King Elem, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, in the dark!

Some of the Best Programs are Performed IN THE DARK and with NO ELECTRICITY!

Way to pull it off, King Elementary and wonderful music teachers, Patty Johnson and Lynnae Bouwhuis!

Silent Night (sign language)

Farmington Elem. Students Sign to, "Silent Night"

Hippopotamus for Christmas?!

These Farmington Elem. kids want a hippopotamus for Christmas?!

Farmington Elem. and the Reindeer Pokey!

Ann Bradley and Jessica Moon's students at Farmington Elem. dazzle us with, "The Reindeer Pokey!"

Farmington Elem, Deck the Halls-Boomwhacker Style

Kaysville Elem. Kids and Penny Mead, Feeling the Music!

Kaysville Elem, Penny Mead, Students Rockin! (second part)

Kaysville Elem, Rockin Around the Christmas Tree!

Mountain View, I'm Gettin Nuttin for Christmas!

Mountain View, Santa Too Fat

Mountain View, Marshmallow World

Mountain View Christmas Program!

Mountain View Elem, Rhythm Reading!

Students in Liz's class reviewed rhythms, played a game of find the rhythms in the room, then read the rhythms using holiday words/syllables on the board.

Reading Elem! Winter Fantasy!

Reading Elem!  Jingle Bells!  

Holbrook Veteran's Day Program

All of us music coaches had the privilege of attending different Veteran's Day programs today, and I hear they were all fabulous! I felt so lucky to attend the Veteran's Day Performance at Holbrook. It was absolutely perfect.

This table set the tone from the moment you entered the school.

To begin the program, all of the Veterans in the audience were invited to the front. 

 These Veterans were family invited by students. They all had the opportunity to introduce themselves and briefly explain their service. This was a perfect way to set the tone for the assembly. It created a connection between the students and the purpose of Veteran's day.

The students sung You're a Grand Old Flag. Every single student had a flag to wave. The movements were coordinated with the song, and it was an impressive effect that was a grand start to a perfect program.

Armed Forces Medley

Every song had movement and a tactile prop that the students used.

The students made some of these props...check it out.
(I'll edit the post later and add a couple more clips that I should be receiving soon.)

I only got a short clip of this awesome plate routine...I wish I had gotten more of it. 

On this song, the upper grade students played a harmony part while the rest of the school sang. It was a quality performance. The notes were correct and sounded in balance with the rest of the music, the students knew the words to the songs and sung them beautifully and clearly. The slideshow in the background was a perfect touch.

 The veterans exited the auditorium between this tunnel, shaking hands and receiving honor for their service to our country, while the students sung the Armed Forces Medley.

What an honor it was to be able to attend this fabulous, patriotic assembly. 

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin

I learn so much from visiting each of your classrooms! Last week, Jessica Moon taught this great pumpkin rhyme to her students. I loved watching them wait, or guess, in anticipation for the rhyming word at the end of each phrase.

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin bread

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin head

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin pie

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin eye

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin cake

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin shake

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin stew

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin boo!

I love pumpkin ideas that can be used for Thanksgiving in addition to Halloween. Other than the "boo" at the end, this doesn't ring Halloween to strongly. It could be easily be changed to "you," or some other rhyming word at the end if you wanted to teach it in November. 

Thanks for sharing, Jessica!

Drumming Fun

I dropped by Boulton Elementary recently, and I wanted to be a student in Jeanette's class! My wish was granted without me even asking, and Jeanette welcomed my in with my own chair and bucket drum set-up.

The students learned a Rondo using a Halloween poem. Jeanette first taught them a rhythm that would be their A section. This was their first time drumming with drumsticks! They are doing so great!

After the students learned the A section, they learned the rhythms for each of the lines of the poem.

In the end, they put it all together to make a Rondo. Fabulous!

Jeanette did some fabulous things that helped her students to be successful:

• She gave clear directions and modeled how to hold the drumsticks before putting them in the children's hands. She used fun, easy to understand analogies, like hold your hands like a turtle shell, and make sure there is a tail coming out from behind the drumstick.
• She had a stop signal. She practiced the stop signal with the students, so they would be ready to stop as soon as they hear it. ("Ready and a stop.")
• The setup was great. The students had enough room to play their instruments. They could all clearly see Jeanette, and she could clearly see them. They could all see the music notation. They were given enough time to practice so they could be successful, but not so much time that they would get bored.

Song Mapping with Dallas Johnson

Dallas Johnson is the new music teacher at Bluff Ridge Elementary.  Dallas started teaching late in the year last school year and decided to stick around for 2016-2017, and we are so glad she did!  Just a little about Dallas, she is working and going to school full time trying to finish her degree.  She is working on a composite degree in History, Spanish and Music.  Talk about a go getter!  In the short time that I've known Dallas, the one thing I can say for sure is that she is not afraid to try new things!





A week or so ago I was able to spend some time in her classroom.  Dallas was playing some fun games she had learned at the opening training with Susan Kenney and the kids were just eating it up!  This day was the first time she had tried song mapping with the kids.  Here is a little bit of Dallas's process.  I loved watching the kids map out the song and self-correct like Susan talked about.  I also loved how engaged they were in the process.  What I appreciate about this process is how easy it is as a teacher to readily assess all your students at once AND, can you imagine the effect song mapping has on a student's reading, recall and ability to summarize what they have read?  So Cool!

I was really impressed with all the different types of maps the children came up with.  Below is a collection of song maps the students made with Clickity, Clickity Clack and Sally Go Round the Sun.  Watch for the kids who really get the phrasing!

I am so appreciative of Susan and the time she has spent with us here in Davis District.  I know that her influence has reached many, many classrooms.  I hope that as you see a brand new music specialist try new things you will also be empowered to try this is with your classes!  



Field Trip to the State Capitol

On Monday October 3rd, I got to take a field trip to the Utah State Capitol.  Did you know the State Capitol is having its Centennial Celebration this year.  More specifically this month and even more specifically this week!  So cool!  Lucky me I got to spend time in this beautiful building listening to students from all over Utah perform. 

All around the Capital Rotunda there are these beautiful statues that signify what standards are important to the state of Utah.  At the bottom of this statue it says "Arts and Education".  I appreciated this today as the Centennial Celebration was filled with Choirs, Orchestras and other ensembles.  Arts are an important aspect of a well-rounded education.  I am grateful to be a part of arts education in Utah and I am grateful for so many schools and teachers who support arts education.

Bright and early at 9am South Clearfield Elementary arrived ready to sing.  LeAnna Hamblin is the new Music and Art teacher at South Clearfield.  She has only been working with these kids since September (that's 1 month).  What I love most about what LeAnna has done, is that she has made herself part of the school community by collaborating with classroom teachers. She has also provided a safe and successful opportunity for the students of South Clearfield to be creative.  

 

Today, the 5th graders at South Clearfield came prepared to sing songs celebrating Utah.  They were the very first performers of the day.  The students at South Clearfield sang 3 songs.  Here is my favorite: 



A couple of hours later Kimberly Graff and the Lincoln Elementary Ukulele Choir performed on the steps of the Rotunda.  Last year Kimberly wrote a grant and received $500 from the Davis Education Foundation to purchase Ukulele's for her classroom.  Well, she didn't just buy the ukuleles, she taught students how to play them in her class and began a Ukulele ensemble.  What a cool thing!  I happened to be sitting next to a parent who has 2 students at Lincoln Elementary, one of which was playing in the Ukulele Ensemble.  This parent works at a charter school.  I asked her if she had thought about taking her kids to the school where she works.  She said she had thought about it but decided not to because of all the wonderful programs Lincoln Elementary has going, including the Ukulele choir.  What a great compliment to Kimberly Graff for the work she does to reach students and support them in their learning. 



Lincoln Elementary also performed 3 songs.  I loved this little medley they prepared.   




Overall, today was such a fun day!  I loved being at the State Capitol and hearing so many children share their love of music and art with the visitors, parents and tourists from around the world. 

Halloween memories

We got so many great ideas from Susan for Halloween! When she taught the Skin and Bones song, it brought back so many fun memories of teaching that song. Below are a few videos from when I taught There Was an old Woman All Skin and Bones.

This one is first grade.

This one we added instruments. (3rd grade)

This one I just love how the little girl walking around is feeling the music.

I can't remember exactly what my purpose was for the child walking around. My best guess is that he/she was the old woman. If I taught it again, I'd ask the "old woman" to act out the verses rather than just walk around. 

This would be fun to try in upper grades and have the student accompany the song using barred instruments...

Here's a link to some Halloween ideas shared on the blog last year:

2015 Halloween Blog Ideas

2015 Skin and Bones at Endeavour

October Training with Susan Kenney

What a fabulous training we had last night. We are so grateful that Susan Kenney was willing to come share her knowledge and expertise to inspire and empower us. This post will have some ideas from the training, but we gleaned so much more there than can ever be shared in a blog post. :)


Some of my favorite take-aways:

• Expect Precision - "if we get sloppy, they start to behave sloppy." Students brains will thrive with the approachable challenge of precision, and it will help immensely with management.
• Reason for repetition - every time you repeat something, give the children a reason, a challenge, or meaning. 
• A Kenney Rule: Don't sing a round with a song the same day you just taught that song.

We reviewed songs from the last training at marathon speed. We talked about adaptations to Rig a Jig, and here are the ways Susan discussed to play Rig a Jig:

1. Teacher takes a turn by approaching each student. Students stay seated.
2. Teacher takes a turn with a students. The teacher then takes the student's seat, and the student takes a turn with another student.
3. Snowball - teacher starts, each time she takes a turn with a student, that student joins in. The next round the teacher and the student each find a new partner, and numbers double. Follow the pattern and eventually all of the students will be up and moving.

Mystery Song Game
Susan played the mystery song game with us, and we had to guess a song by the rhythm. She gave us some ideas of giving the students clues..such as clapping the rhythm but singing just one word, slowly adding words or pitches until the students can guess the song.


Video clips:

Old Grumbler

Susan asked about how to choose students for this game. I love that she emphasized there is no right answer. Do what works best in your classroom. Here is a way that I love to choose students for this type of song: Using a drum, ask students to make their best tree shape. Praise differences...look at that tall tree, this tree with jagged branches, this tree on a low level, etc.  Do this several times, and then choose your three trees based on which students you think will lend the best success. Repeat this process for an old lady, Old Grumbler, and the wind. Teach the lesson this way, and you have dance, drama, and music all in one. :) (here's a link to some great descriptive words for dance: click here

Ghost of Tom

Breathing to change cells

Old Abram Brown (in a round)

Song Dotting to Beethoven Symphony no.7

This song is just so powerful. Here's a link to a youtube performance of it. Movement 2 starts at 14:50.

Poetry and rhythm

Several times throughout the course of the school year, Gayle has invited me to come see something exciting she is doing with her students. I love these opportunities. Gayle is a wealth of ideas, she loves her students and teaching them, and they love coming to music.

At Easter time, Gayle did this lesson that gave the students experience with notation and playing drums in layers. As you read on, notice how much is being taught from the DESK standards in this one lesson. (Sometimes when we teach a concept, we're specifically labeling that concept. Other times, we're simply giving students experience with that concept, so that later they'll be able to label it. Experience preceeds understanding.)

In small groups, the students were instructed to solve the following: place the word strips in order to create a poem. There are 4 lines, the first word is "Easter," and the lines marked with an "X" rhyme. 

Once the words were in place, the students figured out how the notation fit with the words. The students were all actively involved and engaged in the problem solving process.

For the last part of the class period, the students played phrases from the poem, layered together, on hand drums. This could be adapted a lot of ways to your students ability levels (unison, round, adding in different instruments, etc.). The students had a blast playing the rhythms on the drums. Gayle rotated them so they got to try different rhythms with different size drums (different timbres), and the students worked really hard to play together and start and stop appropriately. 

Foxboro Choir at Community Literacy and Equity Night

Last night I got the opportunity to attend the District Community Equity and Literacy Night. It was a fun filled event at Northridge High, with food trucks, face painting, book signing, and all sorts of booths. Part of the night included a program, and Foxboro Choir closed the program impressively.

Way to go, Foxboro students and Akeila Romney!

I have to add, their first choir practice this school year was on the 15th of September, which is when they started learning these songs. This is an after school program. The tone and sound these students produces was simply beautiful, and I hope the iphone video captured it and did it justice. To sing unison, unaccompanied with that sound, tone, blend is phenomenal. Adding parts and movement to that unaccompanied, beautiful sound in the second song was icing on the cake. 

New Teacher Training Today

Muir School Programs

Wendy had 2 different grade level programs in one week, and they were both fabulous. She really goes all out, down to the decor as you arrive. 

4th Grade Utah Program

The program featured different classes on different songs.

The classes sat together on the risers, and when a specific class was featured they transitioned back onto the stage. It flowed really nicely. I've seen several of you do this at your school programs.

Indian Song

Cotton Eye Joe with parents
After the program, the parents learned Cotton Eye Joe with their students. It's a tradition there that can't be forgotten.

Veterans Program

The Veteran's program featured slides accompanying much of the music. The Veterans displayed behind the students are all related to the students.

Great job, Wendy!

Homemade Ribbon Sticks

I recently visited West Point Elementary and saw Melody Brogdon working her magic with the kindergartners.  I love when I hear about teachers using things they learned in trainings and today was no exception.


At the Kindergarten training in March, Mizan gave out a CD full of great music (or MUZIK as Mizan would say) to all the teachers.  It was a fun compilation of songs from the USOE, Making Music and fun things she had found.  One of those pieces is called Moving to Music. This was a great piece of music that told the kids how to move their bodies to the music. 


Melody's Kindergartners loved exploring movement.  Melody was very clear about her expectations and reminded them frequently to use their own space.  When she saw something or someone not following the expectations she would stop the music and ask the class to tell her why she had to stop the music.  Soon enough she started again and the fun continued.


Melody went to the dollar store and bought some plastic table cloths, cut them up in strips and taped them to some dowels to make her own ribbon wands.  Once the kids had explored the movement with their bodies they got to explore movement with their ribbons.  I couldn't believe the change in their energy when they were given such a simple prop.  Suddenly they became less self-conscious about their movements and what they created was magic!  The best part was seeing the expressions of concentrations on their face as they created movement to match the music.  Here are some fun photos of the kindergartners at West Point.

 

I certainly am not a very good photographer (I need to take a class or something), but I think I captured some good moments in the class with Melody.  The ribbons were so much fun!  And guess what?  Those scarves you got at training can be used in the same way!  I hope you have fun with this too!

World Cafe Conversation

What a successful year we have had together!  Every single one of the trainings this year has been exciting, full of information, and useable!  I'd like to share a few stats with you regarding trainings this year. 

• During the 2014-2015 school year the average number of teachers in attendance at the monthly district trainings was 17.  That's barely a third of the music specialists employed by the school district. 
• In 2015-2016 the average number of teachers in attendance at the monthly trainings increased to 28.  That's more that half of all the district music specialists. 
• When the 2015 school year began 40% of our music specialists were new.  Though we won't know how many new teachers we have until school starts in August,  right now it looks as if our teacher turnover rate has decreased to 23 percent. 
• What I assume that means, is that the trainings provided for you this year have been valuable and inspiring.  They have inspired you in your classroom and left you wanting more.  I also hope that these statistics mean you are feeling more confident in your teaching and enjoying your job more. 

I am looking forward to the new school year and all the fun it will bring.  As a classroom teacher you get new students every year.  Teachers work hard all year to build trust and relationships with those children and their parents and then start over again the next year.  But what I loved about being a music specialist was that I got to see the same kids and continue to strengthen my relationship with them, thereby reaching students through music in a deeper, more challenging way. 


May 12, 2016 was our final training for the year.  We had a great time discovering form and movement with Valerie and then got to have a round table (OK...rectangular) discussion and good things happening in our classrooms and challenges we still face. 

I love how you all answered these questions!  Every one has different strengths and weaknesses and we all interpret materials in different ways.  Some of us are visual learners, some tactile, some aural learners and some kinesthetic.  As I have worked with teachers in students this year I have forced myself to become more familiar with the resources provided each school by the district: USOE Songbook, Dance Activities, DMC and Making Music.  Pinterest, Teachers-pay-Teachers, You Tube and other sources like that have fantastic ideas!  Why reinvent the wheel when you can use a great idea provided you by someone else.  In my opinion, for music specialist who are not paid very much, teach all the kids in the school, and have very little prep-time the USOE Songbook is the most easily useable resource available to you.  It has great music in it, minus tracks are available on Utah.schools.gov website and each standard (Singing, Listening, Playing and Composing) are outlined with a simple lesson or game.  If you haven't fallen in love with this book yet, I challenge you to spend some time looking through it and becoming more familiar with it. 

Look at that!  Teachers expressing their confidence and sharing that with their peers.  When I was teaching recorder for the first time I would have loved to know who to go for help or when I pulled out that classroom set of Ukes ... I would have loved to know what chords to start with first.  It was all trial and error for me, but now I know that Gayle Bleak, Renee Tanner and Marci Low are amazing at Ukulele.  I know Janet Rawson, Jeanette Eggett and Kimberly Graff have amazing recorder programs.  I also know that if I wanted to teach a folk dance but couldn't interpret the actions from the description, I could call Laurie Allen.  It's important for us to know who to go to with questions.  Valerie and I are always happy to help with questions, but we aren't out there in the trenches with you.  I love the network of teachers we have created this year and hope that it continues to grow.

Can you see the starred items?  I didn't really notice them until I read over it a couple of times and then a light bulb went off in my head.  Most of you know that I have been working on some research and this research is centered around student behavioral engagement (classroom management) and teacher enjoyment (confidence in pedagogy).  In short, student behavioral engagement is improved when teachers implement routine, create a relationship of trust, and provide rigorous (challenging) and relevant (appropriate to age and what students are learning) lessons and activities.  .   

 In Ten Steps to Better Student Engagement, an article written by Tristan de Frondeville, Project Learning Consultant for PBL Associates, and published by Edutopia.org he talks about Cultivating your Engagement Meter.  De Frondeville says, “Be acutely aware of when your students are paying strong attention or are deeply engaged in their tasks.  Master teachers create an active-learning environment in which students are on task in their thinking and speaking or are collaboratively working close to 100 percent of the time.”   .”  He goes on to say, “Although it may take years to develop the repertoire of skills and lessons that enable you to permanently create this active-learning environment, you can begin by discerning which activities truly engage your students.”

Adjusting lessons according to skill and age comes with experience as well as trial and error.  Keeping the students engaged in your lesson also comes from study, experience and trial and error.  I think the most difficult thing about cultivating your engagement meter is knowing what positive student engagement looks like.  When I'm preparing to teach I ask questions like:

•   Is this relevant to the skills and concepts I want to teach and relevant to what they need to learn?
• Is this lesson challenging? 
• Why am I teaching this?  What do I want them to have learned at the end of the day?
• How can I make it more interesting and exciting for the students?

When I'm in the process of teaching my questions might look like:

• Are the students paying attention to me or their neighbors?
• Are the students more interested in what we are doing as a class or in goofing off?
• What can I do to get their attention?
• What can I do to keep their attention?

When I'm finished teaching I usually ask myself:

• Did all my students participate appropriately today?
• Did they understand the skill or concept I was teaching?
• Did they show me they understood or just say they did?
• What can I do next week to continue on from today's lesson?
• Was I confident in my teaching strategies?

These are all really basic questions we can ask ourselves to figure out if our lessons are positively engaging for the students. There are, of course, deeper questions we could ask but I would suggest that the more the students participate and behave appropriately, the more they are engage in your lessons. 

We all have different personalities and different ways to approach similar situations.  As I have visited classrooms this year I have loved seeing all the different approaches to behavior management.  Behavior seems to be one of them most difficult things to tackle in teaching, especially when you teach all elementary grade levels (K-6) and have to vary your approach according to developmentally appropriate learning abilities.  Here are my MUST HAVE'S....many are the same as you all have mentioned.

1. Post your class rules where the students can see them and refer to them often!  (Especially after winter break and as the school year comes to a close)
2. Encourage positive behavior with class rewards.  I love it when this class reward correlates with the school behavior plan and classroom teachers can support you with behavior management. 
3. Use 'watching turns' when students are having a hard time participating appropriately, but provide an opportunity for redemption.
4. Create a routine and STICK TO IT!  Children thrive on routine.  They also behave better when they know what your expectations are and what will happen if they don't behave appropriately.  Give yourself time to accomplish this.  It doesn't happen over night! 
5. Greet your students at the beginning of class and dismiss them at the end (I love a high five). 
6. Speak with the classroom teacher as much as possible regarding behavior.  You can do this by asking them to pick their students up at the end of class and just giving a brief report. 

One of the most commonly asked questions I got this year was, "Do I have to prepare a different lesson for each grade level?"  My answer is NO!  I say do what works best for you.  If you prefer to prepare a lesson for every grade level and that works for you then keep it up.  If it worries you, then prepare a lower grade and an upper grade lesson.  I had a recent conversation with a teacher about this who was feeling guilty about not preparing a different lesson for all the grades.  Her conclusion was that she could teach the same concepts and skills in each grade level, and probably even use the same music or activity to teach with, but might differentiate her instruction by using different words, asking different questions and allowing more age appropriate opportunities per grade.  There is no right or wrong answer to this question.  You do what works best for you.

This, again, is a skill that is learned through trial and error.  Introducing instruments into your lessons does create more noise and requires more strict management.  It also requires greater patience and understanding.  Not everyone in your class has to play an instrument all of the time.  Taking turns is OK and an essential social skill for students to learn.  Students model what they see the teacher do.  When you use an instrument, make sure you explain how you are doing it, how they should do it and then make sure you model it the way you should. 

I really enjoyed reading through these posters and reflecting on what amazing things have happened this year in your classrooms.  I have seen growth in personal and professional confidence, I have watched relationships be built between teacher and students and teachers and administrators.  I am always awestruck by the creativity displayed in your classrooms! Thanks for making this year so great!