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
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.
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:
Jessica Grant Shop - use code DECEMBER25 for 25% through December 26
Other Gift Ideas:
JCrew Factory Crewneck Sweater
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
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.
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/
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. Today they’re sharing ideas about what it means to be in midlife. What is midlife? And how does it relate to us as teachers? Topics discussed include defining midlife, how to tune in to yourself, dealing with burnout, and setting 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/
The first day of fall is in just a few days on September 23 and what a more perfect lesson activity to use in your classroom than Vivaldi’s Autumn from The Four Seasons. In today’s episode, you’ll hear about five ways that you can use the first movement of Vivaldi’s Autumn for a variety of student lessons.
Head to my website www.jessicagrant.org to find lesson materials in my shop from today's podcast!
Follow Jessica on Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica
Video Links
As educators, we love sharing musicians, artists, and composers with our students. Listening to their music inspires us to create, move, and engage in music making and composing ourselves. Today I’m talking with Emi Ferguson about the book Iconic Composers that she wrote with Nicolas Csicsko. The illustrations by David Lee Csicsko are incredible! Emi and I discuss the project, how this book can be used inside and outside of the classroom, and thoughts on being creative and composing as well as the importance of guiding students in composition opportunities.
Follow Emi on Instagram: @emiferguson
Emi's Website: www.emiferguson.com
Meet Emi Ferguson
Emi is very proud to be named a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant awardee, and can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. She has spoken and performed at several TEDX events and has been featured on media outlets including The Discovery Channel, Vox's "Explained" series on Netflix, Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Juilliard Digital's TouchPress apps talking about how music relates to our world today. A passionate chamber musician of works new and old, Emi has been a featured performer at the Marlboro, Lucerne, Ojai, Lake Champlain, Bach Virtuosi, and June in Buffalo festivals and has premiered works by many of today’s leading composers, working most recently with composers Michael Hersch, Roscoe Mitchell, Emily Koh, Gabriela Ortiz, and Georgina Derbez.
Follow Jessica on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica
Jessica's Website: www.jessicagrant.org
Whether you find yourself in a new situation or at the same school in a new school year, my conversation with Adrian Gordon will give you some great ideas for how to transition, build, and thrive. Adrian shares thoughts from his book “Note to Self: A Music Director's Guide to Transitioning to a New School and Building a Thriving Music Program.”
Follow Adrian on Instagram: @apgordonmusic
Purchase Adrian's Book 'Note to Self' HERE
Adrian Gordon Bio
Adrian Gordon is an active performer, composer, and music educator living in Charlotte, NC. His colorful compositions are captivating for musicians of all ages from very easy to advanced levels. Over the years Gordon has written several acclaimed works for string orchestra such as "Apocalypse" and "Song of the Ocean Winds" to name a few.
Adrian takes pride in creating music that is fun and pedagogically sound at all levels. Mr. Gordon currently serves as the orchestra director at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. He received his B.A. in music from the University of Miami, and his Masters degree in Music Education at Florida International University.
In addition to teaching, Mr. Gordon is a composer with Alfred Music Publishing and the founder of Leap Year Music Publishing, which publishes string music for elementary, middle, and high school ensembles. Mr. Gordon's compositions appear on the California, Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Georgia Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessment Lists. His compositions are distributed through JW Pepper and have been performed throughout the world. Adrian resides in Charlotte with his wife Kelly and their two sons.
Follow Jessica on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica
Website: www.jessicagrant.org
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