Sometimes you just need to do it! Sometimes you just need to stray from your plans and do what you feel is right in your gut! That’s what happened to me yesterday after my students and I listened to Vivaldi’s Siciliano during our regular listening time at snack. We started listening on Tuesday and their [...]
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My last two posts have included live playlists powered by Grooveshark. In a sentence – I LOVE Grooveshark. I’ve only been using it only for a short time, but I can see so many possibilities for it in my teaching and sharing with teachers. Let me explain: As the author of a book about bringing [...]
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Our students come to us with many interests and talents. Music is one of them. Whether it’s Beethoven, the Beatles, Bon Jovi or (Justin) Bieber, tapping into their love of listening to music can help students become better readers. The two disciplines are innately very similar, and teachers and parents can take advantage of these similarities to help struggling readers become motivated learners.
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Now, as a teacher, I use Beethoven’s birthday to celebrate the holiday season in a new way. All month we learn about the man and listen to his music. On his birth week, I integrate Beethoven into as many lessons as I can: from penmanship practice using Beethoven quotes and developing our understanding about fact and opinion using biographical articles about his life to practicing our math using Beethoven-based word problems. During the month we also focus on the virtue of perseverance – a virtue that Beethoven exemplified throughout his life.
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Educators need to do more than teach; they need to create experiences for their students. Experiences are what make learning come alive. Let’s face it, experiences are what life is made of and what we need to emphasize in our classrooms if we are to teach the whole child. The arts provide a wonderful way to bring experiences into your teaching.
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This Thanksgiving, I would like to give thanks to a special friend I have made on Twitter. Richard Lakin has been a wonderful supporter (and retweeter) for me even though he lives across the globe. (That’s the power of social media and a PLN!) Today I would like to feature his article on the importance [...]
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Many of our readers are interested in actual lesson plans and ideas. So, here you go! My mind over the last week has been focused on collaboration and how it is the key to effective integration. We cannot all be experts in everything, so we need to ask for assistance with things we may be [...]
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Recently, I taught two workshops using the open source audio editing software, Audacity through the Somersworth, NH School District. @brophycat (AKA Cathy Brophy, a good friend and colleague) invited me to share my knowledge of the software with preK-12 teachers and make it practical for their teaching. I was excited to do so! The first [...]
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Summer workshops are fun. You do them on your own time, connect with other teachers and learn in a stress free environment. Over the past week and a half, I was able to participate in a couple workshops, both presenting and participating. This past weekend, I traveled down to Philly to participate in the first [...]
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