Lessons to Celebrate the Joy of Music

For Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM®) I've been sharing lesson ideas for celebrating the joy of music. I think more than ever we can all use opportunities to be reminded why we love music in all its forms, and our students need that too! Whether it's during MOISM or any time of year, I hope you will make time to bask in the joy of musicking through these lesson ideas for all different age groups.

I am a huge believer and advocate for making learning in elementary music class meaningful and for the importance of music as an academic subject. When I'm planning my lessons, I'm always thinking first and foremost about the concepts and skills that my students need to learn. I stand by those priorities, but that doesn't mean I think music class needs to be serious, hard work all the time! Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in the hard work and forget to recognize the pure joy of music. 

It's also easy as music teachers to celebrate and enjoy certain forms of music making more than others because of our own preferences or because of which areas most of our students enjoy, and forget to give students the opportunity to learn to enjoy other forms of musicking through joyful experiences in those other areas! These lesson activities are designed to celebrate many different ways of making, experiencing, and responding to music. I've found it helpful to take a step back and think about which areas I'm not celebrating as much in my lessons, or am not spending as much time on with certain age groups.

For each of the areas below, you'll find lesson activities targeting a range of age groups from early childhood through middle school- often it can be harder to find ways for kindergartners to enjoy listening to music, or for middle schoolers to enjoy singing, for example- whichever areas you may find most challenging to enjoy with your students, I hope this gives you some concrete ideas to incorporate into your own lessons in Music In Our Schools Month and beyond!

What are your favorite ways to show students the joy of musicking in all its forms? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments below!