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Aileen Miracle
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February 01, 2015
Valentine's Day Activities for the Music Room
Holidays · Songs · No comments
Today is February 1...and so begins thecountdown to Valentine's Day! My husband and I are still trying to figure out plans for going out for dinner (just the two of us) but I've also begun plans for what my students will do to celebrate Valentine's Day. Here are some of my favorite activities to do with students the week before and the week of Valentine's Day: 1, 2, 3: A song for Valentine's Day A couple years ago, I wrote about this song, which is based off the melody to "Bow Wow Wow." Click here to see the blog post with song notation and dance instructions! Popsic…
January 26, 2015
Parent communication for the music room
No comments
As music educators, we often teach hundreds of students, so parent communication can be time-consuming. I've listed some ideas which should save you time while giving parents a peek inside your room. Communicating about your program: Several years ago, I was hired as the music teacher of a brand new building (which is my current building.) I wanted a way to communicate to all these new parents and families who I was, as well as give them an overview of the music program at my school. I wrote this blog post all about that brochure--which I handed out at open house. It includes a link to a f…
January 18, 2015
Worksheets in the music room
Assessment · Composition · No comments
When I first began teaching, I used worksheets quite often to assess student understanding. As I've gotten older and more experienced, I have realized that there are so many other ways to assess! However, there are times when I believe worksheets are really the best way to assess. In this post, I'll write about all the ways I love to use worksheets in the music room. To trace Sometimes, after teaching a melodic or rhythmic concept, we want to jump right away to dictation. But students are not always ready for that step...they first need the chance to simply copy a rhythm or note onto th…
January 10, 2015
Tips for Teaching Kindergarten Music
Kindergarten · Kodaly · Planning · Popular posts · 3 comments
Ah, Kindergarten music class...it is at times so joyful and fun and at other times a bit daunting. I remember Kindergarteners being my favorite grade level while student teaching, and then I had my first year of teaching. I saw one class twice...in the same day...for forty minutes. I'm not kidding. Pair that with not having the best classroom discipline at that point and having a behaviorally challenging class, and it was an adventure! Things have gotten MUCH smoother since then, so I thought I'd share my tips for Kindergarten music lessons. Think about attention span I was once told in…
January 06, 2015
Five Strategies to Incorporate Music Listening Lessons
Listening lessons · No comments
In today's music classroom, we are expected to do so much: have students match pitch, teach students rhythmic and melodic concepts, encourage artistry and expression, teach students how to read music on the treble clef staff, explain how to identify instrument families, show them how to play instruments, and among many, many more skills, expose students to great music and teach them about great composers. This is not an easy task. In this blog post, I'm detailing five strategies for incorporating listening lessons into your music class. Keep in mind that while some of these ideas are fo…
December 15, 2014
Five tips for Christmas time in the music room
Holidays · Multicultural music · 4 comments
Ah, Christmas time in the music room....kids are CRAZY with excitement and have a hard time focusing and sitting still. I have a hard time focusing too, so I can understand! Over the years, though, I have noticed a few things that have worked well for getting students in grades K-5 still engaged in music lessons. Here are my five tips... #1: Sing holiday music! One of the best things about December, in my opinion, is holiday music. I love singing Christmas songs--and so do the kids--and have also found a few Hanukkah songs I absolutely adore. For several years now, I have directed a holiday sin…
December 04, 2014
10 Tips for iPad group work
Group work · Technology · 5 comments
This year, I was so fortunate to receive a grant from my district for the purchase of eight iPad minis along with the apps GarageBand and MadPad HD. As you can imagine, I was beside myself in excitement!!! Eight iPads, only for my classroom!??! I have been using only one iPad for the last two years, so having eight iPads was thrilling to ponder! It has been a fun and exciting journey so far...with some small bumps along the way. I thought I'd share my tips and strategies to help you in case you are also lucky enough to have more than one iPad in your classroom, but not lucky enough to have …