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!