Ask a Language Arts teacher what they are trying to achieve with their students, and that teacher will probably mention growth in literacy. He or she wants students to read and write effectively, with understanding and comprehension. Students are likely being asked questions like, "what is the author trying to say?" "How does the author … Continue reading What Are Music Teachers Really Trying To Accomplish?
music literacy
What Do You Want Your Parents to Know About Your Music Program?
Although it seems we have had high stakes testing, district assessments, UbD, PBIS, NCAS, and any number of other strings of letters forever, most of the parents of our students remember music class as just a place where they went to sing songs, play instruments, and be entertained. The idea that there are standards, assessments, … Continue reading What Do You Want Your Parents to Know About Your Music Program?
Selecting Music to Experience
One of the more challenging piece of the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) for music has been having students select music to experience. For years, I chose the music my students would rehearse, perform, and listen to. This was expedient, because I could select music based on what I wanted my students to learn and … Continue reading Selecting Music to Experience
Evaluate or Judge?
One of the mainstays of standards for music education has been to evaluate musical works. Whereas evaluating is a generally well understood concept when it comes to student work, evaluating artistic work has often been more problematic; it has been confused with editorializing. Under this confusion, if I like a musical work, then it is … Continue reading Evaluate or Judge?
Assessment Is Important in Music
Assessment and data collection can be a irksome thing for music teachers. On the one hand, our subject is typically not included in mandated standardized testing, so there are not mandated assessments and reporting systems in place for us. On the other hand, we often feel as though music can not be assessed, because artistic work is subjective … Continue reading Assessment Is Important in Music
How Is Music A Way of Knowing?
Music is sometimes referred to as a way of knowing. On the surface, this may seem like a strange claim. We are used to thinking of music as being expressive, or entertaining, worshipful, celebratory and certainly as fun, but to think of music as a way of knowing seems at first like almost a let … Continue reading How Is Music A Way of Knowing?
Supercharge Your Music Lesson Plans
While lesson planning is essential to delivering quality instruction, I must admit that I often don't enjoy writing lesson plans. The task often becomes more time consuming than I would like as I search for materials that will be just right for a particular class and objective. While there is a certain flow from one … Continue reading Supercharge Your Music Lesson Plans
Music Literacy is More Than Reading Music
I saw this post recently on Facebook. "What do you teach?" "Music." "Oh, okay. So, do you read music?" "You teach English, right?" "Yes." "Can you read English?" My first reaction, as a Music teacher, was probably similar to the author of this post. I was irked, maybe even offended. Of course I read music. It seems so obvious … Continue reading Music Literacy is More Than Reading Music
Issues With Expressive Intent in the Core Arts Standards
One of the pervasive threads that is woven through the national core arts standards under the artistic processes of performing and of responding, is the idea of interpreting based on an expressive intent. The pertinent anchor standard for responding is "interpret intent and meaning in artistic work." For third grade, the performance standard is to … Continue reading Issues With Expressive Intent in the Core Arts Standards
Listening to Music With Your Whole Body
One of the things my students hear from me frequently is to look at the person who is (supposed to be) speaking. I tell them that I want eyes on me when I'm speaking, and eyes on the student who is asking or answering a question. The reason for this, I explain, is that we … Continue reading Listening to Music With Your Whole Body
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