Colombian Music in Elementary Music Class

Although I use music from a variety of cultures and traditions regularly in all grade levels throughout the school year, I spend about a month focusing on the music from a particular culture in each grade. I think it is so important for students to have the opportunity to really experience and appreciate the music (and, by extension, other elements)...

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(more) YouTube Channels for Elementary Music

Back in 2016 I wrote a post sharing my top 3 favorite YouTube channels to use in my elementary music classes (I'll link it at the end of this post if you're curious). Since then things have... cough... changed a bit, and I think YouTube is officially a part of a lot more music classrooms than it was back then! With the explosion of digital resources...

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Female Musicians for Women's History Month (and beyond)

I honestly have never been intentional about doing anything to specifically recognize Women's History Month in my classroom because it falls at the same time as Music In Our Schools Month, but I have been making a conscious effort for years to make sure female musicians of all types are represented in the examples I share, and this year I have been...

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Dear Everyone: Stop Calling Us "Specials".

Happy Music In Our Schools Month! If you know me well you know I am an idealist. I may sometimes go overboard caring a little too much about issues that don't truly need to be that big of a deal. And when it comes to music education advocacy, I am more fired up than ever during the month of March! But as much as people may want to roll their eyes at...

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Melody Match: a new game for Music In Our Schools Month®

Happy Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®)! I love celebrating music in my classes with different games that can be repeated all month and challenge students to improve their scores (and covertly drill important music skills). Since my first year of teaching well over a decade ago I've been doing 2 games, Rhythm Battle and Disco Duel (described...

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