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Aileen Miracle
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December 20, 2016
Choir Songs for Christmas
Choir · Holidays · 2 comments
This past week, my choir performed their holiday concert, and it got me thinking about my favorite songs for this time of year, as well as songs I'd like to perform next year. Today, I'm teaming up with my friend Amy Abbott at Music a la Abbott to blog about our favorite Christmas choir songs as well as ones we'd like to do for next year! A couple notes: My choir consists of third, fourth, and fifth graders. Many of these pieces could also work for middle school. Many of the titles are linked to the octavos on JW Pepper or other sites; simply click to view! #1: Christmas is coming This…
December 16, 2016
Holiday gift guide for music teachers
Holidays · No comments
Are you looking for gift ideas for a loved one who is a music teacher? Or are you a music teacher trying to find gift ideas to give your family? I'm teaming up with my friend Amy Abbott , to blog about great gift ideas for any music teacher! Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Echo Dot I was super excited when my husband bought me the Echo for my birthday in late November. I hadn't asked for it and didn't even know what it was, but now, I'm hooked! The idea of the Echo is that you can play music wirelessly just by asking. It will play genres of musi…
December 08, 2016
Five easy (and free!) sub plans for the music classroom
Children's literature · Listening lessons · Rhythmic work · Sub Plans · 3 comments
We've all heard the adage, "It's easier to come to school sick than to write sub plans." Many of you, like me, have spent hours upon hours working just on one day of sub plans, so it IS often easier to come to school sick than worry about it. A few years ago, though, I finally got my sub tub in order (read more about my sub tub here ), and figuring out sub plans began taking 10 minutes instead of 2 hours! Since then, I've become passionate about figuring out ideas that would have students making music, have subs feel comfortable teaching, and allow me to not spend tons of …
November 27, 2016
Tips for assessing with Plickers
Assessment · Technology · 4 comments
A few years ago, I discovered an amazing free app called Plickers, which allows you to quickly and easily assess your students with ONLY ONE device! Today, I thought I'd discuss tips for using the app. I just got done with an assessment for third grade recently, and realized there were some steps that make using the app much easier! Before using Plickers, you'll need to do the following: Decide what assessment you want to use (anything with multiple choices works; see some suggestions at the end of this post) Get your students' class numbers from their classroom teachers (I would st…
November 15, 2016
Props in the music classroom
Folk dancing · Lesson ideas · Listening lessons · Movement · 1 comment
As a music teacher, we have the opportunity to buy some really fun things for our classroom! Perhaps you've seen tennis balls or ribbons in another music teacher's room, and you've wondered how they incorporate those props into their music classroom. Here are my five favorite props for the music classroom: #1: Stretchy band I first saw a stretchy band as a way to incorporate movement into an early childhood music class. There are truly SO many possibilities for using the stretchy band (which you can purchase here .) My favorite way of using it so far is to help students learn how to …
November 05, 2016
Flexible Seating in your Music Classroom {Part Two}
Classroom management · Organization · 1 comment
A couple months ago, I wrote about all of the flexible seating I purchased for my music classroom . Today, I'm blogging about how I've introduced the flexible seating in my classroom. I have lots of fun seats in my room now, so of course, the students want to try them out! I decided when I first started that I would only use them for small groups and centers--otherwise, it would be a bit of a mess for whole group instruction, with students sitting at different levels. Here are a few ways I've let students try out the seats: Star Students: I choose two star students at the end of every…
October 23, 2016
Favorite Kindergarten Music Activities
Kindergarten · Lesson ideas · Songs · 1 comment
As I wrote about in this blog post , teaching Kindergarten is so different than any other grade! They are at times so sweet, at other times so needy...and their attention span is about as short as they are! That being said, I truly enjoy teaching Kindergarten music. Today, I thought I'd blog about my favorite activities to do with Kindergarteners...the activities that I look forward to teaching, and the ones that they ask for lesson after lesson! #1: Grizzly Bear I first started teaching this song several years ago, to practice the musical opposites loud and quiet, and oh my goodness, I'…
October 09, 2016
Data-Tracking in the Music Room
Assessment · 13 comments
"Data" seems to such a buzz word lately in the education world. How well are students achieving? How much they have grown from year to year? And how does this apply to the music room? I first really delved into data when I first wrote my SLO, or student learning objective, a few years ago. I had never tracked data in such a specific way, and I admit, it was a bit scary! Since then, I've grown to really appreciate the information data can give me, and how it can improve my teaching! So where to start with tracking data in your music room? Here are a few thoughts: #1: Start with game…