Japanese Rain Song: あめふり (Amefuri, Ame Ame)

I love using different songs with similar themes to compare and contrast specific musical elements- I find using songs with lyrics that are about the same topic makes it easier to draw young students' attention to the musical aspects of the songs. Today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite examples of this using a song from my childhood in...

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Thriving Between Spring Break and Summer

Sometimes it can feel like the best we can do is try to survive in that time between spring break and summer vacation. Everyone has gotten a taste of freedom, the sunshine outside is beckoning, and everyone's mind is on the fun and relaxation they're looking forward to. But honestly? I love teaching at this time of year. I've thought a lot about what...

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Lesson Plans that Work Between Spring Break and Summer

Finding lessons that will keep students engaged after spring break is difficult. Younger students are antsy, older students are checked out. On the one hand you don't want to try to teach new concepts because they're probably not going to remember it by next fall anyway, but there's no way you can "tread water" and just review for 2 months without...

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Keeping Positive: post-spring break teaching

I'm not quite there yet but I know in many places, teachers are coming back from spring break and saying to themselves, "oh boy, hang on tight because here we go". Teaching between spring break and the end of the school year can be wild ride, and it can make you dread going to work. Here are some things I do to take control of my mood and keep myself...

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Designing a Unit on a Culture's Music

Every spring I look forward to the unit I include in every elementary grade level I teach, doing a deep dive into one culture's music. I've shared lesson plans for many of the units I've taught over the years from cultures all over the world, and over time I've developed a formula for what elements I include in each of these units. Here is that formula,...

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