The Elementary Music Teacher Podcast: Music Education

You carve out time to lesson plan each week, but do you ever block time out of your calendar to do some self assessment? That's where reflecting, processing, and renewing come into play. Without consistently using and applying these strategies to your music teaching life, you'll be stuck on the treadmill that will keep just getting faster and faster over time. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, then you DO NOT want to miss this episode. I'll break down exactly what it means to stop and reflect and talk about ways you can apply these tips to your own life. Sign up for the Reflect and Renew challenge ⁠here.⁠ Find out more about the HARMONY membership ⁠⁠⁠here.⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the Curriculum Design Roadmap course ⁠⁠here.⁠⁠ Get your copy of ⁠⁠⁠Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music

As the music teacher, you might want to collaborate and share ideas with the other teachers on your team, but you aren't sure how. When talking about your team, of course this will look different from a grade level team. Your team consists of other related arts teachers like the art teacher, librarian, physical education teacher, and computer teacher. Maybe what's held you back from planning or collaboration is the fact that you all teach different subject areas. It is definitely possible and worth it to work together on shared ideas. In this episode, I'll talk about practical ways you can collaborate with the other related arts teachers. Of course there are MANY ideas you can implement, but I'll be sharing a couple of my favorites. Read the blog post that goes along with this episode right here. Sign up for the Reflect and Renew challenge here. Find out more about the HARMONY membership ⁠⁠here.⁠⁠ Find out more about the Curriculum Design Roadmap course ⁠here.⁠ Get your copy of ⁠⁠Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music

You might be passionate about both teaching and something else. Maybe you love inspiring your students and teaching them in new and exciting ways while also pursuing passions outside of teaching. If this is you, then you don't want to miss this conversation I had with the amazing Melody Jenkins. Melody Jenkins is currently in her third year teaching elementary general music. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Instrumental Music Education and initially wanted to be a band director, but fell in love with teaching elementary during her student teaching. She is also known as "The Chromatic Music Teacher" on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, creating covers of popular songs using Boomwhackers and sharing stories from being an elementary music teacher. Melody loves being able to share her love of music not only with her students, but also with the world through social media.  Connect with Melody here:  TikTok: @thechromaticmusicteacher Instagram: @thechromaticmusicteacher YouTube: The Chromatic Music Teacher Website: www.thechromaticmusicteacher.com Grab your free ⁠⁠Simplifying Lesson Planning guide.⁠⁠ Sign up for⁠⁠ teacher coaching ⁠⁠or ⁠⁠business coaching⁠⁠ with Jessica. Get your copy of ⁠⁠Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music⁠⁠ Join the ⁠⁠Facebook group. ⁠⁠ I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Facebook.⁠

The way we create and organize our lesson plans has a profound effect on classroom management and the classroom climate in general. While focusing on creating and delivering lessons, you may not realize how much of an impact with your student engagement. Terri Lloyd is a retired elementary music teacher with over 25 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor of Music, a Master of Science in Education, and a Technology Certificate in Instructional Design.She is currently active in music education through blogging, workshops, and curriculum development. She also serves on the music staff at her church and volunteers for an after-school children's program. Terri is an active musician in the community, performing in a local Big Band, pit orchestras, and various events. In this episode, Terri Lloyd and I have a discussion around: creating engaging activities using non-verbal communication for instructions moving from one activity to the next with few instrutions organizing lesson plans in slide decks and much more! Connect with Terri here:  Her website:⁠ www.fraumusick.com On Facebook ⁠@fraumusickusa⁠ On Instagram⁠ @fraumusikusa Grab your free ⁠Simplifying Lesson Planning guide.⁠ Sign up for⁠ teacher coaching ⁠or ⁠business coaching⁠ with Jessica. Get your copy of ⁠Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music⁠ Join the ⁠Facebook group. ⁠ I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on ⁠Instagram⁠ or ⁠Facebook.

While going throughout the school year, it's important to consider that it's a marathon and not a sprint. Each quarter, you'll experience different highs and lows and realizing where you're at in the race of the school year will help you to keep going. On this episode, I’ll talk about the different quarters and the ways you might be feeling throughout them. Grab your free ⁠Simplifying Lesson Planning guide.⁠ Sign up for⁠ teacher coaching ⁠or ⁠business coaching⁠ with Jessica. Find out more about the HARMONY membership ⁠here.⁠ Find out more about the Curriculum Design Roadmap course here. Get your copy of ⁠Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music

Professional development doesn't always support what music teachers actually need. We all know the feeling of sitting through yet another PD that has everything to do with math or language arts, and nothing to do with music. In this episode, Sarah and Kate will help you discover how you can find the relevance in PD being offered that is both accessible and motivating for you the learner. Kate Hagen teaches in the Iowa City Community School district and has 24 years of teaching experience. She has presented at several state conferences and workshops and is a regular guest lecturer at the University of Iowa for undergraduate music education students. Sarah Fairfield also has over 20 years of teaching experience and works as a Leadership Development and Support Strategist for the Iowa City Schools. You can find out more about both of them here.  Connect with the MusicConstructED team here: Website: www.musicconstructed.com Insta: https://www.instagram.com/musiconstructed/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/musiconstructed Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musiconstructed Linkdin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/music-constructed/ Grab your free Simplifying Lesson Planning guide. Sign up for teacher coaching or business coaching with Jessica. Find out more about the HARMONY membership here. Get your copy of Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music Join the Facebook group.  I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Using centers in the music room isn't as scary as it sounds. There are ways to plan for centers and ways to provide choice centers to your students. Along with that, centers are a great way to assess your students. In this episode, Aileen does a great job explaining what centers are, different ways to group your students, and why you can adapt centers to work for your students.  Aileen Miracle teaches general music and choir in the Olentangy Local School District near Columbus, Ohio; this is her twenty-fourth year teaching. Aileen received her Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University in 1999, and her Master of Music in Music Education from Capital University in 2003; she completed her masters studies at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary. Aileen has served as President of the Tri-City Kodály Educators in Columbus, President and Treasurer of the Midwest Kodály Music Educators of America, and has served as the National Program Chair for the 2015 OAKE conference, co-chair for the 2019 OAKE conference, and will serve as chair for the 2023 OAKE conference. Aileen has taught Level I Methodology and Folk Song Research for Colorado State University's Kodály Program,  Level I and III Methodology and Folk Song Research for DePaul University's Kodály Program, and Level III Methodology and Folk Song Research for Capital University's Kodály Program. In 2016, Aileen was awarded "Teacher of the Year" at Cheshire Elementary. She has presented at OAKE Conferences, and currently presents workshops around the world. She enjoys sharing music education ideas through her blog, Mrs. Miracle's Music Room, and her podcast, The Music Room. Her family includes her 18-year-old daughter Jenna, who plays flute, guitar, and ukulele, and is an English major at Ohio University, and her 10-year-old daughter Macy, who loves to Irish dance! Connect with Aileen here:  Her website: www.mrsmiraclesmusicroom.com On Facebook @mrsmiraclesmusicroom On Instagram @mrsmiraclesmusicroom On TikTok @mrsmiraclesmusicroom Facebook group: The Music Room with Aileen Miracle | Facebook Grab your free Simplifying Lesson Planning guide. Sign up for teacher coaching or business coaching with Jessica. Get your copy of Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music Join the Facebook group.  I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Following a roadmap is the way to successfully build a curriculum for your classroom that you love. In this episode, I'll talk about the steps of that roadmap and what to do in order to get to your end goal.... a curriculum. Part of the roadmap is simplifying lesson planning and you'll learn how to do just that. Enroll in the Curriculum Design Roadmap course today!

Assessment and lesson planning work together and not against each other. So many times, teachers (including myself) do a great job lesson planning, but feel frustrated their students aren’t connecting the dots between concepts and it ends up making you feel frustrated. But, when you plan for assessment and not just plan the actual lesson, you’ll notice how much more your students are retaining. On this episode, I’ll talk about how you can assess your students and why it fits like a puzzle piece when it comes to lesson planning. Save your seat for the FREE "How to Design Curriculum for your Elementary Music Classroom" workshop Read the blog post that goes along with this episode that includes links to every website and app mentioned. Grab your free Simplifying Lesson Planning guide. Sign up for teacher coaching or business coaching with Jessica. Find out more about the HARMONY membership here. Get your copy of Make A Note: What You Really Need to Know About Teaching Elementary Music

Learn how concept based teaching in the music room can make lesson planning more efficient and effective. The speaker discusses the benefits of planning around key concepts for deeper student understanding. They also provide strategies for implementing this approach, including setting smaller goals and finding a system that works best for you and your students.