Afternoon Ti

Want to get your students speaking, playing, and learning on day one? Here's the perfect piece to use with your older elementary students. Learn a new speech piece that allows students to review/learn class expectations and procedures while making music. Head to TpT to get the Welcome Back to School Resource HERE! Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

We are just past the halfway point of 2024! It's a great time to review how you're goals are going. In today's episode, we'll look at three areas: Long term goals Short term goals Task oriented goals You'll hear how I'm doing on a few of mine and gain a few ideas for continuing to go after yours. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

I recently attended the AMLE Institute in San Diego, CA and am excited to share some insights from my experience as well introduce you to AMLE, if you've never heard of it before! Hear an overview of the Institute and takeaways from homebase and different sessions I attended. Head to Instagram and follow me @howtoteachmusicwithjessica! I'd love to connect with you! LINKS Association of Middle Level Educators (AMLE) Website The Successful Middle School: This We Believe Book The Successful Middle School pdf The Science of Mastering Life's Challenges book Untangled book

We’re continuing the series for arrangements inspired by pop music for the classroom. The Pirates of the Caribbean Theme is a great piece in 12/8 that is so much fun to play and a great opportunity for students to explore intervals of thirds in the chorus! Get your free Google Slides and full arrangement of the piece HERE! You'll be prompted to make a copy. For other barred instrument arrangements, listen in to: E289-Paint It Black E290 - Look what you made me do E291 - Down Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica!

Learn a fun xylophone arrangement to use with your students that focuses on a verse/chorus form and movement activity with the song Down performed by Marian Hill. Get the free Google Slides presentation at https://www.jessicagrant.org/shop/p/down-by-marian-hill-xylophone-arrangement and click on the shop. Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org 

The first single from Taylor Swift's Reputation album is a fantastic way to teach musical form and provide opportunities for students to compose original melodies. Particularly with aaab form! Listen in to hear how I have used this piece with my students to learn melodies on the xylophones and get your free resource at my shop at www.jessicagrant.org. Website: www.jessicagrant.org Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica  

The first arrangement of our series: Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones!  I share the inspiration behind this arrangement, steps for teaching the piece to students, ideas for form, and how to expand on the original theme with rhythmic variations. The arrangement is written for xylophones. Get the free arrangement HERE at www.jessicagrant.org. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica.  

Using pop music in your music classroom can be so much fun! Students love learning something they know or have heard before, playing music that they listen to at home, and performing songs for an audience who also knows the music. For the next several episodes I’ll be sharing pop song arrangements that I’ve created and used with my students for xylophone ensembles, but before we get to the actual arrangements I thought I’d share some tips for how you can find and create pop song arrangements to use in your classroom. What to look for, how to determine if a song would be a good fit for an arrangement for xylophones, and things to think about as you arrange pieces. Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Teachers Pay Teachers Store Website: www.jessicagrant.org

Now that we're a few weeks into the new year, you might be feeling the Sunday Scaries…again. Here is how I’ve worked through - and continue to work through - my Sunday Scaries. Lazy Genius Article Headspace Article Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org 

January is a great time for a reset of classroom procedures. Here are five procedures to review that will help re-establish expectations and set a positive start for 2024 in your classroom. Pay close attention to number five - it's likely the most important one that will make a difference. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica or head to my website at www.jessicagrant.org to access teacher materials and join my mailing list!

It's the fifth annual goal review and goal setting episode! And the first episode of season 16. Listen in to hear how my goals went for 2023, gain ideas for how to get your goals, and listen in for what's in the works for 2024. Head to my website at www.jessicagrant.org for more teacher content or follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica. Happy New Year!

Looking for gifts for music teacher friends, colleagues, family, or even yourself?  Listen in for some gift giving ideas this holiday season! Music Teacher Ideas: F-Flat Books Gift Card Musically Minted Chad Lawson Piano Sheet Music Jessica Grant Shop - use code DECEMBER25 for 25% through December 26   Other Gift Ideas: Michael Storrings Puzzles Magnolia Table Cookbooks JCrew Factory Crewneck Sweater Kendra Scott Earrings The James Method Verse Mapping Journal   Follow Jessica on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org

If you’re wanting to incorporate centers into your music room, Becca Davis is the perfect person to talk to!  She’s here to share how she prepares students for centers, the four expectations she has for students during centers, some great ideas for setting up centers, and she shares a few favorite center ideas you can use!  Be sure to check out her centers freebie in the show notes!  Let’s talk centers with Becca! Meet Becca: Becca Davis is an elementary music teacher in Savannah, GA. She has a Bachelors from Armstrong State University and has been teaching elementary school ever since. In addition, Becca conducts a 4-5 grade choir in partnership with the Coastal Youth Choirs and sings in a group called iCantori. She loves to help other music teachers engage their students and simplify their lives by providing content and resources to music teachers via her blog, Teachers Pay Teachers store, and her courses.    Links: Instagram: @beccasmusicroom Website: https://beccasmusicroom.com/  Teachers Pay Teachers: Becca’s Music Room Book: Happier Teacher Life on Amazon Blog Post about Centers Centers Freebie

Social-Emotional Learning, or SEL, is a topic that has been discussed in educator circles more frequently in the past several years.  So what exactly is it?  How can we teach SEL skills through music learning and musical listening?  And what are some lesson ideas that we can incorporate into our classrooms that infuse SEL?  Alessandra from Teach from the Stage is here to talk about all of those things with us!  Be sure to check out her website at teachfromthestage.com and follow her on Instagram @teachfromthestage. Alessandra’s Bio: Alessandra is a Kindergarten-Grade 8 Teacher of the Arts, based in Toronto, Canada. She graduated with a Bachelors of Music Therapy and a Masters in Child Study & Education. She is a huge advocate for the arts, and continuously strives to offer students rich musical experiences where they are at the centre of their learning.  Through @teachfromthestage, she offers tons of lesson ideas, teaching tips, and music class activities to help other teachers engage their students in meaningful learning opportunities.   Social Media Links: Website: teachfromthestage.com Instagram: @teachfromthestage TikTok: @teachfromthestage  

When I first started teaching middle school general music, I had no idea about how to incorporate peer leadership into my music classroom.  I was comfortable with group work, centers, and whole group teaching, but didn’t know quite how to teach students how to teach each other.  A huge thanks to music educator Chris Judah-Lauder for her guidance, patience, and wisdom in helping me learn the importance of student leadership and teaching me how to use peer teaching in the classroom.  I can’t do this episode without acknowledging what I learned from her in this area because I wouldn’t have known where to begin or how to do it without her!  I’ll refer to this as both peer leadership and peer teaching throughout the episode.  I realize these terms can refer to different things, but in today’s episode, they’re going to refer to the same idea: that of guiding one student in your room to helping or working with another student in the room. Website: www.jessicagrant.org Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

The songs I’ll be sharing today are perfect to use with your upper elementary classes or choir, especially if you’re working on helping students learn how to sing in 2-parts.  The pieces be great for a fall concert, to sing in class around Halloween or to use within a specific program related to a theme such as animals (The Bat) or literature (Edgar Allen Poe and William Shakespeare).  I’d love to know if you’ve used any of these pieces with your students or if there’s one that stands out that you want to do with your students! I’ll talk about each piece and share musical elements that stand out as well as activities, warm-ups, and games you could incorporate.  You can find the links to each piece in the show notes or on my website in the podcast section. Double Double Toil and Trouble by Leeann Ashby Starkey Some One by Christi Cary Miller Someone Came Knocking by Cynthia Gray The Bat by Andy Beck A Dark and Stormy Night (Ode to Edgar Allen Poe) by Mark Burrows Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org 

We’ve all been there.  You plan the lesson.  You prep the materials.  On paper everything looks great.  Class arrives and you’re ready to go, but it doesn’t go the way you planned.  The question isn’t what to do if classes like this happen, but what to do when they do happen!  Because at some point they will.  I’m going to share a few ideas for what to do before class starts, what to do when you’re in the moment and what to do after a class doesn't go the way you planned.   Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica. Website:  www.jessicagrant.org

Last week in episode 276, I talked about how we can identify and support students who demonstrate exceptional musicianship and need a push beyond the standard Today we’re looking at how to identify and support students who are struggling in areas of musical concepts or performance of musical skills.  I’ll talk through some common areas of struggle that I’ve seen in my students over the years.  Then discuss ideas for how we can help them gain confidence and improve their musical skills to build stronger personal musicianship. Follow Jessica on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica. Website: www.jessicagrant.org

How do you support students who are excelling in your music classroom?  How can you provide opportunities for leadership, skill development, and musical opportunities outside the classroom?  You'll hear five ideas for nurturing the musical growth of students who love music and excel as musicians. Follow Jessica on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org

One of the things I’m continuing to learn is that I’m getting older - I’m in my mid 40’s.  45 to be exact.  And that means I’m in midlife.  Who knew?!  I’ve been spending time learning about midlife and how little there really is that is shared with us through resources or conversations.  If you’re a female teacher in midlife, this is the episode for you!  If you’re not, join in the fun of listening and learning anyway!  You’re going to LOVE the insights and thoughts from my three guests:  Jamie, Lucy, and Avery. If you missed the first part of this series, I highly recommend starting with episode 274 and getting the foundation about our discussion.  Plus there is so much great content in my talk with guests Jamie, Lucy, and Avery in that episode that you won’t want to miss!  Jamie, Lucy, and Avery return today for the second part of our conversation about midlife, teaching, burnout, and boundaries.    Meet Jamie, Lucy, and Avery: Jamie, Lucy, and Avery are three women in their 40’s, all with PhDs in Clinical Psychology, and each with over a decade of experience working in private practice. They are hosts of a fun and informative podcast, Inspiration from the Couch, which covers a wide array of mental health topics. They founded the Badass Rebellion, a movement to help extraordinary women celebrate and savor a badass midlife. The Badass community ignites a rebellion against the story of the “midlife crisis,” replacing this outdated trope with reckoning, reclaiming, and celebrating during women’s midlife years.   Social Media Links:   Website - https://badassrebellion.com/ Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/badassrebellion/ https://www.instagram.com/inspirationfromthecouch/