Yesterday I came across a news story that stopped me in my tracks. It involved my choral director from High School, Tim Haskett. He is retiring this spring and with the use of Flipgrid, help from 3 teaching assistants, and an accompanist, he created a virtual choir wit...
As the Tech Teacher Leader in my building, I have created and curated some tutorial videos to help us all navigate through the weeks ahead. These tutorials will help you customize your e-learning experience for your students.
It's very easy to get caught up in new tech tools and cutting edge technology. However, John Spencer, author of Vintage Innovation, reminds us that some skills and strategies are timeless and will aide us as learners and innovators in this ever-changing world. C...
For a long time, our focus was on engaging the learners and making sure students were “actively engaged” in music-making in the music classroom. But more recently, we have discovered that engagement is not enough. To make an impact and to optimize life-long learning, s...
Sometimes the school year winds down slowly. Often I have a chance to plan and get a head start on next year's musical or winter sings. But this year came to a crashing halt. It was a long, busy, hard year. I haven't had a year like this in a long time....
As the music teacher, it is my job to direct a fifth grade spring musical. I choose the musical and create the cast list but over the years I have learned how to involve my students more and more in the creative process. I truly believe that students should share some...
Last year, my kindergarten students performed in a spring music program for their parents in the music room. I didn't prepare a program of songs and activities ahead of time. Instead, a few months before the performance day, I sat on the floor with the kids and asked...
Each spring, my fourth graders create a rhythmic composition. It’s a major assessment the district uses for the report card. My students always do pretty well on the assessment but many aren’t invested in the project. I knew last year I needed to try something new. I...
This fall, a co-worker and I read, The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires to a classroom of second graders. It is a wonderful book about a little girl who has a passion to create the most magnificent thing but along the way she fails over and over, gets upset and...
