It is May...which means it's already time to start thinking about the end of the year! In my district, our last day is May 25, so we have just a few weeks left. There is SO much to do at the end of the year, so in today's post, I'll lay out all of the different things I think about and check off my list for the end of the year. Make sure to keep reading until the end, since I will have a free Google Sheets checklist that you can make a copy of and edit as needed! At my school, we receive an EOY checklist from our principal around this time of year, but as a music teacher, there are several other "must do" items that aren't on the typical classroom checklist. Here are all of the things I think about and do as I wrap up the year in my music classroom: Organization and cleaning I have lots of storage in my room, from bookshelves, to drawers, to an entire storage closet! So I ask myself these questions: Have I organized and cleaned my bookshelves, dusting, putting......

It is May...which means it's already time to start thinking about the end of the year! In my district, our last day is May 25, so we have just a few weeks left. There is SO much to do at the end of the year, so in today's post, I'll lay out all of the different things I think about and check off my list for the end of the year. Make sure to keep reading until the end, since I will have a free Google Sheets checklist that you can make a copy of and edit as needed! At my school, we receive an EOY checklist from our principal around this time of year, but as a music teacher, there are several other "must do" items that aren't on the typical classroom checklist. Here are all of the things I think about and do as I wrap up the year in my music classroom: Organization and cleaning I have lots of storage in my room, from bookshelves, to drawers, to an entire storage closet! So I ask myself these questions: Have I organized and cleaned my bookshelves, dusting, putting......

I know it seems crazy to think of the school year in past tense, but with only seven weeks remaining in the school year, I'm already thinking about what worked well this year, and what I'd like to improve for next year. Reflection is, to me, such a huge part of my development as a teacher, so I like to reflect at the end of each school year (before summer, when everything seems so distant!) Here are some thoughts about my year. Teaching: What I loved: I was able to streamline my data tracking and intervention processes even more this year, and was very happy with the results! I was able to use my data tracking binder to track how well students understand rhythmic and melodic concepts, and was able to provide intervention to more students. My first graders had a statistically significant increase in meeting their growth target for rhythmic dictation, and I think it's partly because of this process! For more information about data tracking and downloading the binder for free,......

I know it seems crazy to think of the school year in past tense, but with only seven weeks remaining in the school year, I'm already thinking about what worked well this year, and what I'd like to improve for next year. Reflection is, to me, such a huge part of my development as a teacher, so I like to reflect at the end of each school year (before summer, when everything seems so distant!) Here are some thoughts about my year. Teaching: What I loved: I was able to streamline my data tracking and intervention processes even more this year, and was very happy with the results! I was able to use my data tracking binder to track how well students understand rhythmic and melodic concepts, and was able to provide intervention to more students. My first graders had a statistically significant increase in meeting their growth target for rhythmic dictation, and I think it's partly because of this process! For more information about data tracking and downloading the bi......

Recently, I had to create an end-of-the-year slideshow for my school. It's the second year I've had to do this (because I am the Instructional Technology Chair at my school), and both years, I've had to teach and re-teach myself how to do certain things to create the slideshow. Today, I thought I'd share tips for creating your own slideshow, whether it be for the whole school, for your choir, for a grade-level classroom, or whatever you need! First, a little background about me...I have enjoyed creating slideshows with music for about 12 years---since my oldest was born. I started creating slideshows with my nephew and oldest daughter, then created slideshows for funerals of loved ones, and now create the slideshow for my school. My school's slideshow has at least one picture of every single student in the school, so it can be a bit time-consuming to make sure all the students are covered! I have a section for each grade, each class within the grade, as well as a se......

Recently, I had to create an end-of-the-year slideshow for my school. It's the second year I've had to do this (because I am the Instructional Technology Chair at my school), and both years, I've had to teach and re-teach myself how to do certain things to create the slideshow. Today, I thought I'd share tips for creating your own slideshow, whether it be for the whole school, for your choir, for a grade-level classroom, or whatever you need! First, a little background about me...I have enjoyed creating slideshows with music for about 12 years---since my oldest was born. I started creating slideshows with my nephew and oldest daughter, then created slideshows for funerals of loved ones, and now create the slideshow for my school. My school's slideshow has at least one picture of every single student in the school, so it can be a bit time-consuming to make sure all the students are covered! I have a section for each grade, each class within the grade, as well as a se......

As I'm writing this, I have one week of school left. This seems a bit crazy to me, as it is only May 13 (and I first taught in Michigan, where we taught until the middle of June!) I recently wrote about surviving the end of the year as a teacher , but today I'm writing specifically about end-of-the-year music lessons. Here are my thoughts and ideas for your music lessons this time of year! Review Games At the end of the year, I like to do review games with my students so I can gauge how well they learned what I taught them during the year. Seventeen years ago, when I first began teaching, I did a "Jeopardy" game with my students. Of course, this was way before SMART boards, so I made a game board with index cards, posterboard, and velcro. Funny to think about now! If you go to the SMART Notebook website, you'll find tons of templates . A few years ago, I put together some summer fun review games for first grade, second grade, third grade, and fourth grade. Each ga......

As I'm writing this, I have one week of school left. This seems a bit crazy to me, as it is only May 13 (and I first taught in Michigan, where we taught until the middle of June!) I recently wrote about surviving the end of the year as a teacher , but today I'm writing specifically about end-of-the-year music lessons. Here are my thoughts and ideas for your music lessons this time of year! Review Games At the end of the year, I like to do review games with my students so I can gauge how well they learned what I taught them during the year. Seventeen years ago, when I first began teaching, I did a "Jeopardy" game with my students. Of course, this was way before SMART boards, so I made a game board with index cards, posterboard, and velcro. Funny to think about now! If you go to the SMART Notebook website, you'll find tons of templates . A few years ago, I put together some summer fun review games for first grade, second grade, third grade, and fourth grade. Each ga......

I know it seems a bit crazy that I'm writing about the end of the school year on April 24, but my last day with students is May 20! (Disclaimer: I started school the second week of August, so don't be too mad at me!) Because of this, I am having to think about the end of the school year now. Here are my suggestions for surviving the end of the school year so you can have a relaxing summer, and so that you can come back at the start of school year refreshed and organized! #1: Plan out the rest of the year Since I only have four weeks left, I recently sat down and figured out exactly what I needed to do with each grade level by the end of the year. You can simply make a table in Word or use Excel, and list each lesson by week, which assessments you're doing, which concepts you're presenting or practicing, etc. This was super helpful! I have year plans for every grade level (you can learn more about year plans with this video ), but these 4-week plans have exactly what I k......

I know it seems a bit crazy that I'm writing about the end of the school year on April 24, but my last day with students is May 20! (Disclaimer: I started school the second week of August, so don't be too mad at me!) Because of this, I am having to think about the end of the school year now. Here are my suggestions for surviving the end of the school year so you can have a relaxing summer, and so that you can come back at the start of school year refreshed and organized! #1: Plan out the rest of the year Since I only have four weeks left, I recently sat down and figured out exactly what I needed to do with each grade level by the end of the year. You can simply make a table in Word or use Excel, and list each lesson by week, which assessments you're doing, which concepts you're presenting or practicing, etc. This was super helpful! I have year plans for every grade level (you can learn more about year plans with this video ), but these 4-week plans have exactly what I k......