The Gruffalo lesson plans for K-2. Engaging 5-day lesson plans with differentiated reading response, vocabulary, sentence study, and a craft for this fun story!
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Truth time: I hated disliked teaching cause and effect up until this past week. Why? Because it is a confusing concept and when I have...
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Photo Source: www.expressivemonkey.com Perfect as a Halloween party station or math center activity leading up to the holiday, this roll and draw a monster game from Expressive Monkey is sure to be a hit with your kinders! We love that your students will practice counting, matching, following directions, and sequencing + ordinal numbers - not to mention the end results are sure to be unique and fun! And, when they're finished drawing their monsters, provide your kiddos with crayons, craft paint, and/or other art tools and invite them to spend some time decorating them! For the FREE printable game key, be sure to visit Expressive Monkey! Add in some drawing paper, pencils, and little artists - and you're set!
This year, the paperwork has become more cumbersome than ever! I'm not sure how it is elsewhere, but in NY, it feels like my district is trying to be the overachievers because we are being asked to do things for APPR that other districts haven't even thought of, particularly in the area of the specials teachers! One of the things we had to do this year was choose one class to be observed in. I would personally rather have my observations take place over all of the grade levels I teach, but my union won't let me. Since I'm teaching high school this year, I'd love to be observed there to get feedback, but I was still required to choose one area (and this is all from what our union has decided...sometimes I think they think more about the core area teachers than they do the special area teachers!). I would have chosen a high school level but I'm still being observed by the elementary principal (which doesn't really matter) but the next aspect of our observations is what made me stick with elementary because it will be less work for me in the long run, especially as I get closer to popping out this baby! ;) With whichever class or subject area we have chosen to be observed in, we have to fill out weekly lesson plans (and as rumor has it, next year we will have to do this for ALL of our subject areas/grade levels). And I don't mean just copy off our plan book anymore. We have to have full, written out lessons. If I chose Studio Art, I would have to have complete, written lessons for every day of the week, including daily objectives, bell ringers, exit slips, etc. While I'm working towards being able to do that, I am certainly not doing that now. By choosing an elementary class, my lessons are condensed down to 2-3 day lessons and more manageable to write out. Considering I have 12 different classes to prepare for weekly, I'm taking the easy way out! Last year I created and started using this lesson plan format to write my lessons and organize my grade level curriculum. I printed out a bunch of these templates and simply hand-wrote my lessons, so I was technically already doing this. The administrators liked my template and used it to create a common core template for everyone to use. Of course, when they did that, they left out all of the my art stuff. Now, I had planned on using these templates for my substitute when I go out on maternity leave so for me, the art parts were way more important than the Marzano stuff. I asked if I could alter my original template to include what was missing from theirs, and thankfully, they agreed. Of course, I ended up having to do two revisions because they wanted the Marzano stuff on the front, but I'm still happy with my ending template. This is my new lesson plan template. I have posted this to the SmARTteacher as well so you can find it there. If you open it in Word, you can simply click on the boxes in each category to mark what you are using, and then simply type in all of the information. I created a slightly different one for each level based on what the different listening strands are for K-2, as well as the basic common core math and ELA standards for each grade level. This is my district's lesson plan template for everyone to use.
Peer Gynt
Reading Time: 3 minutes
On October 1 we had the first Dharma School of the year. I had a simple lesson planned because I knew the kids would be full of energy and w...
Learn more about Media and Journalism vocabulary. Detailed and practical worksheets available.
It doesn’t get much better than The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This is such an exciting song and thanks to Disney’s Fantasia, one that is recognizable for most students. As you know from my post on the importance of teaching music history as can be found here, I just love these musically historical lessons. This is where […]
I don't put brain breaks and music and movement in my lesson plans because there isn't room. However, we stop and take a brain break about every 25 minutes.
In lesson one, we got acquainted with this wonderful piece of music. Now we will have some fun as we examine the elements that helped create the piece: rhythm, tempo and dynamics. The picture you see is a graphic illustration of this music - a music map. You'll need to print out the three pages. The task now is to first focus on how this music repeats over and over a very simple rhythmic pattern. Ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta, ti-ti ta, ti-ti ta, Ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta. The task for this lesson is to be able to "follow the dots" on the chart until Peer Gynt finds himself safely out of the mountain. By the time you have done this enough to be able to touch each dot without getting so excited by the music that you get silly about it, you will know that rhythmic pattern well. Remember, you MUST touch each dot along the way, hopping from dot to dot, not just sliding your finger along the path! IMPORTANT NOTE: Pages 1 and 2 repeat THREE times before you do the final page. I prefer this version without the vocals as you do this exercise. The beginning is really soft so you have to listen carefully. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRpzxKsSEZg&feature=related Now, that you have accomplished this first part, it is time to discuss this question: How could this composer keep repeating the same pattern over and over and yet we were never bored? If I was talking to you and I keep saying the same thing, over and over and over, you would die of boredom. But this piece is exciting. Why? This will lead to a discussion of tempo (the speed of the music) and dynamics (how softly or loudly the music is played) The children will figure those two things out without your help. It is so obvious. It is your job to introduce them to the correct musical terms. You may enjoy printing out the rhythm, tempo and dynamics posters for future reference.
Liz Kleinrock, 31, a teacher at Citizens of the World Charter School Silver Lake in LA, decided to broach the topic of consent amid the assault accusations directed at Brett Kavanaugh, 53.
In addition to music, I also teach visual art. My student teacher for the fall, Ms. Reed, had a very short placement (only 8 weeks). I didn't want the time in the art room to impede her learning and experience teaching music. So, we decided to integrate art and music for those lessons. We compared the art element LINE to the contour of a MELODY. Fourth and fifth grade students got to choose their favorite song and draw the shape of the main melody. They practiced drawing the lines with small chalkboards. Ms. Reed and I walked around the room and asked each student to sing their song while tracing their finger along the line. We offered suggestions to change the melody, if needed, to make it more accurate. The students chose a piece of construction paper from an assortment of pastels. The students drew their melody line and then added additional lines in the background in attempt to hide their melody. The chalk lines should be very thick to prevent paint colors from mixing. After drawing the lines, the students used watercolors to paint each section. Some chose to create color patterns while others preferred a random method. It took two 50 minute classes to begin and finish this project. We began painting in lesson 1. At first, the students were disappointed in the darkness of the watercolors. At the beginning of lesson 2, they were able to see how the colors are more vibrant when they dry. They also enjoyed comparing how colors looked different on different colors of construction paper. (Yellow paint on green paper looks different than yellow paint on pink paper) The original plan was to wipe the chalk away and reveal the background color of the paper. But, most students liked the chalk and didn't want to wipe it away. If you are fortunate enough to have an art teacher at your school, this would be a great opportunity to collaborate! Students could draw their melody lines in music class and complete the chalk and painting in the art room. I really fell in love with this project because each student created a beautiful work of art that was truly unique. I try to plan lessons that give the students freedom of creativity to influence the outcome of their art. The response papers allowed students to comment on something they loved about their art and something they wish they could do better. One student commented that she loved "how we could make it our own". This was great reassurance. For that moment, I could pretend that I was a real art teacher and not just a music teacher pretending to be an art teacher. ;) UPDATE: This post was featured on Fermata Fridays on September 18, 2015.
Someone asked me today if I was ever required to submit lesson plans to my administrators. Lucky for me, not really–at least not in a burdensome way. When I was formally observed (twice per year until I was tenured, and then once every three years), I had to submit formal lesson plans for the lesson that…
Experience Amir's journey from Kabul to redemption in The Kite Runner. StoryboardThat includes story summary to help students understand the narrative.
The famous 5 Minute Lesson Plan used by thousands of teachers across the world! Reduce the burden of planning; focus on learning, not doing.
In 5th grade, I have a room full of boys! I mentioned in an earlier post about playing the rhythm football game. Everyone loves this game! It is definitely worth the 3 bucks! As an additional activity for 5th grade, I created a word rhythm matching worksheet with NFL teams. I let my classes work with a partner to sound out the teams and match them with the rhythms. My 5th graders are especially interested in college teams so I added a page for them to figure out the rhythm of their favorite college teams. You can get the PDF file HERE.
I love this time of year in my classroom because it signals the beginning of a delightful string of holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! The music of Halloween is especially fun̷…
$4 Grades 3-5This is a comprehensive 12-week spelling lesson plan with worksheets for different grade levels (grades 3-5). Accompanying each week's spelling list words are paintings from the Victorian era which is the vehicle by which new vocabulary is introduced. Words such as "petticoats", "britc...
In addition to music, I also teach visual art. My student teacher for the fall, Ms. Reed, had a very short placement (only 8 weeks). I didn't want the time in the art room to impede her learning and experience teaching music. So, we decided to integrate art and music for those lessons. We compared the art element LINE to the contour of a MELODY. Fourth and fifth grade students got to choose their favorite song and draw the shape of the main melody. They practiced drawing the lines with small chalkboards. Ms. Reed and I walked around the room and asked each student to sing their song while tracing their finger along the line. We offered suggestions to change the melody, if needed, to make it more accurate. The students chose a piece of construction paper from an assortment of pastels. The students drew their melody line and then added additional lines in the background in attempt to hide their melody. The chalk lines should be very thick to prevent paint colors from mixing. After drawing the lines, the students used watercolors to paint each section. Some chose to create color patterns while others preferred a random method. It took two 50 minute classes to begin and finish this project. We began painting in lesson 1. At first, the students were disappointed in the darkness of the watercolors. At the beginning of lesson 2, they were able to see how the colors are more vibrant when they dry. They also enjoyed comparing how colors looked different on different colors of construction paper. (Yellow paint on green paper looks different than yellow paint on pink paper) The original plan was to wipe the chalk away and reveal the background color of the paper. But, most students liked the chalk and didn't want to wipe it away. If you are fortunate enough to have an art teacher at your school, this would be a great opportunity to collaborate! Students could draw their melody lines in music class and complete the chalk and painting in the art room. I really fell in love with this project because each student created a beautiful work of art that was truly unique. I try to plan lessons that give the students freedom of creativity to influence the outcome of their art. The response papers allowed students to comment on something they loved about their art and something they wish they could do better. One student commented that she loved "how we could make it our own". This was great reassurance. For that moment, I could pretend that I was a real art teacher and not just a music teacher pretending to be an art teacher. ;) UPDATE: This post was featured on Fermata Fridays on September 18, 2015.
October 12, 2013 In second grade classes we have started a Native American Indian music and dance unit. This week, students had the opp...
This poster is designed to support your teaching of what students need to report to a teacher versus what doesn't need to be reported. ★ Picture cues help the lesson be more concrete for your students.★ The recording sheet helps to make your discussion more memorable for students. ★ Lesson plan inc...
We’ll admit that the term “physical literacy” is a bit of a mouthful. When we use the phrase with parents who’ve never heard it before, they tend to furrow their brows and cock their heads as they work out what it means.
A pacing guide provides an at-a-glance view to help make day by day lesson planning easier. Learn how to make and use a pacing guide.
Dynamic Scary Story with Explain Everything What better way to demonstrate understanding of musical dynamics than to use them to tell a scary story on Expla ...
October 12, 2013 Fourth and fifth grade students are reviewing "rhythm" (the short and long patterns of the beat) in music class...
Song Index
6th grade art sub lesson - Design a Gift Card
double-sided tone ladders for Apple Tree and Little Leaves The second graders are currently in the land of "do." We've sung and played games, body signed, showed the "low" note by bending or ducking as we sang, echoed patterns while using individual tone ladders, and written do melodies with leaf note heads. staff boards and leaf notes for melodic writing This week I'll present do and the do clef and we'll focus on identifying, reading and writing do songs on the staff. do Songs Apple Tree Little Leaves Mouse Mousie Pumpkin Man (only the first two measures) One, Two, Three (Johnny Caught a Flea) One of the practice activities I'll be incorporating is my Apple and Pumpkin Melody Match I found foam apples (the come in packages mixed green and red and can be found in the dollar bin,) and foam pumpkins. (I really need to own stock in Target stores. They receive a lot of my cash.) On each apple I wrote the solfa of a do melodic pattern. On the pumpkins I wrote the same melody on the staff with a do clef: I stripped away the rhythm of these patterns because I want students to focus on the melody. (Have you ever noticed when showing mystery songs many kids will figure it out by matching the words and the rhythm and neglect the melody entirely? No? Just me? ...ok...) Each student will start the game with a pumpkin or an apple. They must find their partner and then write out their melody jointly on a staff board. I have pumpkin, ghost, leaves, and blackcat noteheads, (thank you, Amy!) once the pair have found each other they can choose which noteheads they use to write their pattern. Here are some of the do patterns I've used and what song and phrase they are from: Do you have additional do songs/activities? Please let me know. Have a lovely autumn week!
October 30, 1938: Orson Welles airs his now famous War of the Worlds radio play and hysteria overtakes America. Or did it? This lesson plan and webquest leads students through informational text to discover the historical truth and context about what happened that crazy night. In this lesson, students will read informational text to uncover historical truths and context; relate their own lives to an historical incident by reflecting on modern news media; use text marking to facilitate a close reading of a text; reflect on the writer’s/artist’s craft; analyze how the medium chosen affects a story; use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the text and radio broadcast versions of a scene; and apply their new knowledge and understanding by rewriting a familiar story as a news broadcast and performing it as such. This resource is aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Reading and Writing and includes accommodations for Exceptional Education, English Language Learners, and Gifted students. It also includes rubrics and an answer key. NOTE: This resource INCLUDES the "War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast -Webquest" also available in my store.
Mainstream understanding and involvement in how to build global ecology is essential if we are to create a sustainable planet. To achieve this, a sustainable way of living is needed that most people will consider better than how they are living now. If sustainable living like this is made easy enough, affordable enough, and demonstrated as attractive enough, then it will predictably spread. One Community is open sourcing and free-sharing this for The Highest Good of all people and life on our planet. This is the October 2, 2016 edition (#184) of our weekly progress update detailing our team’s development and accomplishments.
UPDATE: Hello everyone! I have been at a new school with nearly 3x the students! Eek! Interactive notebooks haven't been feasible here, so I haven't been keeping up with them. I do have some of the things I've use available for free (see the links below) and I'm working on uploading more! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Music-Interactive-Notebook-Pages-Rhythms-475383 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Music-Interactive-Notebook-Pages-Dynamics-Tempos-Articulations-424104 I know that a few of you are on the "interactive notebook" journey with me. I haven't been "journey-ing" very well in October, because, well, Halloween songs and activities are my absolute favorite and my students and have been busy! However, I'm hoping to get these updates into my students' notebooks ASAP. Check them out! This easy foldable can be used for logging "new rhythms". The rhythm is drawn in the middle. The flaps read: "real name", "word with same number of sounds", "number of sounds", "number of beats". You can see below how I answered these for "tika-tika". Here's another rhythm foldable - this one is cross-curricular. Check-out how the kiddos have to identify the rhythm and then create a bar-graph: Isn't it convenient that the lines on the music staff equal the number of fingers on the human hand? :) I can't wait to add this little picture in as we go over absolute pitch: The foldables are for basic listening vocabulary words. I'm thinking about introducing one type (say "tempo") per lesson, paired with interesting listening examples (I love Eric Chapelle's "A Tale of Two Cities" for loud vs. quiet - Half the class is the "loud city" and they stomp around the room with big movements, the other half is the "quiet city" and they tip-toe around with small movements - lots of fun for any age). After we listen or move to some of the terms, the students can complete their notebook pages (see below). The students can find the answers on various posters, anchor charts, etc around the room. Now, anytime we listen to a piece, the students can uses these pages as a reference. I think this will be very engaging because they'll get to flip into their own work, check out pictures, and read what they wrote as the definition. I'm literally slapping myself for not thinking of these pages sooner. My 4th graders are going to an orchestral concert on Thursday, so I've been very busy with them reviewing the instruments of the orchestra. We used a few charts in our notebooks already to log in notes about each instrument, but, had I had these printables glued in for them to use, I think their work would have been much better organized (and the pictures can't hurt either). I'll definitely be using these with my 3rd and 5th graders. I'd suggest teaching one family per lesson (I love to use SFS Kids when teaching the instruments). Students can take notes under each flap and add extras (such as other family members, playing techniques, etc) around the edges of the foldable. Supplement their note-taking with discussions and video-clips from Youtube. Looking for more instruments of the orchestra activities? Check out these FREEBIES from my TPT store: Brass Family Matching Game Woodwind Family Matching Game Percussion Family Matching Game String Family Matching Game Turkey Instrument Family Game How are your notebooks going?
If you have a unit on genetics, this is a must have as part of your lesson plans. The worksheets were created by Tracy and posted on her website, ScienceSpot.net (link). I created a Google Slides p…
