Organizing Books in Your Music Classroom

 One of the things in my classroom that I have worked the hardest at is growing my music library.  No, not that one.  My books about music and musicians, not the sheet music and octavos.  I love my classroom library!  Here's the story of how it has grown and evolved over the last 10 years or so.  Read on to find solutions for your music room and a free resource to help you organize your books.

For several years I just piled my books onto a little shelf with no system whatsoever.  This worked quite well until I started buying duplicates.  As my collection grew, I needed a better solution.

The next step was to put SOME of the books into book bins with labels on them.  I picked a few categories that I had several books for and the rest I just tossed in a milk crate.  This worked beautifully for centers.  I created a small reading area with a rug and loved keeping this a permanent center no matter what group I was teaching.

During the next few years I gathered books from used book stores, discount sellers, Amazon and from authors in workshops I attended.  You can see some of my favorites in these posts:  Books You Need in Your Elementary Classroom Primary and Upper Elementary.  As my collection grew I needed a way to keep track of what I had.  At first I created a spreadsheet, but to be honest I just couldn't keep it updated.  It felt cumbersome and wasn't easy to edit from my phone.  That's when I was inspired by a post from Katie Wonderly on Instagram and downloaded Book Buddy.

Book Buddy allowed me to QUICKLY add books to the app and download a paper list only when I needed it.  I currently use Book Buddy Pro to catalogue my classroom library, keep it organized and to keep me from buying duplicates.  All I do is use my phone to scan the barcode and for most books the information about the book just pops up, including cover photos!  I can add custom categories too which is how I organize my books.

Current Categories:

BOOKS ABOUT MUSICIANS  In this category I put picture books with stories about musicians that may not be bibliographies or about musicians of a specific genre.

BOOKS THAT RHYME  I use rhyming books for drumming, for movement, to add instrument accompaniment and more.  In this bin students can re-read some of the ones we have used in class.

DANCE AND MOVEMENT  I guess this category is pretty self explanatory.  Titles like Giraffes Can't Dance and Boys Dance are in this category.

CAREERS IN MUSIC  I NEED more books for this category. Right now it contains one fabulous book called Mandy's Mom The Music Therapist.

COMPOSERS  In this category are the typical composer books that many of you may have.  I'm always looking for books about more contemporary composers.

INSTRUMENTS -There are mostly non-fiction books in this category, but some titles like The Remarkable Farkle McBride are also in there.

LEARN ABOUT MUSIC This category used to be pretty dull.  LOL.  Recently I have added books like When Step Met Skip and Tiger Tempo. My students love them!

MUSIC GENRES  In this category there are books about different genres of music like When the Beat Was Born and The Story of Country.

MUSIC HISTORY  I am currently not using this category as the books that I have all fit into other categories too.

MUSICIAN BIOGRAPHIES  In this category you'll find non-fiction books about musicians.

NON-MUSIC I have several books about character that go in this bin.  Also books that don't rhyme but that I may have used for some other purpose in class are here.

PATRIOTIC/AMERICN  Books about the Star-Spangled Banner, song lyric books with patriotic songs and books about songs like "America the Beautiful" are in this category.

SEASONAL AND HOLIDAY Books about holidays or about seasonal topics or music are in this bin.  My favorite might just be "Leaf Man".

SONG HISTORY  This category is one that I am introducing this year.  It holds books about the history of certain songs. 

SONG LYRIC BOOKS This category is SO full that I have 2-3 bins of books in this category.

THIS AND THAT  I don't have a category for everything.  Oh wait....this is it!  LOL.  If it doesn't fit anywhere else, it fits here.

WOMEN IN MUSIC  I am introducing this category this year and moving some books from the Books About Musicians category into this one.  I have a LOT of books about Dolly Parton.  This is almost a bin filled will Dolly books.

WORLD MUSIC  I don't like the name of this category, but I don't have enough books from one specific place or about one specific culture to create bins for them.  Yet.  I hope to one day.

Before students use the library, I remind the class that they should return the book to the SAME bin that they take it out of.  I didn't expect this to work.  I was surprised that about 80% of the books DID remain in the right container, but it is not foolproof.  This year I'll be adding color coordinating dot stickers to both the bins and the books that go in them so that they also have a colorful way to remember where they go.

To help you get started organizing your music room library, check out these colorful labels that can fit on a book bin, magazine box or basket.  The categories mentioned about are all included, but they are not in any particular order.  If you find these handy, please leave some feedback!

DOWNLOAD HERE:  Book Bin Labels for the Music Room

If you liked the ideas in this article PIN it for later!

Books for Women's History Month in the Music Room

I love adding featured books to my classroom library for special months, holidays and events.  Here are a few of my favorite books for Women's History Month:

1.  Beyonce: Shine Your Light
Yep.  A book about Beyonce that is perfect for the elementary music classroom.  This has been a favorite of my students since I added it to our classroom library last year.

2.  Ella Fitzgerald (Little People, Big Dreams)
This book is for lower elementary students and tells the story of Ella Fitzgerald.  I love the illustrations in this book.  It is part of a larger series of books that I would love to have for my daughter.

3.  Dolly Parton: Coat of Many Colors
So, I basically love everything Dolly and this book is delightful!  The illustrations are beautiful and the story of this song is as delightful as the song itself.  I also like THIS book on Dolly for older students.

4.  A Dance Like Starlight:  One Ballerina's Dream
This book is actually fiction but is basically a tribute to Janet Collins, the first ballerina of color to perform at the Metropolitan  Opera.  Love this story!

5.  A Voice Named Aretha
  Aretha Franklin's story is beautifully illustrated in this picture book.  I learned quite a bit about this amazing woman myself from this book!

If you liked these ideas, PIN THEM for later!

Sub Plans for the Non-Musical Sub

It happens.  A kid gets sick.  Your car breaks down.  You are suddenly called to go out of town.  The flu wraps its icy fingers around you.  You need a sub.

As a music teacher, I can't always count on getting a musical substitute teacher.  Actually I have only rarely had a sub that was comfortable doing musical activities like singing, dancing or playing instruments.  Due to this fact, I have created a sub tub with activities that even a non-musical sub would be comfortable teaching.

Currently I am teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th grades but I have used this system with K-8 quite successfully.  I organize all of my instructions for the substitute teacher in a binder.  Here are some of the things that are helpful to include:

• Where to find things like the attendance book, seating charts, office supplies, bandages, hall passes, nurse passes, etc...
• Procedures for emergencies.  If your school uses code words or special signals, be sure to include those in your plans.
• Instructions for using technology in your room and any passwords that they will need.
• A list of helpful teachers and where to find them.
• A picture or drawing of how you set your room up.
• An explanation of how to follow your emergency plans if no other plans are left.
• General rules for the music room.  I have flexible seating choices in my room but I only use them for workstations or movie days, so I want to let them know how I use them.
• Change for the soda machine. 

This is the first thing a guest teacher to my classroom needs to read to get acquainted with the music room and how their day will go. 

The sub plan binder also contains several different lesson plans for each grade.  These plans include a list of what they will need, where it is, what to do and a tracking sheet that I ask them to fill out so that I know what they have done and with which classes.  Keep reading to find out how to get these starter files for free!

When I return from an absence I can quickly browse through the binder and see what students have done.

The binder refers to materials in the sub tub.  These materials are either videos (some with worksheets, some without), worksheets or activities with children's books.  

Videos

Here are some videos that I recommend for the sub tub:

Kindergarten and 1st Grade:

Wee Sing Train

Wee Sing King Cole's Party

Wee Sing Big Rock Candy Mountain

2nd Grade:

Wee Sing in Sillyville

Wee Sing Marvelous Musical Mansion

Tubby the Tuba

3rd Grade:

Wee Sing Marvelous Musical Mansion

Overture to Disaster

Music and Heroes of America

Julie's Green Room (on Netflix)

4th and 5th Grades:

Stomp Out Loud

Composer's Specials (Bach, Bizet, Liszt, Strauss, Rossini, Handel)

Beethoven Lives Upstairs

Videos with Worksheets

I have created several resources that you might find valuable for your sub tub.  They are all actually bundled up in one bundle in my store (or you can purchase them individually).  Check out this Musicals Mega Bundle which includes tons of resources for these musicals:

Wizard of Oz 

Oklahoma

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 

The Sound of Music Mega Pack 

Mary Poppins Mega Pack of Activities 

The King and I Mega Pack of Activities 

Bye Bye Birdie Mega Pack of Activities 

Annie Mega Pack of Activities 

West Side Story

The Music Man

Singin' in the Rain

Worksheets

I'm not a big fan of worksheets, but they do have their purpose and place in music class.  For substitute teachers they are often a familiar and comfortable activity that they can be successful with.  In my sub tub I use worksheets that reinforce skills we are constantly working on like note values, pitch names, composition and instrument identification and classification.

I pull those worksheets from the same sets that I have posted in my store.  They come in a bundle (that continues to grow) or you can buy the sets individually.  There are more than 400 usable pages in the bundle.  You can get it here:  No Prep Music Worksheets Endless Growing Bundle

Activities with Children's Books

Like many elementary music teachers I LOVE teaching with children's picture books.  I have dozens of books that I use regularly and some that work really well with substitute teacher lesson plans.

The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow
This is such a fun story!  I have students complete a writing prompt that asks them to draw and write about an instrument they might like to play.  This book is also a great time to talk about onomatopoeias so we take time to write down some musical onomatopoeias.

The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds

This book is relatively new to my collection.  It's a delightful story about a boy who collects words.  After the story, students go on a word hunt around the music room to collect words.  This is also a great time to use some of the syllable search worksheets from my worksheet collections.

Tubby the Tuba by Paul Tripp

This is such a wonderful story!  In recent years I have stopped showing the movie very often.  It feels like it is 4 hours long.  The book, however, is delightful and not four hours long.  Subs love this lesson too!  After the story, I leave some discussion questions and a color the orchestra worksheet (color by instrument family) and a word search.

Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman

Another sub favorite is Moses Goes to a Concert.  This book talks about the experiences of a deaf student that goes to hear an orchestra perform.  The percussionist in the orchestra is also deaf and helps the students experience the music through vibrations.  With this book I leave a listening comprehension worksheet and a copy of the ASL alphabet.  After the worksheet questions have been answered and discussed, students can use the alphabet sheet to practice their names.  There are also TONS of YouTube videos of people signing popular songs that students love to watch.

The Rocket's Red Glare by Peter Alderman

This book tells the story of the "Star-Spangled Banner".  Although there are several books out there, this one has such beautiful illustrations that it is quickly becoming my favorite.  For sub plans, I have the teacher read the book, discuss the etiquette that we should display during the national anthem and then listen to the version that comes with the book.  After that, students receive sheets that are mostly blank with the exception of one of the phrases of the the "Star-Spangled Banner".  Students are then challenged to illustrate their phrase.  When they are finished it makes a beautiful display for the hallway or a bulletin board.

I have all of my children's literature sub plans bundled in my store.  Included are the ISBN numbers for the books, links to any pertinent videos to show as time fillers and all of the worksheets and activities listed about.  Get it here:  Sub Plans for the Non-Musical Sub

You might also like to watch this replay of a Facebook Live video where I take you on a tour of my sub binder and sub tub resources.

Ready to build your sub binder and Sub Tub?  Download these free starter files:  Sub Plan Starter Files

Like these ideas?  PIN them for later!

Books You Need in Your Music Classroom - PRIMARY LIST

In my music education college classes, way back in the day, it never occurred to me to invest in children's books for my music classroom.  I guess that it never occurred to my instructors either because I didn't hear about it until a few years into my teaching career.  It sounds crazy doesn't it? 

There are so many amazing pieces of children's literature that lend themselves to teaching musical concepts and enhance lessons in history, movement, composition and more.  This is a list of some of the books that I like using with Preschool through 2nd grades.  This list is in no way complete, but hopefully it will provide you with inspiration when shopping for your classroom.

If you are interested in my list of books for upper elementary, you'll want to check out THIS post with a long list of books that I keep for 3rd through 6th graders.

Add Sound Effects

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? Bill Martin Jr.

Caps for Sale Esphyr Slobodkina
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown 

The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything Linda Williams

The Napping House Audrey and Don Wood

Tiptoe Joe  Ginger Foglesong Gibson
This is the House That Jack Built  Simms Taback

Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day Judith Viorst

In the Tall, Tall Grass Denise Fleming

Mortimer  Robert Munsch

Great for vocal exploration or incorporating classroom instruments, this list of books is just a few of the books that work well for adding instruments.  Each book uses a repetitive and sometimes cumulative format that makes it easy for students to follow along.
Looking for an easy way to get started with this kind of activity?  Start with This is the House That Jack Built.  At the beginning of the book, there is a cast list.  Have your students brainstorm sounds they can make that would represent each character.  Next, read the book adding those sound effects.  So much fun!

Instruments

Berlioz the Bear Jan Brett

Carnival of the Animals John Lithgow

Dan, The Taxi Man  Eric Ode

Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo John Lithgow

The Remarkable Farkle McBride John Lithgow

Tubby the Tuba Paul Tripp

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin Lloyd Moss

In my classroom, we don't really plunge into naming instruments and classifying instruments by family until 3rd grade. That being said, we learn about individual instruments and classroom instruments in K-2.  In addition to identifying instruments in pieces we listen to, exploring the music of Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the animals, I like to use these books about instruments in class.

Rhyming Books for Rhythm Work

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bill Martin Jr.

Commotion in the Ocean Giles Andreae

Farmer Joe and the Music Show Tony Mitton

'Possum Come a-Knockin' by Nancy Van Laan
Moo Bah La La La by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Llama Llama Red Pajama  by Anna Dewdney

There are thousands of rhyming books that have strong rhythm and repetition and work well for rhythm work.  I've listed just a few and know that you probably have several books in your library that aren't on this list.

With rhyming books, I often read them and have students keep the steady beat by patting or with non-pitched percussion instruments.  You could have them isolate rhythms from the book and decipher their rhythm, play them on Orff instruments, create body percussion sections and more.

Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney is great for rhythm work too, but isn't a strong rhyming book.  I pass out drumsticks (or chop sticks!) and have students echo the drumming phrases in this book.  This is a fun way to introduce this great book to a class.

Movement

My Many Colored Days Dr. Suess

What a Wonderful World Theile and Weiss
My Many Colored Days and What a Wonderful World are excellent books for adding movement with scarves and ribbons.  Read the book, assign students a color or another key word in the story.  When students hear that word or phrase, they move with their scarf.  I use the Louis Armstrong version of "What a Wonderful World" to play while we move too.

Giraffe's Can't Dance by Giles Andreae is such a delightful rhyming book!  I love to cue up music to match the specific genres mentioned in the book and play it on our second reading.  I challenge students to dance in the same style too.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael J. Rosen is a great way to introduce the Bear Hunt activity most music teachers use in music class.  I also like to keep this in my library so students can read and move during center time.

 Sing the Book

Baa Baa Black Sheep Iza Trapani

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Bill Martin Jr.

Cat Goes Fiddle-I-Fee Paul Gaidone

Coat of Many Colors  Dolly Parton

Don't Laugh at Me Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin

Five Green and Speckled Frogs  Priscilla Burris

Footloose Kenny Loggins

Grandma's Feather Bed John Denver

Groovy Joe Ice Cream and Dinosaurs Eric Litwin and Tom Lichtenheld

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands  Kadir Nelson

How Much is that Doggie in the Window Iza Trapani

Hush Little Baby Brian Pinkney

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More Karen Beaumont

I'm a Little Teapot Iza Trapani

Itsy Bitsy Spider Iza Trapani

Jennie Jenkins John Feierabend

Mary Had a Little Lamb Iza Trapani

My Favorite Things Renne Graef

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? Iza Trapani

One Love Bob Marley

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons Eric Litwin

Pete the Cat Rockin' in My School Shoes Eric Litwin

Row, Row, Row Your Boat Iza Trapani

Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants  Eric Litwin and Tom Lichtenheld

Sunshine on My Shoulders John Denver

Take Me Home, Country Roads John Denver

The Seals on the Bus Lenny Hort

This Land is Your Land Woody Guthrie

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Iza Trapani

What Does the Fox Say Svein Nyhus

Wheels on the Bus Raffi

Miscellaneous

Introduction to Opera

Chalk Bill Thomson

This book is pictures only and makes the perfect introduction to opera!  I explain to students that an opera is a play that is sung, not spoken.  Then I sing questions and they sing their answers before we "read" this book.  I sing what I think is happening on the first few pages and then invite students to take over the story in the same way.  It is so fun to hear their creative improvisations!

Vocalizations

How to Speak Moo Deborah Fajerman
So fun for vocal warm ups, this book has students "mooing" in all sorts of ways!

Dynamics

Harold Finds a Voice Courtney Diemas

Ruby Sings the Blues Niki Daly
Looking for a great way to introduce dynamics to your primary learners?  These books are perfect!

Let me know what books you love to use with your primary students in the comments or on Facebook.  If you liked this list PIN IT for later!

Books You Need in Your Music Classroom - Upper Elementary List

I love incorporating books into my music lessons and I am adamant that I have a classroom library of books that teach about music history, explore music genres and dance, serve as a reference and more.  This year I moved to a new classroom that had NO music classroom library.  None.  Zilch.  Since I use a reading station in almost of my workstation rotations, I new I had to do something.

I have my own library of books that I've purchased during the last 20 years, so I had a few things to start with but soon realized most of my books were for primary aged students.  I'm currently teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and most of the books that I had were for Kindergarten through 2nd grades. Off to Amazon I went!  I would love to say that I researched for hours and consulted a stack of teacher resources, but I already had a wishlist a mile long for this age group!   Below you'll find a list of the books I have in my library that are appropriate for upper elementary classes.   This list is not even CLOSE to being comprehensive.  There are hundreds of books that I could add to this list and more being published every year.  This list may be a good starting point for you if you are building a library for your music classroom.
Are you interested in seeing my list for primary classes?  Check out THIS blog post.

Charlie Parker Played Be Bop      Chris Raschka

Leaf Man             Lois Ehlert

Max Found Two Sticks   Brian Pinkney

Thump Thump Rat-a-Tat-Tat       Gene Baer

Abiyoyo               Pete Seeger, illus by Michael Hays

The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon            Mike Thaler

We All Went on Safari:  A Counting Journey through Tanzania     Laurie Krebs and Julia Cairns

Chalk     Bill Thomson  (This book is GREAT for introducing opera.  Students sing an improvised story to this book.)

M is for Music    Kathleen Krull

Dance

Dictionary of Dance         Liz Murphy

My Many Colored Days   Dr. Suess

The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet   Deborah Hautzig

Sing the Book

America the Beautiful    Scholastic

Blowin' in the Wind         Bob Dylan, illus John J. Muth

Don't Laugh at Me           Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin

Froggie Went a-Courtin'                Iza Trapani

Grandma's Feather Bed     Christopher Canyon (lyrics by John Denver)

Puff the Magic Dragon      Peter Yarrow, Lenny Lipton

Senor Don Gato     illustrated by John Manders

Take Me Home, Country Roads     Christopher Canyon (lyrics by John Denver)

Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs  Alan Katz

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow        Lucille Colandro

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat      Lucille Colandro

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell     Lucille Colandro

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly       Simms Taback

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell  Lucille Colandro

What a Wonderful World             Tip Hopbood

Possum Come a-Knockin'             Nancy Van Laan

 Biography and Careers in Music

Some of these books are chapter books, so students may only get to read a portion of the book during workstation rotations.  My room is used as a bus room and so students also have the opportunity to read during bus room.  I do not lend my books out, but if something is quite popular I let our school librarian know.

Who Is Dolly Parton?      True Kelley

Who Was Elvis Presley? Geoff Edgers

Who was Michael Jackson? Megan Stine

Who Were the Beatles?  Geoff Edgers
There are more titles in this series that you might like.  Elton John and Bruce Springsteen are a few more musicians you can find.

Marvin Makes Music      Jim Madsen

When the Beat was Born:  DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop        Laban Carrick Hill

Composers

Aaron Copland (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)         Mike Venezia

Duke Ellington (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)          Mike Venezia

George Gershwin (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)   Mike Venezia

George Handel (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)        Mike Venezia

I, Vivaldi               Janice Shefelman

Johann Sebastian Bach (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)         Mike Venezia

John Philip Sousa (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)    Mike Venezia

Ludwig van Beethoven (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)         Mike Venezia

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart         Mike Venezia

Young Mozart    Rachel Isadora

Famous Composers Reference Book      Usborne

Patriotic I teach a "Star-Spangled Banner" unit and like to have a few books on hand for students who finish early.  These are a couple of my favorites.

By the Dawn's Early Light, The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner    Steven Kroll

Can You Sing "The Star-Spangled Banner"?          Martha E.H. Rustad

History

Do Re Mi:  If You Can Read This Thank Guido A'rezzo       Susan Roth

Everyday History: Song and Dance           John Malam

The Rock and Roll Alphabet         Jeffrey Schwartz

V is for von Trapp:  A Musical Family Alphabet    William Anderson

We Shall Overcome:  The Story of a Song              Debbie Levy

When Marian Sang          Pam Munoz Ryan

Before John Was a Giant              Carole Boston Weatherford

John Henry         Julius Lester, illus Jerry Pinkney

Instruments

I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello        Barabara S. Garriel

Lemony Snicket The Composer is Dead  Nathaniel Stookey

M is for Melody                Kathy-jo Wargin

Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo John Lithgow

The Remarkable Farkle McBride       John Lithgow

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin       Lloyd Moss

Moses Goes to a Concert             Isaac Millman

Getting Your Library Ready

Every teacher has to find what works best for them, but here are some things that I do to keep my classroom library in good shape:
1.  I put my name on the inside of the front cover, on the back cover and inside the book.  I use a permanent marker and a paint pen on books with a dark cover.

2.  Some of the books have CDs inside of them.  I prefer to keep the CDs in the book, so I tape them in and write "Do not remove." in permanent marker in an obvious place.  I must admit that this works great for every class except Kindergarten.  *giggle*  They rip the CD out and bring it to me so it doesn't get broken.  

3.  I usually keep my library on a shelf, but you could use milk crates, a rolling cart or even a book bag if you were only going to use them during workstations.

I hope that this list is helpful and would love to hear other suggestions for books to add to my library.  Leave the title of your favorites for upper elementary classes in the comments.  If you liked these ideas, pin this post for later!

Black History Month in Music Class

Looking for a few new ideas to try to celebrate Black History Month in Music Class?  Try some of these ideas for decorating and planning engaging musical lesson plans.
Decorate You probably know that I'm a big fan of decorating with a theme.  One of my favorite bulletin boards for February is "All That Jazz" and it features some amazing contributors to the world of jazz.  I like the black and white pictures paired with the colorful backgrounds.  Popular jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Charlie Parker, Jelly Roll Morton and more are highlighted.  Get it HERE.

Listen, Learn and Love Although I try to incorporate a wide variety of listening experiences through out the year I always worry that it isn't diverse enough.  I love taking a little extra time to explore the music of some famous African Americans.  If you've been reading my blog, you know that I am a BIG fan of listening glyphs. Listening glyphs allow students to demonstrate their musical understanding in such a fun way that they may not even care that it is an assessment!  I love this set of Black History Listening Glyphs.  Not only do they contain ways to assess students' understanding of what they hear, they also have a short description of the musician.  I think this helps students connect with the artist and it is a great tool to help them retell what's going on in music class when they get home.  

What's different about these glyphs is that a variety of genres are represented.  Jazz, blues, rock and roll, hip hop, pop and opera are all represented in this set.  

   

You can pick up these listening glyphs HERE.

    

Mix it Up

I love this Jazz Mixer presented by Smithsonian Folkways.  Although I would present this on my Smartboard, it would also work on iPads or laptops as part of a workstations rotation.

 By adjusting the sliders, students can focus on one instrument or mix their own variations.  Three songs are available for student experimentation: "Bill Bailey", "St. Louis Blues" and "When the Saints Go Marchin' In".  Clicking on the instruments brings up a brief description and clicking on Timeline pulls up a fabulous timeline of artists and events that shaped jazz music.

Sing Me a Story, Read Me a Song

There are SO many great books to use to celebrate the rich musical heritage of our great nation.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Follow the Drinking Gourd

Read it.  Sing it.  Put it in your reading workstation because kids will want to read it again and again.

Max Found Two Sticks

Wow!  Love this book!  I give students drum sticks or chopsticks (much quieter and a novelty for the students).  As we read through the story they will imitate the sounds that Max's sticks make with their own.  Often we will warm up by echo playing rhythms.

Dizzy Love this story of Dizzy Gillespie.  If you can, get the audio file to go with it.  LOVE it!

Charlie Parker Played Be Bop Love this story!  I read it to 1st graders and we add the "be bop, be bop" with the story.  Later we will sing "Scat Like That" by Greg and Steve.  So much fun!
I hope that these ideas will inspire you to try something new during Black History Month!