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Test 4 Mrs. Miracle's Music Room

May 01, 2018

Quizizz in the Music Room

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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 st…

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December 31, 2017

Reflecting halfway through the school year

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Happy 2018! I hope you've all enjoyed the holidays. I had a great time relaxing with my family! This year, my break is rather short, and I'm going back to school January 2. With the short break, I've had to do some reflection during break to make sure I was in the right mindset to go back! Here are a few ways I've reflected on my school year thus far: Where have they been? Now is a great time to look at my year plans and previous lesson plans to see where my students have been. Are they "on track" or did we get a bit behind? Which concepts have they learned so far? How …

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September 24, 2017

Using the SeeSaw App to assess

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Are you looking for an app to both assess students AND communicate with parents? Check out SeeSaw ! I heard about SeeSaw a couple years ago and had it installed on my ipads, but it wasn’t until this past spring that I was finally able to check it out. SeeSaw is known for being a great advocacy tool, in that parents can see what’s going on in the music room! Whether you post a snapshot of a student’s completed worksheet, a video of him/her singing, or a video of the entire class performing, it can be a fabulous way to communicate with parents. Last year, at a technology workshop with my friend An…

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November 27, 2016

Tips for assessing with Plickers

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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…

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October 09, 2016

Data-Tracking in the Music Room

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"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…

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December 19, 2015

Apps for Gradekeeping

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Over the years I've tried out several different grade-keeping apps. Below I'm describing my favorites; most of the apps can be used even if you only have one iPad in your classroom! Numbers When I first bought an iPad mini, this is the app I used for grade keeping. It is like the Apple equivalent of Excel, so you can build your grade book like a spreadsheet. Here is a screenshot sample: In the screenshot (which is on my Mac, but the iPad app is very similar), the default is set at 4, but each cell has a dropdown menu so you can select whatever you need as you grade. It took a little bit …

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October 22, 2015

Assessment Strategies

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Assessment in the music classroom can be tricky. Many music teachers only see their students once a week--and sometimes even less--so fitting in quality curriculum, engaging songs and dances, games, books, and more needs to be balanced with assessing students' musical growth. Today I'm writing about seven things to consider when assessing in the music classroom. Why am I assessing? Your first response might be, "Because I have to!" Many of us do have to report grades, but what if you didn't have to? Why would you do it? Your answer might be because it provides you with dat…

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July 05, 2015

Choosing games and activities

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In my last blog post , I discussed ways to organize your digital games and activities so you can access them easier. In this blog post, I will discuss how to go about choosing the right games and activities for your students. Please note that the post isn't necessarily about singing games, but musical games to deepen students' understanding. Here is the criteria for how I choose games and activities for my students. #1: Fun and engaging Do the students ask for the game or activity over and over again? Do they get visibly excited when you say the name of the game? Then by all means, play …

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June 03, 2015

Five Favorite Pins of June

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Hi everyone! Today I'd like to bring my linky party, "Five favorite pins," back for the month of June! If you are a blogger, feel free to link up. Just see the directions at the end of this post. #1: Folk music anchor chart Being a Kodaly-inspired teacher, I use folk music ALL THE TIME. So I love the idea of making an anchor chart all about folk music! Sometimes, when a discussion about folk music is not had, kids end up thinking that I make up all of the songs, which is really funny and endearing but of course not true. We want our kids to know all about folk music, and what a grea…

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