Teaching Tips
-
Sonya Sahni and the First Grade
Sonya Sahni and the First Grade: Its International Day! by Soma Mandal and Tim Williams Having a foot in two different worlds can be difficult for anyone. Even more so for a kid trying to figure out how to fit in with her friends at school and please her parents at home. Sonya tries her…
-
Educators Wear Many Hats
Here are some of the many hats that teachers wear. Researchers I read articles on education nearly every day. I seek out books from the library to help me in my teaching practice, and I continually look for ways to improve in the classroom. I found this graphic from one of the dozen educational blogs…
-
School Life (Talking with the Filmmakers)
I had the chance to interview Neasa Ni Chianain about her documentary film School Life. We talked about how schools are different in Ireland, the concept of boarding schools, passionate teachers, arts programs, and much more. The film focuses on John and Amanda, a married couple who have been teaching for over forty years. They work…
-
Teaching is Very Rewarding
A student surprised me today with these very thoughtful gifts. I was overwhelmed to see the time and effort he put in to them. He 3D printed my logo and my favourite picture from my wedding. When you hold it up to the light, the picture reveals itself. I still can’t believe that this is…
-
Student Choice in Instrumental Music
It’s difficult to manage student choice in an instrumental music class. There are so many things to consider. The first of which is assigning instruments to your students. It is important to have a good variety of brass and woodwind instruments so that your class can sound like a full concert band. This is a good…
-
First Week of a Beginning Instrumental Music Class (Part 2)
This is part 2 of an on-going series for new instrumental music teachers who are leading a class of beginning music students. Last week, I shared the first two lessons I taught my classes this year. This week, we will look at the next two lessons that you can use to kick off your semester. Trying…
-
First Week of a Beginning Instrumental Music Class (Part 1)
Here are the first few lessons I used to start off the term with a brand new, introductory music class. I hope that you will find them useful. Teachers helping teachers is what this is all about. Day 1 Music Lesson Plan Creation-Time Give the students ten minutes to create something out of Play-Doh. The goal…
-
Long Range Plans – AMU3O (Grade 11 Music)
I am back to teaching and loving every minute of it. I have a Grade 11 music class full of eager students wanting to learn how to play an instrument for the first time. As such, if you are a Grade 7 or 8 instrumental music teacher, you may find this long range plan to…
-
The Inner Game of Work
The Inner Game of Work by W. Timothy Gallwey I started a research project to see how we could let students choose what they want to learn in school and it led me to some very interesting books, articles, and videos. I will be sharing some of that with you over the course of this…
-
What’s Your Something Special?
What’s Your Something Special? by Catherine Gibson and Mary Fletcher We all have something special locked up inside us. It might be hard to find, and some of us might not even know to look for it, but it is there. This book taps into the power of imagination and self-discovery. It’ s a story…