Music Teacher Coffee Talk

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT Episode #77: Student Choice and Voice   In this episode, Carrie and Tanya discuss giving students opportunities for choice and voice in the music room. We talk about little choices, big choices, and making sure students feel seen and heard. Main Theme Ideas for providing student choice and voice: Allow student choice with instrument activities Let students express choices in imaginative activities (ie: What color car are you driving with "Highway Number One" - recording by the Shenanigans ) Use student leaders in beat-keeping activities, both movement and instrumental activities Consider allowing students to choose their seats/spots in music class Provide student choice in online instruction through choice boards such as a Bingo board or Tic Tac Toe board where students can choose from a variety activities for the week Use a website or a Bitmoji-style digital classroom to give students choice activities for both remote and in-person choice t...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT Episode #76: Work Smarter, Not Harder! In this episode, Tanya and Carrie share an entire episode of Work Smarter, Not Harder teacher tips. Some are from past episodes, some are new, and some are contributed by listeners via social media. Main Theme: Work Smarter, Not Harder Teacher Tips -Fr om Soniya: Put all of your slides for the day in one Google Slides/Powerpoint and link to other slides/slideshows for each grade level. -Use a laptop clicker for Google Slides/Powerpoint/Keynote presentations so you can flip through the slides from anywhere in the classroom. Buy a clicker with a laser pointer so you can point to student's devices to show them where to click on their devices from a safe distance. -From Kelsey: Record yourself reading/singing a picture book to use in class or for remote learning. -If you are buying new picture books for your class this year, consider buying Kindle versions so you can project books using the Kindle Cloud Reader in...