One of the challenges school music teachers face is the wide range of grades many of us teach. It is not uncommon for public school music teachers in the United States to teach every student in a school that serves children from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Many music teachers teach 500-700 students throughout the course … Continue reading Depth of Learning in Music Classes
enduring understanding
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
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
Where Do I Begin?
For most music teachers, organizing instruction into units makes a lot of sense. Typically, we see see students once or twice a week, or every day for a few weeks out of the school year. Teaching a series of lessons all grounded in a single topic helps reinforce important points from week to week, and … Continue reading Where Do I Begin?
Duke Ellington Had It Right
Duke Ellington once said, “The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.” There is a lot for music educators to think about in that statement, especially because an enduring understanding for performing includes “knowledge of musical works,” and “understanding of their own technical skill.” Learning, motivation, and satisfaction are always tied to … Continue reading Duke Ellington Had It Right
What role Will Students Play in Selecting Music with the New Arts Standards for Music?
Have you ever asked a student why they selected a particular song for listening? When I have asked, students typically cite that they identify with the song, or they like the beat. Either of these answers are a good start, but none of them go far enough. If music is going to have more than … Continue reading What role Will Students Play in Selecting Music with the New Arts Standards for Music?
What Do Class Objectives Look Like in Music?
One of the most important things any teacher does is set an instructional objective for every class meeting. For music teachers, these goals ought to be tied to our profession's content standards which will soon be the new NCCAS standards. Standards help teachers focus their planning and teaching on what has been identified as most … Continue reading What Do Class Objectives Look Like in Music?
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