Lunar New Year in Elementary Music

Lunar New Year is coming up soon- this year (2022) it will be celebrated in China, Vietnam, Korea, and other countries on February 1st. If you are looking to incorporate the holiday into your elementary music classroom this year, here are a few resources to get you started.First a quick note about "Chinese New Year" vs "Lunar New Year": it's important...

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Exploring Hip-Hop Elements in Elementary Music

Over the last several years I've been working with local hip-hop artists and hip-hop educators to learn how to appropriately and effectively incorporate hip-hop into my music lessons. While I still have a lot to learn and I am by no means an expert on the topic, I have found some excellent resources by people who are. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite...

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Introducing Hip-Hop in Elementary Music

Back in 2018 I wrote my first post on Bringing Hip-Hop to the Music Room with some ideas to incorporate hip-hop into music lessons, from band warmups to general music lessons on syncopation and everything in between. Incorporating the genre into more of our music lessons in general is a critical step that all of us need to take (and aren't doing...

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Lesson Ideas to Start the New Year

Somehow we've managed to land ourselves in another highly unpredictable and stressful situation with the latest surge in the pandemic coming in the midst of shifting guidance for protocols. With all of this swirling around right now I know it's hard to think about concrete lesson plans! Here are a few ideas that don't require too much prep or mental...

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