Class Composition Using So, La, and Mi

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: Class Composition Using So, La, and Mi Suggested Grade Level: Late First Grade, Early Second Grade Objectives: Students decipher eighth and quarter notes by ear Students compose and notate melody using So, La, and Mi Students play melody on Orff instruments from written notation Materials: …

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Making It Work: Surviving the Last Two Weeks

making it work

Lesson Ideas to Survive (and Thrive!) Until Summer I have been watching Facebook posts and it seems that some fortunate souls are already on summer break. If you are one of them – lucky you! Some of us have a few weeks left, and others have a bit longer until we can put our feet…

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Movement Exploration and Accompaniment

explore movement

In this lesson from Victoria Redfearn Cave, students will explore movement inspired by the action cards in UNO®. They will also create accompaniment with unpitched percussion instruments. Movement Exploration and Accompaniment is a fun and interactive exercise for your third and fourth grade students.  

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Making It Work: Finding the Funding

finding instrument funding

In her latest installment of Making It Work, LeslieAnne Bird explores strategies to support music educators in finding the funding for new Orff instruments. When I began teaching using the Orff Approach I had not one barred instrument in my classroom.  While it is possible to teach Orff without barred instruments, I wanted my students to…

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Build Your Instrument Inventory: A Five Year Plan

Build Your Instrument Inventory: A Five Year Plan Building a quality instrument inventory can seem like a daunting task, particularly for new music educators. However, with some careful thought and long-range planning, you can present a budget to acquire a full complement of Orff instruments using Brian Burnett’s five-year plan.* *All model numbers are based on the Studio 49 catalog. …

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Recorder Lesson: Que Llueva

In this excerpt from Journey Around the Globe with Recorder!*, Darla Meek shares her lesson for soprano recorder, Que Llueva. This lesson includes a game, an Orff arrangement, and a contrasting section composed by the students. *Copyright © 2016 by Sweet Pipes. Used with permission. Journey Around the Globe With Recorder! is a series of 24 lessons for…

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Making It Work: Recorder Storage

I am the type of teacher who uses recorders with my students throughout the year. Sometimes we use the recorders every lesson for several classes in a row; sometimes we don’t. Because I use my recorders in this way, asking the children to take them home and bring them back each class does not work…

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Movement Lesson: Building Empathy

In this movement and music lesson from Manju Durairaj, Building Empathy Through Diverse Children’s Literature, educators utilize children’s books to guide their students through exercises designed to increase empathy, challenge stereotypes, and encourage friendships. “Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins.  And it’s up to you…

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Recorder Lesson: Green Sally Up

In this excerpt from Recorder: A Creative Sequence*, Alan Purdum shares his lesson for soprano recorder, Green Sally Up. Students use low D and E for playing and improvising, and experience the jazz elements in a children’s hand clapping game. *Copyright © 2014 by Cedar River Music. Used with permission. The third volume in the Creative Sequence series,…

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Lesson: Shaping Up Creative Movement

Shaping Up Creative Movement LeslieAnne Bird shares her process for utilizing the elements of movement to interpret the English folk song “The Keys of Canterbury.” The lesson encourages students to review and take inspiration from a performance by Dance Studio Kadans, which can be found in this YouTube video. National Standards 3MU:rR9.1.4a Demonstrate and explain how responses to music…

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