We've all seen it right? Especially at this time of year. The posts on social media or THAT classroom in the building with walls completely cluttered with word walls, diagrams, explanations, definitions, and visuals. Why do we do this? And is what we are doing best for students?
Our classroom spaces speak volumes. They fill our bodies, brains, senses, and emotions with loads of sensory information, called the environmental load, which is how the amount, the complexity, the flow, and the intensity of environmental stimuli affect our behavior and feelings.
While some may love the plethora of colors and shapes bombarding their sensory input, however, for many others, particularly children who are neurodivergent and children with ADHD and ADD, visually stimulating classrooms may contribute to sensory overload and adds to their daily struggle to be organized, concentrate, and keep their bodies calm and focused. An overtly stimulating space may create unwanted behaviors that take away from learning.
The intention behind decorating a classroom is important - to create a welcoming and engaging learning environment. However, if the environment is causing harm to some, ask yourself what you need now and leave space for later. Is it relevant to ongoing instruction? In other words, curate, don't decorate.
In a recent study, 24 kindergarten students were placed in laboratory classrooms for six lessons on topics they were unfamiliar with. Three lessons were taught in a heavily decorated classroom, and three lessons were given in a sparse classroom. The results showed learned more when the room was not heavily decorated. The optimal amount is 20-40% of the wall space be covered.
So, what to do?
Purpose, Prioritize, and Adjust
Decor should have a clear purpose that relates directly to ongoing learning and/or creates a positive, functional classroom environment.
Clarity over clutter - well organized visual environments reduce distractions and allow students to focus. Leave space for the eye to rest.
Involve students in the process of selecting and creating classroom displays and think of the classroom as a continually evolving work in progress.
Adjust as necessary.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a stimulating and nurturing environment in which all students feel they belong, can focus, and engage in our music lessons.
This post came out of a discussion with my dear friend, Roger Sams (co-author of Purposeful Pathways) and several experienced clinicians and presenters. We have noticed several trends with newer music educators who want to be Clinicians and Presenters and want to help others and offer some free and unsolicited advice.
"Being an awesome music teacher is the opposite of being a rock star. A rock star wants the focus on them. An exemplary teacher always puts the focus on the learners. If you're still imitating others, taking their catch phrases and using them as your own, using titles or names that are already being used and claiming them as your own, quoting people, but not citing them, etc. you're still in the imitation phase. There's nothing wrong with being in the imitation phase, that's where we all begin, but you're not an expert yet." -Roger Sams
Intention
Enter into the era of presenting or being a clinician out of a SERVANT heart - a desire to center the learner, giving back of yourself and sharing the knowledge others have so willingly and often sacrificially given. Choose to lift others up and acknowledge the shoulders upon which you stand. Climbing any ladder while stepping on the hands that helped you is unprofessional, unethical, and will leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled. Check your intentions (and spend some serious reflection time) and ask yourself if you have truly moved beyond imitation into expert mode. This often takes many years to happen.
Ethics and Morals
Share what comes directly from your own experiences with teaching in the classroom. Consider that the majority of what you share should be your own material (and not just 60%- about 90%). Acknowledge others (even when it is simply, "inspired by a lesson as learned from ____"), cite sources correctly and in writing, ask permission before sharing something learned from someone else (and if they say no, that means NO), put the permission in writing (not a verbal acknowledgment), center others, and apologize when you make mistakes (and you will; I still do). Don't post other people's lessons on social media without permission or change one small thing and then share as your own. When sharing a song or lesson, make sure what you are sharing doesn't belong to someone else (it isn't always "folk" and/or in public domain). Share the full lesson - not a teaser page that acts as clickbait for teachers to feel pressured to make a purchase or as an advertisement for a TpT purchase. Content over cuteness and sharing over selling. Remember the sharing that happened during Covid lockdown? It is one of the things that makes our community of music teachers so very special and didn't happen in other education disciplines.
Value
The value in sharing of yourself is that YOU are a unique and experienced music teacher with ideas that will help others be better at their craft and enrich their students musical education. Presenting at a workshop will not make you rich. Most teachers make about $600.00 per workshop. That might sound enticing but here's the breakdown:
Notes and Slides Presentation: Between 4-10 hours preparing presentation notes,
music scores, creating graphics, notes for participants, slides, Keynotes,
Powerpoints, etc.
Travel: Depends on location; just last weekend I
spent over 24 hours in cars, ubers, and airports and airplanes traveling to
Canada to present.
Presentation Day: Arrive 45 minutes to 1 hour early to
workshop site, 4-hour workshop, cleanup 30 minutes, lunch with the chapter board
for 2 hours. This doesn't include the emails, texts, and additional time to work
with the Chapters to contract, go over details, instrument needs, etc.
Time: Between 36 and 42 hours, which doesn't include the full time away from home. That is $14.29/hour. to $16.67/hour. And then you pay taxes on that. I sacrifice time with my family, my students, and even myself sometimes, but I believe strongly in serving and sharing. It isn't about me - it IS about the learners in the room - be they children or adults.
Joy
It is joyful to see the lightbulbs on teachers faces when, in the middle of a workshop, they see an idea forming or have a beautiful and emotional response to something they have just learned to do differently, more purposefully, and more joyfully. THIS is why we present - to share of ourselves fully by serving others. We do it with joy, with love, and with grace, hoping that we can help make a difference in a teachers' life, and ultimately, through them, with their students.
Please don't be a rock star - be the beautiful, wholesome person you are who teaches and shares from a place of expertise, joy, creativity, and love.
I love using these to get my students into movement and dance formations -I simply hold up the sign and students quietly (or silently) move into position. We practice moving into formations at the beginning of the school year and I use these often to get students quickly to where they need to be for various activities.
UPDATED - I made them with stick figures also so you have a choice of which ones to print & use.
The ending of a year is a contemplative time for me. Thinking about the past year leads to thoughts of what I want to change and improve upon in the coming year. This is a letter I have wanted to write for a while and one which I wish someone would have shared with my first year teacher self and continue to share with other music educators. I hope it encourages you.
To Whom It May Concern:
I don't teach music. I teach children music. There is a big difference in what and who is centered in those two sentences.
Teaching music begins not with the teaching of music concepts and skills, but with focusing on WHO we teach. Children first. That means that for most of us who teach elementary music, there is a steep learning curve in understanding the wide range of developmental ages and stages we teach. In a single classroom, we have at least five, and often MANY more various stages of typical childhood development. Add to that neurodivergence, medical and cognitive differences, social and emotional variances, and cultural and personality differences and there is much to be learned.
We have a responsibility as music teachers who teach a high quality music curriculum; a responsibility that allows all students to experience music from people around the world without bias. High quality music should not include music that is problematic, questionable, or racist. Do your research and don't rely on others to do it for you. Google is free and available for all. Music history, musicians, and music created by various identities, religions, and genders will be used in our classrooms. Identity formation is a critical aspect of social development in children as they develop sense of self, understanding, belonging, and acceptance. The idea that classroom curriculum should serve as "windows and mirrors" for children has been around for over 30 years - first coined by educator Emily Styles in 1988. Approaching children's music and music education through the lens of windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors prioritizes diversity, honors cultural experiences, and promotes empathy and understanding. It also helps all children to feel included and a part OF, not apart from, as they see themselves in the music and musical experiences.
Our greatest responsibility is not in data collection, meetings, trainings, and PD's that are unnecessary, irrelevant, or do not promote the advancement of our craft and art. Our greatest responsibility is to help each child become the best version of themselves which means everything we do should be steeped in doing what is best for children, not adults. Children are at their best when they feel seen and loved. It isn't always easy to love and even like every child and the "prickly pears" and "frequent fliers" can be downright difficult. It isn't always easy to connect and be relational with every child. The reality is we sometimes struggle to find just one way to connect with a child. But to that child who finally feels seen it means the world. Find the one thing.
There are many outside forces demanding teachers time, talents, and energy. Music teachers don't stop being musicians or music teachers at 3:45 when they are "off the clock." Music teachers often teach private lessons or have secondary jobs directing ensembles or playing or singing in adult music ensembles. We often listen to music passively while wondering how to create a lesson to go with it. We have families and lives outside of school. Boundaries are necessary - hold to them and live your life. Stop comparing yourself to others and start advocating for yourself. Period. Do the next best thing for you.
Finally, be kind. To yourself, your fellow teachers, to your students, and to strangers. A kind word or gesture goes a long way in this filtered world where "likes" and "followers" dominate.
Let's talk repetition in the music classroom today!
True, right? Why is that? When new things are introduced, there is often a sense of wonder as their brains make sense of the new information.
Humans learn by experience, not by someone telling them ABOUT that thing. Why do we go on vacation to see something? Because seeing means something different - it means DOING, not really seeing. The act of seeing the Grand Canyon or the Giza Pyramids isn't the same as seeing it on TV. We can't smell the smells, taste the food, or feel the sun on our face or the wind in our hair. It isn't an authentic experience without action. Hearing about a good isn't the same as reading it ourselves. The experience is deeper.
As students repeat an activity, they process again and again and move from experiencing to anticipating, from understanding basic musical concepts to exploring the activity to the fullest sense possible. They discover their own musicality as they imitate and eventually create new songs.
Repetition:
Helps language development.
Ensures emotional comfort (predictability).
Assists in concept attainment as they learn something new each time.
Feeling of mastery improves self-confidence.
Check out this post about the power of repetition.
Play is equally important for young children and as music teachers we know about its value in our classrooms.
Play:
Improves children's abilities to plan and organize.
Assists in children's emotional regulation and helps them get along with others.
Helps with language, math and social skills.
Helps children cope with stress.
Mister Rogers perhaps put it best:
Check out this post for more about the Power of Play.
Here is a video from me about Repetition and Play in the music classroom.
I love folk dancing and movement although with this crazy school year and social distancing protocols, we haven't been able to move in our normal way.
Movement is so very important in what we do in music education. There are a veritable plethora of reasons "why" - this is not that post.
Judith Thompson-Barthwell wrote a wonderful article here about creative movement in the music classroom. This is a MUST read!
Movement
As a teacher who uses the Orff Approach, experiencing beat, rhythm, melody, form, and expression happens first in the body with movement. From the beginning, with youngest ages, we move, experiencing non-locomotor (in place) and locomotor (traveling) movement. Reaction training games are elemental, basic games - playing a beat on a drum, students move. When drum stops, students freeze. Subdivided beats (eighth notes) played on temple blocks indicate running. This is such a playful beginning exercise in responding to music, awareness of physical space, pathway, and personal space. Adding a wind chime and asking students what to do (float, turn in place, wiggle), and alternating between walking, stopping, running, stopping, and wiggling/floating/turning allows students to playfully experience responding to musical cues and signals.
Once students experience basic movements (walk, hop, turn, skip, freeze, jump, etc.) we add direction (forward/backward, sideways, etc.), and levels of high, medium, and low, we are ready for more complicated and sophisticated movements but we never stop working on the basic concepts- they simply spiral. Dalcroze movement stories are IDEAL experiences to help students growth and they are easy to implement. My students love this one!
Once we have experienced structured (this is what we do here) and unstructured movement (what should we do here?), we are ready to continue adding on with formal "folk dances."
Highland Gates
This is one of my favorite first experiences with "folk dancing". The song gives the directions: Go all around the circle (walking clockwise), go up and down the ladder (moving in and out of a circle), kneel and face a partner, and swing and swing your partner (right elbow swing). It is a wonderfully playful dance and students gain rich experiences in moving, changing partners, all while singing! It is a fast favorite and a fabulous opener if you have a family folk dance night or experience with a multi-age community of children and adults.
Sasha
Another fast favorite, this song is a changing partners "game" and dance in one!
Alabama Gal
Working with partners, "peeling the banana", etc. - a favorite!!
Pata Pata
This one is a good "Four Walls Dance" - students perform the dance individually, then do a quarter turn to face a new wall, dance again, quarter turn again, etc.
The Sweets of May
Such a fun dance from the New England Dancing Masters!
EVERYTHING by the New England Dancing Masters! Click on the picture to be taken to their shop - I would HIGHLY recommend this bundle!
Teaching Movement and Dance by Phyllis Weikart - this is THE RESOURCE everyone needs. Yes, it is $55.00 but oh so worth it. The way in which Weikart breaks down dance and movement steps is simply amazing. Forward, 2, 3, 4, side close, in, 2, 3, 4 - this is the language students learn to speak to make dances accessible and attainable in a VERY short amount of time.
Creative Dance for All Ages by Anne Greene Gilbert - a sequential curriculum, 40 lesson plans, instructional strategies, assessments, etc.
I love teaching Theme and Variations! My friend Kate introduced me to two very amazing sites - no login, no ads, and I knew I needed to figure out a way to use them beyond the "echo my rhythm" idea. So, Theme and Variations Reboot was invented!
Get the complete Google Slide here - it will prompt you to make a copy. Theme and Variations
Five words with power. Five words that confuse. Five words that need to be talked about right now.
Most of us are hearing words and having conversations about needing to do the hard work, but what does that mean? Reading books like Waking Up White, How to Be an Anti-Racist, White Awake, Blind Spot, and the plethora of books on the subjects of helping all of us to understand the struggle, biases, and injustices is only a START. Acknowledging white privilege, acknowledging bias, helping our littles to see color and to call out injustice is also a part.
Here is my latest read- I will need to go back and re-read. SO good.
Having hard conversations with friends, family, and yes, students also needs to happen. Yes, even in the music room.
Problematic Song Material
If you haven't been here before, or you have forgotten about some other posts on the subject - this post is about being sensitive (and inclusive, not exclusive or hurtful) with our song material. Songs are listed in alphabetical order and source information is included as is a short synopsis of why the material is problematic.
Why I No Longer Use Seuss in the Music Classroom
This post delves into the research study conducted in 2019 that researches the CONTENT of Dr. Seuss books and the stereotypes, anti-Semitic, disproportionally male characters, and other content issue within Dr. Seuss books.
Diverse and Inclusive Children's Literature
A few years ago I started taking a hard look at my curriculum, songs, and children's literature and went through ALL my song books and started making X's through songs and adding a note as to why a song was problematic. For future music teachers, I wanted there to be an immediate understanding (if they were not already aware) of why a particular song should not be used. I also wanted the reminder for myself. I also threw away books - yes, really. It was hard to do that, but I will never use, nor do I want anyone else to use those books that mock, harm, and perpetuate stereotypes. That is what is meant by disrupting the system. That is part of being ant-racist. The songs, stories, and books we use should be mirrors that reflect our students, windows into another's story or culture or way of being and doing, sliding glass doors to let students walk (or sing/dance/play) into another culture or way of being and doing, and sometimes we need to close the curtains.
I recently heard this quote and had to make it into a quick post for instagram.
If you haven't joined already, join the Diverse and Inclusive Children's Books for the Music Classroom page on facebook. There are wonderful books with lesson ideas posted.
Are we Welcoming or Assimilaiting?
We also need to talk about teaching - how we teach is MORE important than what we teach. Examining our bias, the words, gestures, speech, etc. in our teaching- especially with students that are having a hard time in school for whatever reason- trauma. learning differences, ability, developmental maturation, family changes, home life, equity, etc. It is a LOT. But the littles in our life are EVERYTHING. Remember teaching is a marathon, not a sprint or a 5K. Yes, we will make a plethora of mistakes. We are, after all, human.
I recently saw a conversation on facebook that was an "Ouch" moment. When we say, "All are welcome" do we really mean all and do we really mean welcome or do we mean ASSIMILATED?
Our school recently finished a 21-Week Racial Equity Challenge where we had small and large group conversations- REAL, hard, tough to hear conversations. It was amazing. We wondered what to do next. I am honored to serve on our YBG - You Belong Group - that focuses on issues of Social Justice and Equity. We are reading this book:
Each week we will look at a word and one person will share about the word. I chose the word, "Assimilation" after some heavy conversations with friends.
My daughter, Caiya, is about to turn 13. With that is all the expected eye rolling, sarcasm dripping from the tongue, and the need for independence. She is an awesome kid- funny, incredibly artistic, and still loves hugs and talks with Mom. She loves to be around us (yay) and is very sweet and tender-hearted, all of which I am incredibly grateful for. Here is some of her amazing art:
I chose this image my daughter drew below because I think many of us are feeling all the feelings - lonely, sad, angry, frustrated, discouraged, disappointed, and so on. I hear that - I see you.
While my daughter was in hybrid mode this fall I was full-time with students at school. She would be home, in the craft room at her drawing desk online with classes. She is incredibly responsible and on top of things- well organized, and a good student. My husband works from home, and did pre-Pandemic, so nothing has really changed for him except that we have been underfoot. He would wander in occasionally to "check in" on Caiya. She saw it as Dad "checking up on" her. We had to talk about the importance of understanding there was CARE behind it, not accountability.
So, how are YOU handling your CARE of yourself right now? Are you taking walks, reading a non-PD book, indulging in Netflix and Prime, baking, making time for a hobby, and making some music for YOURSELF these days? Are you reaching out to friends and family and staying connected? All of these things are not just important, but they are vital right now.
Recently some beautiful music teacher friends got together to chat about our various situations - we were spread across the US - Michigan, Washington State, North Carolina, and Connecticut. Not one of us are teaching in the same situations - we all have various ways of doing and being but we all deeply love and miss our students and normal music making. Not one of us is teaching with the same schedule/mode/model this year. I will be updating this post early next week and will share the link from my dear friend, Elizabeth of https://caldwellorganizedchaos.blogspot.com/.
Please take CARE, my friends - there is only one you and YOU MATTER!
It's the end of the year and once again many of us are questioning HOW to end the school year. Do we show videos or musicals? Do we do singing games? A composition or writing project? How to finish strong?
Much depends on the culture of your school and your students. Much also depends on you.
Where are you at with meeting the needs and behaviors of your students?
I had a wonderful teacher friend many years ago encourage me to meet students where they are at. If your students come in bouncing off the walls crazy, it is going to be difficult and painful for all to attempt to immediately make them sit, be still, and quiet.
I have found it to be so much more enjoyable for all to spend the time meeting them where they are at (Seven Jumps dance always is my opening activity when classes are like this), then leading them down the path to where we need for them to be. Doing so is purposeful yet playful, and encourages relational teaching and builds community.
Enforcing immediate compliance without time to transition into your class is similar to a prison guard trying to re-establish control during a prison riot and can lead to you and the students feeling like this:
Ugh.. or uh oh.. or grrr, right?
So, what to do? Some use the following:
Practice Songs/Concepts Already Learned
Project Based Learning
Prepare Concepts/Skills/Sequences for Next Year
Active Music Making - Vocal or Instrumental or Both (Orff Pieces)
Show Video Musical with Writing/Drawing/Fill in the Blanks
Games/Fun
There are pros/cons to each one - some have more teacher prep, some leave the kids bored and disengaged at what is usually the craziest (and funnest, let's be honest) time of year, and others engage the students in a meaningful, purposeful, and memorable experience!
I choose to meet my students where they are at with playful, meaningful, purposeful fun!
Purposeful - Review Concepts and Skills Previously Learned
Active, Engaging, and FUN!
Memorable
The Process:
Allow several class periods to teach songs (about 20-25 campfire songs/games/activities total).
Last day of music with each class we have a campfire sing along. I project a campfire from youtube (lots out there like the one below):
Build a campfire using tissue paper folded and tucked into black plastic plant pots from Dollar Tree and flickering tea lights. The logs are made out of construction paper and are taped into place around the plastic pots. The sticks each have a white label sticker with the name of a camp song printed on it. Each student picks a stick one at a time and that is the song we sing.
My students LOVE this so very much and it makes our last music together truly special and memorable. When I announce we are getting ready for campsongs they are so excited and teach me new ones they may have learned at camp last summer!
No matter what you are doing with your students, I hope you are having fun!
Relational Teaching. This is important in my community. Important, discussed, encouraged, and celebrated. Challenging for those of us who teach huge numbers of students. Our co-curricular faculty (Spanish, art, music, PE, media, science, and tech) decided to forego the typical team or class awards in favor of celebrating the individual and honoring those students who "Go Beyond" (our school motto).
I am doing this in a number of ways- swag tags from Tracy King, AKA The Bulletin Board Lady (on Teachers Pay Teachers), Cool Kid Spray, inspired by David Row from Make Moments Matter (which my kids already love), and being a Bell Ringer/Chicken Squawker (see my video on Facebook @ofortunaorff. I am also doing something new with classroom management and I already love how concise and easy it it has been to describe and enforce.
Here is the tour of the room, take a peek them go check out the post and video on Facebook to see how I use all these things in the classroom! @ofortunaorff
I also recently posted about re-wrapping my mallets - head over to facebook - @ofortunaorff to check out the video!
"Cool Kid Spray" - ridiculously fun and students yesterday (first day of school) loved it!
Check out the windows - Crayola makes window markers and they were so much fun to use!
And a pic of me as I start my 25th year of teaching and my daughter starts Middle School! Happy New School Year!
