Music Teacher Coffee Talk

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #190- Thanksgiving Ideas We Are Thankful For Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #191- Thanksgiving Main Theme: Thanksgiving Ideas We Are Thankful For Read more about Turkey Gobbler at  Tanya 's blog Know Better, Do Better Carrie talks about not defending the decision to keep harmful literature in your classroom just because "you sang it when you were a kid" or "it's been done for years." Let's normalize changing our mind about things when presented with new information. Work Smarter, Not Harder Tanya talks about a lesson planning tip: Consider planning multiple lessons in the same day where you can use the same instruments or materials and not have to put things away in between classes.  Coda Carrie recommends attending the Organization of American Kodaly Educators conference in Chicago March 5-8, 2025. Registration is now open! Tanya recommends the book Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler Did you enjoy this episod...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #189: Halloween Spooktacular! Announcements: Carrie and Tanya will both be presenting at the  OAKE Western Division Mini-Conference  on November 7th and 8th in Denver. Tanya will be presenting a session on Friday, Carrie will be presenting on Saturday, and we'll be doing a live podcast recording on Saturday. We are looking for questions to answer live on our podcast. If you have any questions, we love for you to submit them here . If you plan on attending the conference, you can ask your question live if you would like to! We will also both be presenting in January at the  Colorado Music Educators Association state conference  in Colorado Springs. Be sure to say hello if you go! Main Theme: Halloween Spooktacular! Here are some of our favorite songs and activities for Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Going on a Goon Hunt by Michael Rex: A great Halloween twist on the classic chant Going on a Bear Hunt. This is a great book and cha...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #177: Outside Singing Games, Part 2   Support us at Buy Me a Coffee! We are excited to offer our listeners support and resources through our new Membership site on Buy Me a Coffee. We have two membership options: Solo Single Shot ($5/month) and Duet Double Shot ($15). Check out our  Buy Me a Coffee membership site  for all the details including the perks you get with each level of membership. We appreciate you supporting our work! Main Theme: Outside Singing Games, Part 2 Carrie and Tanya share some of their favorite singing games and dances that are fun to take outside, especially this time of year. We have shared other singing games in MTCT Episode #13, and you can check those show notes out here . Naughty Kitty Cat Singing Game: Students stand in a circle with hands joined. One student is in the middle of the circle as the butter. Another student is the cat,  walking around the outside of the circle while the class sings. On the ...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #176: Managing Spring Fever Behavior Support us at Buy Me a Coffee! We are excited to offer our listeners support and resources through our new Membership site on Buy Me a Coffee. We have two membership options: Solo Single Shot ($5/month) and Duet Double Shot ($15). Check out our  Buy Me a Coffee membership site  for all the details including the perks you get with each level of membership. We appreciate you supporting our work! Main Theme: Managing Spring Fever Behavior in the Music Room In this episode, Tanya and Carrie talk about strategies and lesson ideas that help when managing Spring Fever behavior challenges in the music room. Things we mention in this episode: " Spring Fever Classroom Management Ideas" by Jennifer Finley . Not a music education specific article, but still a helpful read to get you thinking. Bloom app - great for a calming moment at the end of class and can be a great incentive. Incredibox - another fun incentive ...

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 #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...