Music Teacher Coffee Talk

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #205: Long-Range Plans Main Theme: Long-Range Plans Tips for creating Long-Range/Yearly Plans: Start with one grade level Determine how many times/classes you will have them this school year Plug in concert dates and preparation lessons for performances Avoid presenting new material at “distracted” times (weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, for example) Determine PRESENT dates/classes Work backwards from present times for presentation lessons Add in holiday and seasonal considerations (ie: tika-tika is great in the fall) Yearly Plan Templates: Vertical Yearly Plan Template Horizontal Yearly Plan  Template Other MTCT Back to School episodes: #184: Desert Island Music Room Essentials #159: Starting the School Year: Put First Things First #139: Back to School: Tried and True vs. Mixing It Up #118: Setting Students Up for Success in the Music Room #117: Setting Up the Music Room Know Better, Do Better Carrie reminds us that The OAKE Upstander R...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #201   Upcoming Events: April 18, 2026: Carrie will be presenting "Keep Them Singing, Keep Them Playing" for the Wyoming AOSA chapter at Alta Vista Elementary in Cheyenne from 8:30-4:30. More info and register here. July 11-24, 2026: Tanya and Carrie will be teaching at the Colorado Kodály Institute in Fort Collins. Learn more and register here. Main Theme: Kodály Myth Busting In this episode, Carrie and Tanya address some common myths and misconceptions about Kodály-inspired teaching.  Things we mention in this episode: World Music Initiative series with GIA : song collections and resources from many cultures throughout the world Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond Organization of American Kodály Educators  - find a chapter or training program near you Know Better, Do Better Carrie recommends reading this article:  Black Music Aesthetics in General Music by Loneka Wilkinson Battiste . Know Better, Do B...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #171: Developing the Singing Voice with Anne Mileski Main Theme? Developing the Singing Voice with Anne Mileski About Anne: Anne Mileski is an early childhood and elementary music educator and clinician based in Eastern Washington. She currently serves as an instructor at Eastern Washington University, and Instructor and Coordinator of Elementary/General Music at Gonzaga University, where she teaches methods courses and supervises elementary music field experiences and student teachers. She also teaches at Eastern Washington University and St. Mary’s Catholic School in Spokane Valley.  As a pedagogy enthusiast, Anne is certified in Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy, Music Learning Theory Elementary General Level I, and has completed coursework in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. She is a regular clinician at local workshops, state music conferences, and has presented at both the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and Organiza...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #170: Peek At Our Week: 5th Grade Main Theme: Peek at our Week: 5th Grade Tanya:  These are the songs and activities I am using to as move move into the second semester. For the rest of this year, I will be focus on love and joy of music through active music making and also bridging between elementary music and middle school music for those who will be continuing on. I also want to focus more on multi-cultural music. We'll be doing a Tinikling unit that includes both traditional Filipino as well as moving to modern popular music. We'll also be doing a unit about the son clave rhythm pattern and its use in music throughout various cultures and genres. I'm also exploring a project where students will research one of their favorite musician's musical influences. We will also be doing ukulele and keyboard units this semester. Carrie : I am working with my 5th graders on preparing a musical performance based on the book "What Do You D...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #169: Mid Year Check In   Main Theme: Mid Year Check In In this episode, Carrie and Tanya have a mid year check in conversation reflecting on goals and plans for the second half of the school year. We talk about big goals, curricular goals, and performances. Things we mention in this episode: David Row's video about creating a concert with the book What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada Coda Carrie is enjoying the album Diving Deep Live by Tori Amos Tanya is enjoying the movie A Complete Unknown Did you enjoy this episode?  Consider buying us a coffee to thank us for our work. Click the button below!

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #168: Peek at Our Week: 4th Grade Main Theme: Peek at our Week: 4th Grade Carrie : These are the songs and activities I'm using to practice low la, prepare low so, and present and practice the ti-ta-ti rhythm pattern (8th-quarter-8th note) Big Fat Biscuit: great for low la and low so and playing recorder! Songs for ti-ta-ti: Alabama Gal Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree Check out the New England Dancing Masters Folk Dance for Alabama Gal here! Practice activities with ti-ta-ti:  Read rhythms off of a beach ball with rhythms written on each color section Write rhythms with Note Knacks Play King of the Mountain with rhythm tent cards ( here are Tanya's cards in TPT ) King of the Mountain Students sit in a circle with a rhythm card in front of them. The student with “ta ta ta ta” is the King and starts each round. The King says their rhythm, and then another student’s rhythm. That student then says their rhythm, and then another rhythm. The gam...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #166: Peek at our Week: 3rd Grade Main Theme: Peek at our Week: 3rd Grade Tanya:  These are the songs and activities I am using to practice low la and also just focus on joyful music making during a busy time with a challenging group of students. This Land is Your Land with picture book for an opening song Hi, Lo, Chickalo : Turkey Turkey Gobbler : read more about ways to use this song here! Chimes of Dunkirk dance from the New England Dancing Masters book of the same name. Here's a video of the dance. Carrie : These are the songs and activities I'm using to practice re and prepare/present tika-tika (16th notes). Pumpkin Pumpkin : change the lyrics to "turn in to a pumpkin pie just like that!" Tideo : Paw Paw Patch Know Better, Do Better Check out Ashley Cuthbertson's new book Music as a Vehicle : A Practical Guide to Implementing Culturally Responsive Teaching In Today's Music Classrooms. Work Smarter, Not Harder Tanya r...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #164: Peek at our Week: 2nd Grade Main Theme: Peek at our Week: 2nd Grade Tanya: These are the songs and activities I am using to practice tika-tika (16th notes), practice so/mi/la, and prepare do. Of course we are also including some Halloween songs. Little Leaves Are Falling Rondo alla Turca (Tanya recommends the Glenn Gould recording Use scarves to sway on the steady beat Two Rubble Tum Bell Horses Black Cat  (check out Amy Abbott's blog for suggested activities) Say Hello: New opening song learned from Tom Borden Carrie : These are the songs and activities I'm using to practice 2-beat meter, practice rest, and practice so/mi/la. Bounce High, Bounce Low Students bounce and catch a racquetball to demonstrate 2-beat meter. Zapatito Blanco Ickle Ockle Blue Bottle We also did our first stations day in 2nd Grade. Here's what I did: Station #1: Linda McPherson's Dracula Dance interactive game Station #2: Rhythmic dictation with rhythm bl...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #162: Week at our Week (1st Grade) Main Theme: Peek at Our Week (1st Grade) Carrie: These songs and activities are in my 1st grade plans this week as we practice fast/slow, prepare and present loud/soft, and do early preparation of beat vs. rhythm (ta and ti-ti) Engine Engine #9  - to practice fast/slow Engine, engine #9, going down the railroad line, If the train should jump the track, do you want your money back? Yes, no, maybe so! Tortoise and the Hare - to practice fast/slow Quickly/Slowly  - to practice fast/slow Quickly, quickly, quickly, goes the little mouse, Quickly, quickly quickly, all around the house. Slowly, slowly, crawls the garden snail, Slowly, slowly, along the wooden rail. Fast/Slow Assessment Cards Going on a Bear Hunt  - to prepare loud/soft Grizzly Bear - to prepare and present loud/soft Lucy Locket  - to practice loud/soft The song is linked to Kathy Kuddes's Folk Song Collection. Be sure to read her research...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #145: Transitions: Recipes for Success Pt. 3 Check out this episode on YouTube! Main Theme: Primary Lesson Segments (Recipes for Success, Part III) We are continuing our Recipes for Success series and today's episode is all about transitions.  Think of daily lesson plans as a layer cake and the lesson segments are like the foundational layers of the cake. The transitions are like the layers between the cake that bring more flavor and texture. What are transitions? Transitions are the ways in which your seamlessly flow from one lesson segment to the next. Having smooth transitions not only helps your lessons flow and feel magical, they also help with classroom management because students don't get as many opportunities to get bored or distracted. There are many types of transitions, and we are going to focus on our favorites as labeled and described in Rita Klingers's book Lesson Planning in a Kodály Setting: A Guide for Music Teachers. Tran...