Behavior and Assessment Experiment

Well... I am sure I am not the only person who constantly forgets to assess the students while they are in there. Then, when they leave... the next class is there... and by the end of the day, I have forgotten everything.

So... I have decided to start an experiment with my 3-5 grade students. It will be my behavior and skills assessment experiment for the school year.

Earlier this summer I posted my behavior chart... Music Behavior Chart I put numbered clothespins that correspond with their numbers they have in the classroom... hoping for more solidarity between the music class and their homerooms (and maybe even other specials classes will use them as well).

There are only 4 options:
1. Superstar (Excellent)
2. Let's Rock and Roll - Good
3. Singing the Blues - Fair
4. Speak with Management - Needs Improvement

Each student will have a folder with these inserts:
1. Behavior Chart that includes their grade for the day (E, G, F, NI - which matches above), reason for grade if below a G, and parent initials.
2. Quarterly Skills Assessment - I want the parents to be able to see what they are learning throughout the year. I want to be more organized and make myself keep up with this. In the letter I wrote to the parents I stated that not all students will be assessed every day, and that is ok. Just to look out for their assessment sheet to be completed. 
3. 4-5 graders will have a recorder practice log that also includes parent initials. As well as a Recorder Karate Assessment sheet.

The inserts are on my TPT store right here: Assessment Folder Inserts

Each student starts with a G and can either become a superstar or move down for poor behavior. In my grading, a G is 5/5, E is 6/5 (extra credit), F is 4/5, and NI is 3-0/5, depending on severity.

Before the kiddos leave, they will have to fill out their behavior chart and I will highlight their grade so they cannot erase it without me knowing. They will take it home, get it signed, and bring it back the next music class. I am hoping that this really incorporates the same behavior policies they are using in the classroom, and just in case both my hands are busy or my grade book is on the other side of the room, the student can just move their clip and write it down themselves at the end of class. 

I am hoping that this works... but who knows? What are your thoughts? I will keep everyone updated!

My Classroom Theme

Well, after MUCH thought... I have decided to go with a theme that I am SUPER excited about... 

Minions!!

I have ALWAYS loved the minions. I taught a summer camp, and it was the summer that Despicable Me 2 came out, and all the kids LOVED the minions. I made these cupcakes for them:

And we also had a team name - the Mighty Minions - when we competed. It is so fitting, because I consider all my kids my little adopted minions. The movie is SO sweet, and I am so excited to start on this!

So, I have attached a link to my new Minion Solfege... Do-Re-Minions! I hope you enjoy... stay tuned for the rest of my classroom theme! :) I cannot WAIT for the kiddos to see it!

Do-Re-Minions!

A new-ish product and my new idea!

Hello teacher friends!

Well, I am REALLY excited to embark on this new year... I have SO many plans! But, the one that I am really focused on right now is the classroom management. So, here is what I am going to do.

I will have a behavior chart with 25 clothespins on it. Each will be numbered. The students, who will be using their classroom numbers, will move their clip if there is a discipline issue. Then, when they leave, I will mark down what numbers were moved or give superstar awards to those students who earned them. Now, most behavior charts have 8-10 steps in their "ladder"... but mine... only 4. They should not get that many opportunities to mess up since I only get them once a week. I used some of the words from the guitar behavior management chart that is all over pinterest. I made my chart and it is now on teacherspayteachers! Click on the link below if you are interested... its only $1!

Music Behavior Chart

I will be using this with SK-5th grade... and the 3-5 grades will have a folder they will bring. At the end of each class, they will fill out their behavior sheet, I will highlight it (so it cannot be changed), and the parents will sign it each week. I will also have a recorder practice log with parent signature spots and a skills assessment with about 3 or 4 skills to assess each 9-weeks. Yes... a TON of planning, but once it is done, it is done! And the part I like the most... the parents and students will see my class as an academic class because they will have actual assessments sent home with them.

My plan is to assess at least 5-8 kids each class and fill out their assessment sheets when they line up, since I will already be highlighting, the students won't really know who I assessed each time. I don't want the "What did I get?" or "That's not fair" comments... So we will see how it works. 

If you are interested in seeing the folder inserts, let me know. I am debating whether or not to post them on TPT or not... so, how about this. The first 4 people that comment on my blog letting me know what they think of this idea and include their email address will get the behavior chart for free!!!

Thanks for reading! :)

Writing in the Music Classroom

After "Facebooking" with Lindsay from Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Classroom (check her out if you haven't already), I have decided to share my action research that I completed this past December to graduate with my masters in Instruction and Curriculum Leadership. The document is located in my dropbox (link below)... it isn't short, so I didn't want to paste it into the blog. But, here is the abstract. Also, please remember that this is the first time I ever completed action research, so it's not perfect! And, I am posting this so that other music teachers will be more open to the idea to incorporate writing in their classrooms. Please understand that this was ALOT of work, and should not be copied or printed for any reason other than for personal use. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Enjoy!

Abstract

            The purpose of my action research professional development plan was to find a way to effectively incorporate writing strategies in the music classroom. Because of common budget cuts in education, music teachers often have to prove to administrators that we are effective teachers and that music is an essential subject. I have added writing strategies given by other educators and researchers in order to relate the music room more with the Common Core standards as well as have a way of assessing students’ music listening skills and music vocabulary understanding.

            According to Peterson and Madsen, “when students learn to transfer information and knowledge to new situation, they are more likely to retain that knowledge; this retention seems to be enhanced when the information is presented within an activity where creativity is encouraged” (2010). Many researchers, including Charles Duke, state that learning to keep a journal or to respond to music through writing and talking is a valuable skill. These types of activities encourage students to pay attention to detail and promote higher order thinking (1984). In order to help my students be more creative in order to retain information, I decided to incorporate different writing prompts in my classroom over a six-week period. The students would complete these prompts while listening to different types of music. These writing prompts let the students tell stories, free-write, compare, analyze, etc. The 18 students would either complete a chart I had given them or write in their journal. All the students also had a “cheat sheet” of the 6 traits of writing to help make their writing more appropriate for their grade level as well as remind the students to use their best writing skills. The students would write from 5-8 minutes and then have time to share their writing with the classroom.

            To document the student’s growth and understanding through this process, I used the 6 Traits rubric to grade their work, I kept a research journal, and also had the students complete a needs assessment survey before and after the six week period. The rubric really showed the students needs before and after the six-week period, and also showed their growth in writing. The journal was used to keep my thoughts organized throughout the process as well as to write down any pertinent information, such as, if students were absent, what the atmosphere of the day at school was, etc. And, the needs assessment gaged the students likes and dislikes when writing as well as pertinent information on each student’s writing needs in the classroom.

            Over the six-week period, the students’ work greatly improved. The rubric helped me understand what the students’ struggles are in writing and what their strengths are as well. I believe that their writing has improved simply because of how engaging these writing strategies are, and because it was something new and exciting for the students. A couple of the students were not improving and were also not writing very much in their journals because they were not as engaged as they needed to be, but for the majority of the class, engaging writing activities in music class definitely strengthened their writing skills.

            This type of activity needs to be measured for longer than a six-week period, and also with different types of rubrics. At times it was hard to use the 6 Traits rubric if the student had decided not to write more than a few sentences. I plan to continue these strategies as well as implement some of my own writing prompts into my lesson plans to see if it increases the students’ writing abilities even further. I also plan to share my results with the fourth grade teacher as well as my music education colleagues.

Writing in the Music Classroom - Full Report

Procrastination and a GREAT find!

Well, did I accomplish what I set out to do yesterday? No! But thats ok! I did do SOME of it.

And... in my defense, my husband is at a guitar institute and told me to wait to restring, because a guy there gave him a GREAT way to do it.

And... Kindergarten plans are done for the first four weeks, I feel that is a good accomplishment (I see them twice a week, so that was 8 lessons).

Tomorrow I plan on going to my PT and then drinking a SPARK from Advocare. It really helps me get in the zone!

But, I am SO excited about a TeachersPayTeachers find I bought today! These WONDERFUL exit tickets for the music classroom made by the Bulletin Board Lady (who is FABULOUS by the way). I am going to make a poster with those small library envelopes and have the students fill out the ticket out the door and slip it in their designated envelope before they leave. This bundle is AMAZING and I seriously cannot wait to use it. Yes, it is $14.50... but I promise, totally worth it. Click the link below:

Bulletin Board Lady Music Room Exit Tickets

Well, off to bed for me, but I just had to share these tickets with you!

August is Around the Corner

Teacher friends,

Who else is like me? All summer long I think about my classroom, what will I change, what will I keep the same? I will even be out shopping and only think about what would look cute in my classroom, or what weird thing I can incorporate in my room. This may be my fifth year teaching, but I have NO idea what is best for me or the kids yet at this point...

Let's get one thing straight... One step at a time. I am SO not good at this. I will be walking into my classroom for the first time since school let out for summer, and I am already overwhelmed. So, what I did was this... I made a schedule.

Monday - Restring guitars and set up new guitars. Lesson plan SK and 1st grade ONLY as well as prepare as many visuals as I can before time runs out! This year I am using Jeff and Randy's GamePlan books for SK and 1st grade... and this is new to me. I am really excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to share with you how it all works out. I will also be teaching lessons at 3 and coaching volleyball from 5-7.

Tuesday - Lesson plan 2nd and 3rd grade - using the Conversational Solfege books by Feierabend. Yes, I know it is weird... why not be consistent? Well, I only have SK and 1st grade GamePlan books... and I have always wanted to be strict about the Feierabend curriculum because I feel like it will be a great way to get them prepared for the years to come. Also, because I can't do the same thing with everyone, I will get bored! Also, make as many visuals as I can!

Wednesday - Lesson plan 4th and 5th grade - I am using the Silver Burdette Making Music series for these grades because I have the books and CDs for these books. Also, make visuals and get everything ready.

Thursday - Bulletin Board Day - I feel that I will be staring at my bare walls the entire time I am in my room this week and will finally have come up with what to do with them. I have about 1,000 ideas and only a couple bulletin boards.

ALSO!!! I have some VERY exciting news. As you have read, I have ALOT of work to do with my visuals. Up until now, every visual of mine is on large manilla paper. BUT... guess what? I am taking a 50" TV to my classroom and hooking up an AppleTV! Can you believe it? I am MORE than excited. I can't wait to incorporate this technology with the kids and the school. I will be the first and only teacher with an AppleTV in the classroom, so I have to be sure I am on my A game for REAL. I hope to share some of those visuals with you all on this site as well, and hopefully will get some great feedback!

Well, thanks for reading. And I hope my schedule inspired you to make your own schedule. One step at a time... and it will be great! You can do it! You can get SUPER excited as well as be practical. Hopefully I will follow this schedule, but we will see. :)

Thanks for reading!