This week, I'm blogging about my playlists for each grade level, in my music room. For more information about how and why I'm using playlists,  check out this post . Today, let's talk about fifth grade! Here are three recordings from my fifth grade playlist: #1: I Love a Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt  A few years ago, I found a dance for this song in a resource from Sanna Longden, which you can now view for free here . My fifth graders LOVE this line dance...and when you find a dance that fifth graders love, then, well, you have to do it every year! #2: Oh a Shoe a Shoe As I wrote about in this post, I read "World Music Pedagogy, Volume 2," by Christopher Roberts and Amy Beegle this summer. It was such a great read, with really practical ideas for implementing world music listening lessons in your classroom. This song was mentioned in the book as a possible listening lesson, with opportunities for students to listen intently, identify words......

Thinking about how you'd like to decorate your music room this upcoming school year? In this post, I'm showcasing 10 great examples of music classroom decor, to inspire you with your classroom! Here goes! I love Tracy King's letters...and the decorations on the piano! Click here to read more about Tracy's farmhouse-themed classroom. Amy Abbott at Music a la Abbott was so creative with this bulletin board! I love how the genie is rising out of the bulletin board, and how she uses an oddly-shaped space to create a board! This next picture is from my classroom ...I love storing my hand drums like this! 3M hooks are the best! Jena Hudson at Sew Much Music wrote about her classroom decor in this blog post ...LOVE the use of records with the silhouette. Aimee from O For tuna Orff had a similar look in her classroom , with silhouettes. I also love how she stores her Boomwhackers! Lindsay from Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Cl......

Are you thinking ahead to next year, and wanting to plan your musical programs? In today's post, I'm compiling blog posts--some written by me, and some by others--that detail programs based off of children's literature and themes, so that you can adapt and use if you'd like! Wangari's Trees of Peace : In this blog post, I detail using this book for a fifth grade program. Wonderful if you're looking to integrate multicultural music with your upper elementary students! On the Day You Were Born : In this blog post, I write about using this beautiful book as a basis for a fifth grade program. The Gratitude Tree : In this blog post, I discuss using this fun book--written by my friend Stacey at Expressive Monkey --as the foundation for a third grade program. You Belong Here : In this blog post, I compile ideas for a third grade program for the heartwarming book, "You belong here." Olivia's Birds : I loved this fourth grade program,......

I've been super excited to dive into ukulele this year, as I wrote about in this post . In today's post, I'm writing about something new I've tried recently: centers for ukulele! If you're wondering about centers in general, and how they should be set up, check out this post , as well as this helpful post by David Row at Make Moments Matter. I typically set up four centers in my room, around the perimeter, and we rotate every five or so minutes, so that students can go to all of the centers. I like to have my centers all be focused on one concept, or one instrument, so all four of these centers were focused on ukulele! In the centers I had students do the following: Center #1: Students practiced several strumming patterns with a PowerPoint from my ukulele lessons set, with the C major chord. They advanced the slides themselves whenever they were ready to move on. Here is a picture of the PowerPoint: And here is the ukulele lessons set: Ce......

Recently, I took a class about different web apps to use in the classroom. During that class, I discovered Quizizz, and was immediately excited about the possibilities! In this post, I'll write about how to use Quizizz, how to create a Quizizz, and how to find quizzes I've made on the platform! So what is Quizizz? Quizizz is a website that allows students to take quizzes. It is similar to Kahoot (which I wrote about in this blog post ) but you are allowed to give the quiz as homework, instead of having all students take it live. Additionally, the quiz doesn't have to be timed, and students can move onto the next question at their own pace instead of having to wait for all students to answer. Even better...students see a funny meme after they answer each question, like this one: How do students take Quizizz? I had students use iPads to take the quiz, but they can also use Chromebooks or smart phones. If you have limited technology in your room, you cou......

This year, I've embarked on a new journey: teaching ukulele! I've really enjoyed it, so in today's post, I'm sharing what I've learned my first year of ukulele. You don't have to spend a ton of money on ukuleles Initially, I thought about purchasing ukuleles for every single student in my classroom. Once I realized the amount I had to work with, though, I decided I could buy for half of the class and have students work in pairs. This has worked pretty well for my students--more on that in a bit--and it helped me start ukulele without a ton of money! I bought the Kala Waterman ukuleles for my classroom. I heard lots of great things about them, and was very pleased with the purchase. The ukuleles ( which you can purchase here ) are currently only $39.99 each. I did have to tune them consistently every day for a few weeks before the tuning stuck; after that, I still had to tune them but not as often. You don't have to spend a ton of money on ukulele storage I......

Today, I'm sharing one of favorite songs for upper elementary: "Hogs in the cornfield." I learned this song while in Kodály Level II at Capital University, with Bruce Swank. Here's the notation; it can also be found in An American Methodology. The song is great for several concepts. It's great for tika-ti, especially since it has some unique patterns in it. Melodically, it works really well for high do!  As far as games go, I originally learned this game for it: S tudents stand in two lines, facing partners; you can name one line “1” and one line “2.” After they sing the song, they play tug of war by holding hands in a crossed position and pulling. The first person to step over the line loses and stands behind the winner. The game continues until all students who wanted turn have had one, and then you declare a winning team based on which side has more students.   A few years ago, I learned this game from Jenna Mabee, my former colleague,......

Today I'm writing with one of my favorite chants for the music room, "2, 4, 6, 8." You may have heard of the chant: "2, 4, 6, 8/ Who do we appreciate?" This one is a bit different! It goes like this: Now you may be thinking...okay, great...but what's the game? This is one of the few that I have in my music room that I don't have a game for. Now, I could do some research to find one (and feel free to comment below if you do a game with it) or I could make a game up...but I like to have a few songs and chants that just don't have a game. ("Miss White" and "Kookaburra," for example, are two that I'm fine not playing a game for!) Kids need to know that not EVERY single piece of music has a game, and besides, this one can be used to improve partwork skills! Years ago, I made up these two ostinati to go with the chant: To teach the ostinati, I first make sure that students know the chant well. Then, I have t......

Pondering the best way to end music class? In this blog post , I wrote about great ways to start music class. In today's post, I'll write with my favorite ways to end music class before another class walks through the door! #1: Closing greetings A simple but fun way to say goodbye to your students is to sing goodbye to them! If your first graders are working on sol-mi, you could sing "Goodbye first grade," on sol-mi-sol-mi and they could sing back "Goodbye Mr./Mrs. ________." Then you could sing "Have a good day," and they could echo that. You could even sing to individual students and have them sing solos back at you. #2: Listening An effective way to end a class is to do a live performance or to sing a book, whether you are playing dulcimer and singing a song tale (like the ones found in this book ) or singing a book (check out this post for my 10 favorite books to sing.) You could make this a routine, having it be the way you end all of your le......

Today, I'm linking up with Amy Abbott to write about some of my favorite folk songs for fourth grade! Whether you are "on track" with your curriculum or a little behind, I've got great singing games that fourth graders absolutely love! #1: Big Fat Biscuit Here's the notation, which I first learned from An American Methodology : For the game, t hree students are chosen, and they stand in a line. On the first “chewbelew,” the first student does a standing long jump. On the second “chewbelew,” the second student jumps, and on the third “chewbelew,” the third student jumps. The student who jumps the farthest wins, and challenges two more students in the next round. If any of the children touch the ground with their hands, fall, or jump one-footed, they are disqualified. This game is great for  preparing  or practicing low la, and for teaching tam-ti, or dotted quarter/ eighth. You could also use it with "older beginners," or students who are learning basic ......