Six - Seven Trendy Music Lessons

In the year 2025, nothing has taken over our students' brains quite as much as the phrase "six seven". The world of social media trends is just wild! I am a huge fan of bringing references to things my students are thinking and talking about into my lessons, and I have loved the different ideas I've seen other teachers sharing for how they are including the phrase in their classrooms! Today I'm sharing my collection of six (to seven) ideas for incorporating 6 7 into music lessons of all types, with my suggestions for the best age ranges for general music and the best ones to use with choir, orchestra, and band classes as well.

1. Solfege games (5th-12th grade, choirs)

Have students sing a major scale on numbers 1-8, but

a) skip (audiate) 6 and 7 (la and ti)

b) say 6 and 7 in the traditional exaggerated speaking voice while singing the rest of the scale

Either way it really forces students to hear the notes in their heads. You can also apply the same concept to one of my favorite warmups where students add a note to the scale each time they go up and down (1, 121, 12321, 1234321, etc) if you want to up the challenge level.

2. Rhythm practice (1st-12th grade, choral or instrumental ensembles)

Use 6 7 along with other slang to practice rhythm reading. Conveniently "forty one" has also been added to the trend lately, so for older students practicing sixteenth/ eighth note combinations you can use both numbers to practice both combinations. For younger students just use quarter notes and eighth notes instead and do the same thing! Here are a few ideas but obviously there are plenty more you can use with 6 7 to work on the specific rhythms you want to practice with a specific grade:

 

To up the challenge level and really test their understanding of different rhythms, give students a rhythm and ask them to come up with a slang term/ phrase that matches that rhythm!

3. Steady beat movement (K-2nd grade)

My youngest students think it's hilarious to do the 6 7 hand motion (where alternating hands go up and down) when I ask them to come up with a movement to do with the steady beat of the music. It's an easy reference to throw in with any age.

4. Half and whole rests (3rd-5th grade)

This is another simple idea using the hand motion but it has instantly increased engagement with my 3rd graders who are learning whole and half rests and practicing reading and clapping rhythms with those rests in them a lot. Normally I have my students show rests by pulsing their hands with their palms up to show the number of beats, so it's a very simple swap to change it to the 6 7 motion by having them move alternating hands higher and lower to show the beats for longer rests.

5. Beat counting (3rd-12th grade, instrumental ensembles)

Give students a notated 8-beat rhythm (or pick out a phrase from your band or orchestra literature/ method book), and have them mark where beats 6 and 7 are in the phrase. This is a really great way to test whether students know their note values! You can also have them write in the measure line(s) in a given time signature in the same activity to get in a little more practice with the same concept.

For a different spin on the same idea, which works well for younger students practicing maintaining a steady pulse or when students are first learning a new rhythm element, have students listen to a piece of music/ rhythm and do the 6 7 hand motion on the 6th and 7th bears with the music.

6. Vocal Timbre (Kindergarten)

Test students' knowledge of the 4 or 5 voices (speaking/ singing/ calling/ whisper/ thinking) by naming a voice and asking them to perform "6 7" in that voice. This actually works well for incorporating the 5th "thinking voice" because there is a gesture attached to the phrase. 

Bonus (7): Use a combination of these ideas throughout your lessons/ rehearsals specifically on the 67th day of school without telling them why, and see how long it takes them to catch on! 

I have already used some of these ideas in my classroom, and I can't wait to incorporate the others later this year! Throwing references to slang and youth culture into your lessons can be such an easy way to foster a sense of belonging, build connections, and boost engagement for students. If you have other ideas for incorporating 6 7 in the music classroom please leave a comment!

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24 Low-Effort Christmas Activities with Teens

One of our most treasured family traditions is our advent calendar. Since my daughters were 2, I've been putting together an advent calendar with a small holiday-related activity to do each day leading up to Christmas. I never thought it would become such an important part of our lives but now, with my girls about to turn 14, they start asking about the calendar several months in advance! Now that my daughters are teenagers our list of activities looks a little different than it did a decade ago- here's what I'm planning to do this year (and you can too with very little prep work).

Because I am all about low-maintenance, especially as a music teacher in December (if you know you know), most of the things are things that might normally be considered "chores", like decorating and sending cards, but now they are fun family activities! It's a great way to really focus on the small joys of the holiday. Here is a list of what we're doing this year:

1. Put up and decorate the tree

2. Make wish lists

3. Hang Christmas lights

4. Make lists of what to give

5. Make cookie dough and put it in the fridge

6. Bake and decorate cookies

7. Put up the rest of the Christmas decor around the house

8. Walk around a town with lots of lights

9. Shop for presents

10. Decorate the front door (we have a wreath, window clings, and flag)

11. Make Christmas cards (my girls love giving handmade cards)

12. Wear matching new Christmas socks

13. Make roasted nuts and peppermint bark

14. Strawberry matcha overnight oats for breakfast

15. Christmas song karaoke with their grandparents

16. Put together teacher gifts

17. Hot cocoa with breakfast (everyone adds their own favorite flavors/ toppings)

18. Hang the stockings

19. Wrap gifts

20. Family secret santa gift exchange

21. Make gingerbread houses

22. Christmas party with the girls' friends (cookies, Christmas movie, Christmas tree pizzas)

23. Play Christmas games (Christmas UNO: sing a Christmas song for every green card you play, eat a marshmallow for every red card, Christmas Categories, Moose Match Mayhem)

24. Put out cookies for Santa

This kind of Christmas countdown / advent activity calendar is so easy to set up because the activities are low-prep, low-mess, quick activities, most of which are things families celebrating Christmas would do anyway. If you want to do something similar this year but don't have time to make a calendar, all you really have to do is write down each activity on a piece of paper and fold it up with the number for the date you want to do it on the outside. Then open a paper each day to reveal that day's activity!

Here is how I made the calendar we use every year (so easy if you have the supplies)- click the image to see the tutorial:

And you can see how my list of activities has evolved over the years as my daughters get older in these posts from previous years: my list for 11 year olds, for 9 year olds, for 7 year olds, for 6 year olds, for 5 year olds, for 4 year olds, and for 3 year olds.

If you're looking for ways to add a little cheer without a lot of effort I hope these ideas will help! 

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My Favorite Partner Songs

I've realized I have a bit of an obsession with partner songs. I think it's so cool to figure out songs that sound good together, and when my students are able to sing them successfully it is so exciting! Today I'm sharing some of my favorite partner songs to use in my elementary music lessons.

I've written before about my entire step-by-step process for introducing partner songs for the very first time, including the song I use for their first time singing a partner song, in this post, but here are some more favorites I use to practice partner singing (mostly in 4th grade).

1. No One/ Waka Waka

I love this combination because it uses more modern music and the 2 songs are so different, but they fit together so well! Sing the chorus of "No One" by Alicia Keys (0:53-1:15 in this video) with the chorus of Shakira's "Waka Waka" (sing 0:51-0:59 in this video two times). I definitely date myself with these songs- these days my students are not really familiar with the songs- but they usually know the artists so that keeps it interesting for my 4th graders.

2. This Train/ Swing Low/ O When the Saints

I don't know what it is about these songs but my students always enjoy singing these 3 together, and if you are looking to incorporate some spirituals this is an easy and accessible way to do it. This video is a great demonstration that includes "I'm Gonna Sing", which I don't use because it's a little too overtly religious for me to feel comfortable using it, but you can see how they all fit together.

3. I Love the Mountains/ Heart and Soul

I love using "I Love the Mountains" to teach canon singing in 3rd grade so when I realized that the melody for "Heart and Soul" worked as a partner song I knew I wanted to use it with my 4th graders! The trouble is the lyrics for "Heart and Soul" are way too lovey dovey for my students to want to sing, so I changed the lyrics to go along with the words from "I Love the Mountains":

Where I live there's lots of sidewalks and

Houses too and maybe some little gardens

At least I'm here with you

And you and you and you!

I'd love to hear your favorite partner songs to use with your students- I know there are a lot more I've enjoyed over the years, these are just the ones that are in my current rotation! And if you want to see the full lesson plans for these songs, and how I build up to singing partner songs so my 4th graders can do it successfully, you can find my full curriculum materials here.

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My Favorite Canon Songs

I've been teaching my 3rd graders to sing in canon and I remembered how much I love singing rounds! If you're looking for some fun canons to use in elementary music lessons to teach beginning canon singing, here are some of my favorites that my students love every year.

I've written before about my entire step-by-step process for introducing canon singing for the very first time, including the song I use for their first canon, in this post, but here are some more favorites I use to practice canon singing, along with the motions I always do with them to help each group stay on their part.

1. Fast Food Canon

This one is hilarious, especially with the motions (and the all-important facial expressions) that I use! I always have my students start my copying my motions while they listen to me sing it first, and they always end up laughing by the end of the song when they hear me sing it. 

2. I Love the Mountains

I had several students' eyes light up when we sang this in canon for the first time this year. The harmonies are just so pretty when you sing it in a round! 

3. Boots of Shining Leather

I actually just wrote an entire post on this song and the lessons I use with it- I use it to review canon singing in 4th grade before we jump into partner songs, and this one is definitely another favorite!

Bonus songs:

I use these other songs in canon at other points in my curriculum, or even in my choir class as a warmup, rather than specifically for the purpose of practicing canon singing, but they're great songs that you could certainly use for that purpose if you're looking for more (the links will take you to more detailed descriptions of the songs and lessons I use with each)!

Es Regnet, Wenn Es Regnen Will

Kaeru No Uta

Ding Dong Diggidiggidong

I'd love to hear your favorite canons to use with your students- I know there are a lot more I've enjoyed over the years, these are just the ones that are in my current rotation! And if you want to see the full lesson plans for all of these songs, and how I build up to singing in canon so my 3rd graders can do it successfully, you can find my full curriculum materials here.

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Teaching Measure Lines

With the rise of the rhythm play-along videos since the pandemic, I realized a couple of years ago that my students no longer understood the concept of a measure or a measure line when reading full music notation. It's a small thing that I didn't miss until it was gone, and over the last couple of years have been working to recover! Here are some very simple tips for bringing back the measure line.

I realized my students were missing some important learning when my 3rd graders who were learning a new song on recorder asked me what kind of rhythm those vertical lines were. I hadn't realized it at the time, but a lot of my composition worksheets just have 1 measure per line (or just 1 measure total) so it's big enough for young students' larger writing, I use rhythm play-along videos that have each beat in a box rather than using measure lines, and when they were using manipulatives to compose I would have them put each measure on its own line. They had no idea what a measure line was because I never used them!

Here are a few simple ways I started incorporating measure lines into rhythm notation practice. After making these small tweaks for the last year and a half or so, my students no longer stumble over the measure lines when we get to a fully notated melody (it's really not a very difficult concept as long as you don't completely forget about them like I did!).

1. Popsicle Sticks

When I have students use composition manipulatives like these cards, I give them popsicle sticks and have them use those as the measure lines and place the manipulatives on the floor or staff lines with at least 2 measures in a row so they can see how the popsicle stick measure line divides the groups of beats.

2. Worksheets

I actually intentionally kept my composition worksheets that have one measure per line the same. The first thing I have students do now when I am having them write a rhythm or melody is write in the measure lines themselves to divide each line into at least 2 measures. They still have plenty of room for the rhythms they are writing even with the lines divided in half!

3. Rhythm Practice Examples

The latest change I have been working on making is replacing some of the rhythm practice visuals I use that look like this:

Instead of having each measure in a different colored box, I'm putting the notes on a single line staff and adding measure lines, like this:

Small changes like these have made measure lines very straightforward for my students, and it really doesn't seem to create any added difficulty for them either. I have really noticed a big difference in my students' ability to read full musical notation by making sure I'm incorporating more elements like measure lines in our regular practice!

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Boots of Shining Leather: modern movement

I love using the song "Boots of Shining Leather" to introduce ti with my 4th graders. Last year my 4th graders were very challenging to engage, so I was determined to make the song, and the circle dance I've always had students do with it, feel a little more modern to get better buy in. And it worked! After teaching the same movement with the song again this year, I thought it was time to share for anyone else looking to update their lessons to make it more relevant.

I like using the song "Boots of Shining Leather" to teach ti for a lot of reasons, especially because it is perfect to use to review canon singing, which leads into learning partner singing, and I use it to also introduce accelerando and ritardando, which the song lends itself well to. But the different movement / folk dances I had seen used with the song felt very outdated and boring. I also found that the movements were often to similar in the different parts of the song, which makes it a bit counterproductive, because adding a movement component is really helpful for helping each group keep track of where they are when they sing in canon. And some of the movements don't really move with the beat, which doesn't work well when I'm using the song to practice tempo. 

So for those reasons I knew I wanted to update the movements, and last year this is what I came up with. It has been very successful 2 years in a row- in fact, my 4th graders told me last week that they had been singing and doing the dance outside at recess after we did it in class! That's always the ultimate sign of a win in my book, especially with the upper grades!

I hope you'll consider trying out this version, or even get inspired to add your own spin on movement for upper elementary students. It has not only been engaging and fun for my students but it has significantly improved their learning because of the more obvious beat, differentiated movements for each phrase, and motions that match the lyrics.

If you want to learn more about my lessons using the song, and how I introduce and practice the solfege, here is my post on that. And of course all of the details and materials for the lessons are in my 4th grade curriculum!

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Sonor Glockenspiel Mallet Solution

I have a very specific problem that I found a very specific but magical solution to, and I am so excited about it that I hope this is useful for other music teachers and students! If you have any of the barred instruments similar to the Sonor BWG Soprano Glockenspiel in Boomwhacker Colors, where the mallets go into a slot built into the side of the instrument, this hack is for you!

If you haven't heard me say this before, I am a big fan of the boomwhacker colored glockenspiels, and I definitely did not think I would be. Their sound quality is great, and most importantly, the colors have been an extremely effective teaching tool for every grade level Kindergarten through 6th- I use them so much more than I ever thought I would! But I have always had one bone to pick with them: the mallet holders.

I love how sturdy the construction is in general so they are easier for my youngest students to carry without all the bars falling off, and I love that the extra bars and mallets come attached to the instrument so I don't have to juggle extra things when we're getting them out to play. But my students always struggled to put them back in the slots correctly no matter how hard I tried to explain and show them how to do it properly, to the point that several of the mallets were completely snapped in half, and I resorted to telling my students not to try to put the mallets back in themselves because I was so afraid of breaking more mallets. 

Then a few weeks ago one of my 3rd graders taught me how to get my students to put them away properly, and their explanation has had a 100% success rate in making instant sense to all my students since I adopted their explanation! When I was trying to explain to the class that they need to put the stick side into the hole so the ball part can rest in the notch, my student casually raised their hand and said, 

"it's like putting a baby to bed!"

Don't worry, I didn't get it at first either. Upon further inquiry, she explained that the slot that the shaft slides into is the blanket, the mallet head is like the baby's head, and the notch is the pillow. 

You have to put the baby's head on the pillow.

I kid you not, the entire class (myself included) immediately let out a collective "oooooohhhhh" and suddenly I looked around and every single student was very easily putting the mallets in correctly. I was stunned. Since then I have used the baby explanation in every class that uses them, in all different grade levels, and it has worked instantly every time- even in Kindergarten. No more broken mallets! 

So I think there are a few morals to this story: 

1. Listen to your students. Sometimes they are the best teachers.

2. Just put the baby's head on the pillow.

If you're interested in hearing more about how I teach xylophones and other barred instruments in my elementary music lessons, check out this post. Have you gotten any mind blowing pearls of wisdom from your students? I'd love to hear them in the comments. 

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Ukulele Songs for Beginners

The best part of learning ukulele is being able to play harmonic accompaniment with so many familiar songs in different styles and genres! I teach ukulele in 6th grade general music so we don't have a ton of time to develop advanced skills beyond the first 4 chords. Here are some of my favorite songs to have students play in elementary music using just a few basic chords.

3 chord songs (C, F, Am)

I always teach C major, F major, and A minor chords in one 25-minute lesson- they are all pretty easy to learn and students get them pretty quickly! Once we spend the first lesson just practicing each chord on its own, the second lesson is focused on getting more comfortable with those 3 chords and practicing switching between chords. Here are a few songs I like to use to give them a chance to practice switching between C, F, and Am chords with music that my 12 year old students don't groan about (usually):

4 chord songs (C, F, G, Am)

Once students are comfortable with C, F, and Am, it's time to add G. Learning a G chord is always a bit frustrating for students because it's much more difficult than the first 3, but they quickly realize how many more songs they can play and they get used to it after a few lessons of practice! Here are some of my favorite songs using those 4 chords for my 6th graders:

I hope this gives you some fresh material to use with what I know can often be a difficult to please age group! If you want to learn more about how I teach ukulele, including basic ideas about what instruments to purchase, storage tips, and more, here is my post on all things ukulele. You'll also find all of my sequenced lesson plans and materials incorporated into my 6th grade general music curriculum here. 

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What To Do With Those Triangles

I'm always shocked at how popular the triangle is. I have had multiple experiences with 6th graders telling me the one instrument they want to play most before they leave my class is the triangle! There's definitely something magical about them. If you're looking for some fresh ways to use triangles in your classroom, or strategies for using them more effectively, this post is for you.

1. Storage

If you haven't tried my storage "hack" that I figured out years ago then you are definitely missing out. I use a jewelry organizer/ necklace hanger so I can hang the triangles from the hooks and keep the beaters in the bottom. Not only does it prevent the triangles from getting tangled up with each other, but it makes it easier to grab the triangle by the holder to keep them from falling off when you pick it up, and it makes the beaters easy to find and grab as well. You can use any shape you can find that has hooks on top and a base wide enough for triangle beaters- this is just the one I happened to find at the store on clearance years ago:

2. Management and Playing Technique

The biggest game changer that I will never go without again is rubber triangle holders (like these). I don't know why they are so hard to find, because no other triangle holder comes close to being as sturdy and easy for small hands to hold, and most importantly, keeps the triangle stable instead of spinning endlessly in circles every time they strike it. 

For students to be able to avoid "playing before I say", I always point out specifically- especially for younger students- that they should keep the beater away from the triangle if they are holding it and waiting. If they are sitting on the floor they can put them down with some distance between them, or if they are sitting in chairs they can hold the triangle on one leg with one hand and the beater in the other hand on the other leg. 

I always start off by showing students how to tap on the bottom side (the "base" of the triangle) while holding it just by the holder, making sure nothing is touching the triangle. When students learn half notes in second grade, I show them how to go back and forth in the bottom corner without the gap to play "sustained" notes, which they always think is super fun. 

3. Lesson Ideas

Preschool/ Kindergarten: My favorite way to introduce triangles is with the song, "Twinkle Twinkle". I have half the students students play on the last word of each line while the other half sing and do the motions. 

1st grade: In 1st grade students notate their own 4-beat rhythm composition for the first time, and after they write the rhythms I have them choose an instrument out of a few choices, including the triangle, to perform their rhythm with. 

2nd/ 3rd grade: In 2nd grade students learn half notes and in 3rd grade they learn whole notes, and I show them that only certain classroom instruments can be used to play sustained notes. The triangle is one of the first instruments (along with egg shakers) that I show them how to use to practice playing sustained note rhythms, so we use triangles a lot for rhythm notation reading practice at this age.

4th-6th grade: The triangle is a go-to instrument for 2 basic categories of lesson activities for my older students: soundscapes/ sound effects, and instrumental ensemble arrangements of lyrical pieces. I have a lot of lessons where I create a quick orff arrangement of a song for students to sing and play to practice a specific musical element, whether that's tonality, or a specific rhythm or pitch element, in the upper grades. The triangle is an easy instrument to add as a "color instrument", usually playing on the last beat of each measure or something like that, when the song is more peaceful/ calm, and the students all beg to be the ones to play the triangle! For soundscapes/ sound effects, I find students gravitate to the triangle for any type of "dinging" sound, so it gets used a lot in the videogame composition project, movie music foley project, and soundscape lessons.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for using triangles in your classroom! If you want to see how all of these strategies and lesson ideas are incorporated into a fully sequenced curriculum, with all the complete lesson plans and materials to teach them, you can find them in the Organized Chaos K-6 Curriculum. I'd love to hear your favorite ways to use triangles in the comments below as well! 

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"Colors" Theme Elementary Choral Program

For our elementary choir winter concert this year, I've chosen songs with the theme of colors. This is a great theme because there are so many possibilities, and it can work well any time of year! The songs I've ended up choosing have been a big hit with my students and they have been great for teaching a range of skills and incorporating a variety of genres and styles, plus I thought I would also share the other songs I considered that could also work well with this theme depending on the performance and students you're working with. 

The idea for this theme started when Kpop Demon Hunters blew up this summer. I knew I wanted to do "Golden" with my choir, and the program grew from there. Here are the songs I've selected for our winter concert:

Golden I'm having students sing the first verse as a solo, then part 2 sings a lower harmony on the pre-chorus and chorus. I'm also having part 1 drop down an octave on the "born to be" part that goes up to a high A, and that has worked out well!

Blackbird We're doing the song in F to make it more comfortable for them to sing it an octave higher, and I've added a lower harmony for part 2 to sing on "blackbird fly" in the chorus.

All the Beautiful Colors This song was actually the other reason I wanted to do this theme- I have been wanting to do this partner song with "De Colores" for a couple of years now because I have so many Spanish speakers and I don't have my 3rd and 4th grade chorus program anymore, so the 5th graders coming into my choir don't have the same choral skills I'm used to seeing. 

Possible bonus: Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows This is so random but I really want to include it because it fits so perfectly! I have made my students obsessed with Andrew Huang, and this song, so my vision right now is to possibly throw it in as a surprise encore if we learn the other 3 songs in enough time to add it in.

Besides those, another song I really strongly considered is Blue Skies. Besides having a few clear references to colors, it would be great to throw in a jazz piece that accessible enough for a beginning choir. There's even some scat singing!

This is another theme that instrumental ensembles performing in the same concert could easily tie in with- beginning bands often have easy songs called "blues", plus there's "Greensleeves", or anything about white snow for a winter concert. So many possibilities!

I used to say I'm not a concert theme person but after doing 4 themed concerts in the last few years I don't think I can say that anymore! I still think that the priority for me is finding good songs the students will love that incorporate the choral and vocal skills I want to teach them with a variety of genres, styles, tonalities, and languages is the highest priority for selecting elementary choir concert pieces, but when a theme naturally emerges in the process that is a cool bonus! You can see all of the themed elementary choral programs I've put together in this post if you're looking for more great songs:

And if you want to see all of my posts related to teaching elementary choir, from rehearsal techniques to my favorite songs, arranging pieces for elementary choir to my favorite warmups, you can see them all here.

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What To Do With Those Rhythm Sticks

Rhythm sticks have to be one of the most versatile and accessible instruments for the elementary music classroom. If you are starting a new classroom from scratch and prioritizing what to purchase first, some type of rhythm sticks would definitely be at the top of my list! If you're looking for some fresh ways to use rhythm sticks in your classroom, or strategies for using them more effectively, this post is for you.

1. Types

I was actually very confused for a long time about all the different types of rhythm sticks and other similar instruments that I found in my first few classrooms where I taught. There are some rhythm sticks that are ridged, like these, and there are the shorter fatter lummi sticks like these, and then there are claves like these. Then of course even with the basic standard rhythm sticks there are different materials and lengths! Claves are their own separate instrument and should be treated that way- I teach students how to play them completely differently and only use them with older students for that reason. Ridged sticks can be a nice addition to have students practice longer notes on a familiar instruments, like when my 2nd graders first learn half notes, but honestly they are so quiet when scraped that often students can't tell if they're making sound or not- I prefer guiros for that purpose and find the ridged sticks more distracting than helpful. I used to think lummi sticks were great for younger students because they are thicker and easier to hold, but the short ones I have make it more likely that students will hit their own hands when they play them, and the longer ones are too heavy for my younger students, so I actually end up saving them for older students just to have something that has a clearer, slightly louder sound.

Within the category of smooth, thin, standard rhythm sticks, I don't have a strong preference. The plastic ones avoid the common chipping and breaking that happens over time with the wooden ones, but they are heavier and louder, so there are pro's and con's to each material. For my classroom, I've actually been really enjoying these rhythm sticks because they are lightweight, the paint doesn't seem to chip like the previous wooden ones I've had, and they come in the 6 colors I use for everything else in my classroom (read about my color teams here). They also have a surprisingly nice sound! So for me these are my current favorites for standard, everyday use, but that's not to say I think they are the only best choice for every situation.

2. Playing Technique

The biggest thing I have to worry about when teaching rhythm sticks is getting students to understand that they are NOT drum sticks, and should not be used that way- they are meant to be tapped together in an x, not tapped on the floor, on their lap, or on their chairs. I actually got a class set of inexpensive drum sticks so that, with my older students, I could change things up and have them use those for their intended purpose on occasion to help drive home that point. 

3. Lesson Ideas

Preschool/ Kindergarten: My favorite thing to do with rhythm sticks in early childhood is a song called "Music, Music, Music". I got this CD from my cooperating teacher decades ago and still use this one track every year! I love using this at the beginning of the school year to reinforce proper playing technique while exploring different ways to use them, practice steady beat, get students singing, and reinforce directional vocabulary. Plus it's a lot of fun!

1st grade: In first grade I mostly use rhythm sticks to practice reading music notation. They're great to use for play-along videos as well because they are loud enough to hear over the music without drowning it out and easy to play accurately.

2nd grade: In second grade students learn about Maori music and they learn tititorea. I always start with our standard rhythm sticks and then switch to thicker and heavier (but still long) lummi sticks once they get the hang of it (so there's less chance of them slamming their own or their partner's fingers). Here's a full explanation of my unit on Maori music if you want to learn more.

3rd grade: I don't do it often because they get frustrated by them pretty quickly, but I do use the ridged rhythm sticks to introduce and practice reading half and whole notes in 3rd grade. I show them how to tap for quarter and eighth notes, and scrape slooooooowly for half and whole notes (so the entire note is done in one scrape). Although it is hard to hear the long notes this way it is a good way for them to kinesthetically experience the long notes so if you have the ridged kind this is a good time to use them this way.

4th grade: I teach sixteenth notes in 4th grade so rhythm sticks become a go-to instrument for practicing reading notation at this age- the other small hand percussion instruments are much more difficult to play at that speed accurately. I show students how to hold one stick still and hold the other one with their thumb and pointer finger to create a fulcrum so they can get a faster stroke, which they love practicing.

5th-6th grade: With 5th and 6th grade I definitely still pull out the rhythm sticks for practicing reading rhythm notation if we are doing sixteenth notes, but I also use them for passing games. I usually practice first with beanbags since they are soft, and then use rhythm sticks to add a level of challenge (and also make it more similar to how passing games were usually originally played in cultures around the world with sticks and stones). Al Citron and Bombela are just a couple of the ones I do with this age. This is also actually when I pull out the short lummi sticks I have because for passing, the shorter ones work well.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for using rhythm sticks in your classroom! If you want to see how all of these strategies and lesson ideas are incorporated into a fully sequenced curriculum, with all the complete lesson plans and materials to teach them, you can find them in the Organized Chaos K-6 Curriculum. I'd love to hear your favorite ways to use rhythm sticks in the comments below as well! 

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Noise Canceling Headphones: Individual Behavior Supports for Music Class

I have a new addition to my classroom that has been a game-changer already: noise canceling headphones. If you are an elementary music teacher I highly recommend adding these to your classroom! Here are the specific headphones my school got, the storage method I found that I am in love with, and tips for implementing them effectively in your classroom so they provide support for students who need it without creating a major distraction for everyone else.

This post contains affiliate links.

What to Buy

The last few years I've had a few students who have noise-canceling headphones that they bring with them for when they need them at school, and it always seems like they leave them in their homeroom or forget them at home on the one day that they really could have used them. After experiencing this situation in my classroom with a new student at the beginning of the school year I went to my principal and asked if I could get a couple of headphones to keep in my classroom for when students forget to bring them with them, and she agreed! I talked to the special education teacher in my building and she recommended these headphones as a kind that seems to be comfortable and effective for most students. I was actually surprised at how cheap they are- I think I would have gotten them sooner if I had known! So far they seem to work well. I've had students of various ages and sizes use them and they all seem to find them pretty comfortable and effective.

Storage

Honestly though, the thing I've been most excited about is this hook for hanging headphones on the side of a desk/ table. I was looking around to figure out the best way to store the headphones in my classroom where they would be out of the way but also easily accessible, thinking I would get some kind of hook on the wall or something, and stumbled across these by accident. They are perfect (and, again, shockingly cheap)! The handle swivels so they can hang under the desk but students can spin it around to get them off the hook more easily. 

For my classroom this has been the perfect storage solution because I can keep 2 headphones on one hanger at the front of my classroom where I have a small table to put my laptop on when I'm teaching etc, and another one hanging from my teacher desk at the back of the classroom next to my calming corner area (the headphones come in a set of 3).

Appropriate Use

I think, as with anything like this, the key to making sure the headphones are used appropriately is in the presentation. At first I thought I would just keep the headphones tucked in the closet in case one of the students who normally brings them forgets their own, but I realized I probably have other students who get overstimulated in music and PE (which they always have back to back) and might need them during music class even though they don't need them the rest of the day, so I showed them to all of my students in every single class. 

I explained that the headphones were not for blocking out the lesson completely, but for lowering the volume for anyone who "the noise is hurting their brain". That explanation seemed to make sense for everyone 1st - 6th grade, I think in part because we have had a handful of students in self-contained classes who will start screaming and running away when an assembly gets too loud, for example, so they are familiar with what that looks like. 

In the 2 weeks or so since I introduced them to my students, there have definitely been classes where there are more students using them than maybe really and truly need them. That's fine. Any time there is something new, some students are going to want to test it out to see what it's like and discover for themselves whether it's something they want to use or not. Most of them have used them for a few minutes and then put them back, and seem satisfied. I've also found out that there are definitely students who, if they had had access to the headphones sooner, might have avoided some meltdowns the last few years. I can physically see their face and shoulders relax when they put them on. I can see how, long-term, this is going to be a game-changer for ability to be successful and feel comfortable in my classroom, and that has been huge.

But does it prevent students from hearing the things they do need to hear, like my instruction? So far, for the ones that are using them and really need them, no. And the students who put them on to try them out, realizing they can't hear everything else as well seems to be what prompts them to decide to take them off. After watching students use them the last few weeks I feel like I can tell which ones the headphones are really helping. They become so much more focused and attuned to my teaching and actually seem to hear me, without me speaking any louder, much better. It's truly very striking to see.

If you don't have any noise-cancelling headphones in your music classroom yet, I highly recommend asking your school about getting some! In my experience they are low-cost and easy to implement, don't seem to create the distraction that I feared they might, and have been very helpful for a lot more students than I initially anticipated. I think with more time with them my students and I will learn better when it's best to use them and when it isn't as well.

I am always looking for practical, manageable ways to provide individual supports for students in the elementary music classroom where we have to juggle hundreds of students and cycle through so many different classes back to back every day! Here are some of my other favorite individual support strategies for various needs and situations if you are looking for more ideas:

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What To Do With Those Egg Shakers

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with access to a bunch of egg shakers you don't know what to do with, or you have had them for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, or just want some fun new ways to use them in your lessons, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for managing their use with students and teaching proper playing technique, plus tons of lesson ideas to use with every grade from Kindergarten up through 6th grade!

1. Management

I actually think egg shakers are one of the best instruments for practicing instrument procedures and expectations and use them for that purpose at the beginning of the year, because they will so easily make noise if they aren't kept very still. I reinforce the rule that "if you play before I say you'll make the instrument go away" and remind students that it's not my place to judge if it was intentional or accidental, so they have to be that careful not to let the egg shaker move when they are waiting to play! I like showing off my stealthy skills by showing them how I can take an egg shaker and put it in my lap without it making any sound and then tell students to do the same. They take it as a challenge and will move so slowly and carefully trying to keep it from making any sound!

2. Playing Technique

One of the reasons I think egg shakers are actually a pretty popular instrument for all of my students is because I tell them from the very first time they use them in Kindergarten that these are not the same as the "baby toys" they may have seen. Every year when I bring out the egg shakers for the first time I remind students not to "be babies" and demonstrate the difference between wrapping your hand around the whole shaker and shaking it in any direction vs holding it on your palm with your fingers and moving intentionally back and forth, like this:

I find it's really helpful not only to get students of all ages to treat the instrument as a legitimate instrument but also to help them be able to play bigger shakers with proper technique that produces a crisp sound when they get older by making them aware that the back AND the forth both make sounds and should be treated as separate notes.

3. Lesson Ideas

Kindergarten: I don't use egg shakers for things like playing rhythms or steady beat in Kindergarten very often because it is so difficult for them to play accurately, but I do introduce proper playing technique (as described above) by having them try to play along with the steady beat of a track with a moderate tempo. My favorite way to use them with this age group (as well as younger self-contained classes), though, is "I Know A Chicken" by Laurie Berkner. I have them echo the A section with the egg shakers on the floor and then pick it up and play it as described in the B section, as a great way to practice echo songs and also introduce the idea of same and different sections.

1st grade: This is when I do start having students play rhythms and steady beat with egg shakers to really work on getting the proper technique and as a way to increase the level of difficulty while we're reviewing rhythms from Kindergarten. I like using egg shakers to play rhythms along with a track or a play-along video because it's quiet enough that I don't have to turn the track way up for them to hear it while the whole class is playing along.

2nd-4th grade: I introduce half notes in 2nd grade, whole notes in 3rd, and dotted half notes in 4th grade, and egg shakers are one of a few small percussion instruments that they can use to play longer duration notes, which is also really fun because it's actually so much easier than trying to get the crisp, shorter notes on the egg shakers! So egg shakers are a frequent feature for rhythm notation practice in 2nd-4th grade.

5th-6th grade: I don't have many lessons in my oldest grades where the entire class is playing egg shakers (although I do still use them at the beginning of the year to review instrument procedures even with my oldest students!), but they are a common choice for composition projects where I am asking students to evoke a specific image or feeling with their music, or for adding foley/ sound effects to a movie, so they get used a lot in the 5th grade videogame composition project and 6th grade movie music unit.

Self-contained: Every self-contained class is vastly different because every student is different! But I do find egg shakers are a great instrument for self-contained classes of all types because they are universally appealing, easy for students with varying levels of motor skill to play, easy to clean if put in someone's mouth, difficult to damage (and not to expensive to replace if they are), and quiet enough not to bother most students with noise sensitivity. I've also found, because I can get them in so many different colors, that they are a great tool to give students choice and also get students to verbalize by telling me what color they want. I've had multiple experiences with students who are nonverbal and use communication (AAC) devices say their first word in my class when they form the sound to say "pink" or "blue" to request their favorite egg shaker.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for using egg shakers in your lessons with all grade levels! If you want to see how all of these strategies and lesson ideas are incorporated into a fully sequenced curriculum, with all the complete lesson plans and materials to teach them, you can find them in the Organized Chaos K-6 Curriculum. I am always surprised at how much my students of all ages love playing the egg shaker, and they are such a versatile and accessible teaching tool! 

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Baseball Themed Elementary Music Lesson Activities

Baseball season is still in full swing (see what I did there?!?) so this is a great time to throw some baseball references into your lesson plans! And bringing sports references into music class is always a great way to engage students who may otherwise not get excited about the material. Here are a few simple ways to keep teaching the important concepts and skills we never have enough time to teach while incorporating a baseball theme into the activities!

To be honest I'm a little embarrassed I haven't written this post before now, considering what a central part of my upbringing baseball was- I am by no means a sports fan or a sporty person but my father played baseball in college and it is the one sport I have watched enough to feel like I know what I'm talking about most of the time. In fact baseball is probably the only sport I have consistently been incorporating into my lessons in some fashion since my first year of teaching. And it is always so fun to see the students' faces light up as they talk about their love of baseball!

1. Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Baseball or not, this is in fact my favorite song for introducing dotted half notes. It has a waltz feel without being waltz-y at all and has tons of dotted half notes students can identify as they are first introduced to the new note. I have them sway with the downbeat as they sing, then do a basic 3-beat clapping pattern with a partner, to get them feeling the triple meter, and then have them discover the 3-beat durations to introduce dotted half notes. You can find all the details about the lessons I do with this song in this post- if you pick one baseball activity to do, this is my top pick!

2. Play-Alongs

These days it feels like there's a play-along for everything! I honestly try to limit how often I use them but for sub plans, game days, or just to break up a difficult lesson they are great to have on hand. This video is a boomwhacker play-along for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (good to note it requires an F#) that would be great for older students, this video is a rhythm play along with just quarter notes and paired eighth notes that's slow enough for beginning readers, and this one is a steady beat body percussion play along that would be great for preschool or self-contained classes.

3. Baseball Review Game

Any time I'm reviewing something with students that can be a little mundane, whether it's note names or music vocabulary, instrument families, or any other information I want students to memorize, I try to turn it into a different kind of "game" to keep it interesting. One of my favorite formats for this is a baseball game: split the class into 2 teams, and each team takes turns "going up to bat" to answer a question/ name a note/ etc. A correct answer gets them 1 base, and the next person on the same team answers another question to try to get another base. If they get a question wrong the other team goes up to bat, and if they get 4 questions in a row correct they get a homeroom before the other team gets their turn at bat. It makes it feel more like baseball, especially with older students, if you have a student from the opposite team be the "pitcher" and read the question from a card (I often use the truth cards from my truth or dare deck for this). Put a picture of a baseball field on the board and use something to track each team's progress around the bases!

4. Baseball Organ Playing

For older students (5th grade and up), introducing students to baseball stadium organ players is a great jumping off point for a lot of topics and topics. I've used it as an example when we're talking about keyboard instruments, a surprising example of a music-related career, and as inspiration for composition projects to get students to think about how to use music to evoke different feelings. This video is a great example of how music can "move a crowd" that you can use to have students create a song that will get a crowd excited, but you can do similar projects to have students compose a "walk up song" for a player, a happy song for when your team gets a homerun, a sad song for when the opposite team scores, etc: 

I hope this gives you some ideas for incorporating baseball into your lessons! If you're looking for more ways to include sports references, here is my post on football themed lesson activities. I think the more we can find ways not just to reference student interests but also help connect things that people often treat as separate, or even opposing, worlds from music, the more we can help all students see themselves as musicians and feel connected to what they're learning in music class. 

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What To Do With Those Djembes

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with access to a set of djembes you don't know what to do with, or you have had the instruments for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for storage, procedures for managing their use with students, and tons of lesson ideas to use with every grade from Kindergarten up through 6th grade!

First a quick note: in this post I'm going to be talking about these Toca Freestyle Colorsound Djembes, which I have in my classroom and have seen many other elementary music teachers using. Some tips and ideas are specific to those instruments but for the most part, apply to any similar djembes you may have in your classroom.

1. Storage

My general rule of thumb with instruments is to store them where students can easily get them and put them back themselves, and for djembes like this, some type of open shelving I think works best. Unlike some other types of drums, they don't stack on top of each other very well (believe me, I've tried), so they can end up taking up a lot of real estate! One small thing I discovered last year that allowed me to fit a lot more drums on the same shelf was to alternate between right side up and upside down so they don't take up as much room- this was a game changer for me!

2. Management

The main problem you're likely to encounter from a management perspective with djembes is students wanting to drum on them when they aren't supposed to. Obviously I have the same rule for the djembes as I do for every other instrument in my classroom: If you play before I say, you'll make the instrument go away. But beyond that I find with drums, students don't realize that touching the drumhead at all can cause the instrument to sound. I always remind students not to touch the white part when they are carrying them or waiting for their turn. Pointing out the color is much more concrete and specific and helps avoid a lot of problems!

One of the reasons I love these Toca Freestyle Colorsound Djembes specifically is because they come in sets of 7 colors, and 6 of those colors are the exact colors I use to break each class into rows/ teams (read about my color teams here- I use them for everything). I love being able to tell students to use the drum that matches their color team, but even if you don't use color "teams" in your classroom, I highly recommend assigning students to a color with some type of system to avoid arguments over which color they get. 

3. Lesson Ideas

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of lessons I love to teach using djembes, but here are some of my favorite ways to use them in each grade:

Kindergarten: It wasn't until recently that I started using the djembes with Kindergarten because they usually sit in the floor and I found it was difficult for them to play while sitting on the floor without knocking the drum over. But a few years ago I figured out that if they sit "criss-cross" with the drum sitting on the floor between their legs, it works really well and of course the students think they are super cool to play! I mostly use them for playing steady beat with a track since they can be quite loud (even when they are resting on the floor)!

1st grade: Even though my 1st graders sit in chairs most of the time, I find most of them are too small to hold the djembe properly between their knees with their feet on the floor. I usually have 1st graders use the djembes to work on rhythm compositions in small groups. I give them a small dry erase board and a marker or use these DIY rhythm cards to write a 4-beat rhythm, then they practice playing it on the djembe and eventually perform for the group. The djembes are easy to manage while sitting in a circle on the floor so they work well for this activity.

2nd grade: I usually teach students how to properly hold djembes in 2nd grade but sitting up in their chairs, putting their feet on the floor, and holding the drum between their knees with the top of the drumhead level with the top of their legs. I use them most often for rhythm play-along videos because they are loud enough to hear over the track.

3rd grade: I like to show my 3rd graders how to "roll" on the djembes to play long notes, especially the whole notes they learn for the first time in 3rd grade. 

4th-6th grade: The smaller djembes I have start to get a little small for some students' hands in the upper elementary grades so I will often use tubanos instead of djembes with this age group, but for a quick rhythm reading or composition activity the djembes are much easier to pull out and put away quickly. I also used the djembes to supplement instruments for drum circle activities when I didn't have very many larger tubanos to use, and then I would just have students put down their instruments in front of their chairs and rotate every few minutes so they could take turns playing the different types of drums. You can read about my favorite drum circle activities in this post.

I hope this gives you some ideas to start using your djembes more in your lessons! If you want the fully detailed lesson plans and materials for everything I do with djembes and more, you can find them in my curriculum. They are such a great instrument to have for rhythm, composition, steady beat, and more and my students always think they are way cooler than hand drums!

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