Music Teacher Coffee Talk

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #148: Elementary Choir Main Theme: Elementary Choir In this episode, Carrie and Tanya talk all about Elementary Choir. We talk about why you might have a choir at your school, why you might not, how to organize and recruit singers, how to plan your rehearsals, and some of our favorite repertoire and resources. Favorite repertoire for Elementary Choir: 150 Rounds for Teaching and Singing  by Edward Bolcovac and Judith Johnson Happy Winter by Jill Gallina How Can I Keep From Singing by Ginger Littleton Build Me a World by Ginger Littleton Path to the Moon by Eric Thiman Something Told the Wild Geese  by Sherri Porterfield The Clouds by Cynthia Gray Seagull, Seagull by Susan Brumfield Birch Tree  by Mary Goetze Helpful resources for Elementary Choir: Kate Klotz's Choir Planner (Freebie on TpT) Choir Builders by Rollo Dillworth One Accord by Georgia Newlin Reach out to local children's choral for professional development opportunities...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #147: 6 Picture Books for the Music Room Happy Anniversary to Music Teacher Coffee Talk! We are excited to celebrate our 6-year podcasting anniversary this month. Thank you for listening and supporting us for so many years! Main Theme: 6 Picture Books for the Music Room In this episode, we'll be talking about our 6 of our favorite picture books for the music room and how we use them with kids. 1. Under the Sea  by Harriet Stone and Catharine Robertson and illustrations by Ella Bailey (Purchased at the Scholastic book fair - here is a similar book you can get on Amazon. ) We'll read this book to generate ideas of things that live in the ocean in preparation for singing Sea Shell: 2. Who Stole the Cookes from the Cookie Jar by Margaret Wang and illustratios by Christine Schneider.  This is a great book to read as a way to introduce the traditional chant. 3. Over in the Meadow  by John Langstaff and illustrations by Feodor Rojankovsky. ...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #146: Icing and Sprinkles: Recipes for Success Pt. 4 Check out this episode on YouTube! Main Theme: Icing and Sprinkles 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. Now it's time for the icing and sprinkles. These are the activities that you include that may not necessarily relate to your main lesson segments or to a melodic or rhythmic concept, but are fun, engaging and contribute to the overall enjoyment of musiking. Types of "icing and sprinkles" that we like to include: Themed lessons Carrie shared a themed lesson for Kindergarten that has a sleigh ride theme. Here are the basic activities of the lesson: No More Pie : echo song Galloping movement to the Wild Rider by Schumann Sing...

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...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #143: Primary Lesson Segments: Recipes for Sucess Pt. 1 Main Theme: Primary Lesson Segments (Recipes for Success, Part I) We are starting up a new series all about lesson planning called Recipes for Success and today's episode is all about lesson segments for primary grades.  Think of daily lesson plans as a layer cake and the lesson segments are like the foundational layers of the cake. What are lesson segments? Lesson segments are the foundation of your lesson and include the songs, games, and activities you do in your room. Lesson segments can be tied to a specific conceptual focus, or can just be for joy and musicking. In a Kodály-inspired classroom, the songs and conceptual focus of lesson segments are chosen from song lists and concept plans and are laid out time-wise from your yearly plans and/or district pacing guide.  How many lesson segments should there be? How long should they be? In a Kodály-inspired classroom, a typical 45-minut...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #142: 🔥Hot Topics pt. 2 Upcoming Events:  Join us for a Virtual Coffee Chat with Kodály Educators of North Carolina on 9/28. Click here to register. Main Theme: Hot Topics, Part 2 In this episode, Carrie and Tanya discuss more Hot Topics as suggested by listeners and past Kodaly students. A few of the topics we discuss are: Balancing traditional Kodály-inspired lessons with PBL lessons. How to handle students who are not able to participate in certain holiday-based lessons. Tips on using and managing your sound system at school. How to approach matters of DEI while working in a more conservative community. Guiding students to choose appropriate movements. Things we mention in this episode: Aileen Miracle's Music Room Podcast Episode #142: Project Based Learning in the Music Room Fritz Anders Dalcroze-inspired YouTube Channel Have more hot topics questions? Feel free to email us at musicteachercoffeetalk@gmail.com Know Better, Do Better Carrie has...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #141: Classroom Instruments   Upcoming Events: September 23, 2023: Carrie will be presenting "Keep Them Singing, Keep Them Playing" for the Arizona Kodály Teachers Society in Phoenix. Find more details and register here! Main Theme: Classroom Instruments In this episode Tanya and Carrie talk about classroom instruments, both pitched barred instruments and non-pitched percussion. We talk about our philosophy of using instruments within a Kodály-inspired classroom, our sequence for introducing instruments, our tips for storage and organization, and our favorite resources for using classroom instruments in the elementary general music room. Favorite resources for using classroom instruments: Orff Source books by Denise Gagne All Around the Buttercup by Ruth Boshkoff Strike It Rich by Kriske and DeLelles As American As Apple Pie by Kriske and DeLelles David Row Make Moments Matter blog, videos, and podcast Know Better, Do Better Tanya invites us...