First Things First: Musical Activities to Welcome Students by Name

Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! It’s back to school time! As music educators, we have a million things on our beginning of the year to-do list: setting up our rooms, staff meetings, district training, pacing guides, the list goes on and on. But before you get too far into your … Read more

Culturally Responsive Rehearsal Planning

Culturally Responsive Rehearsal Planning: Applying the principles to our ensemble rehearsals

Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! In my last blog post, I shared several programming structures that you can use to center student voice and choice in your ensemble classrooms (click here to check out that post!). But what could a rehearsal look like that intentionally centers culturally responsive practices? Remember, … Read more

Voice & Choice Through Programming Structures in the Culturally Responsive Music Ensemble Room

Listen to this blog post by clicking the player below! In the traditional ensemble setting, the music director typically makes all the programming decisions for what the ensemble will perform. These programming decisions are typically informed by what the director thinks is appropriate technique-wise for the musicians, what the director thinks students may be interested … Read more

2 Tips for Authentic Assessment in the Culturally Responsive Music Room

Listen to this blog post by clicking on the player below! Culturally Responsive Music classrooms attend to the identities and unique strengths of learners, and also move them towards independent musicianship through skillfully crafted instruction and learning experiences. A key factor in high quality instruction is assessment. Not to be confused with grading, assessment is … Read more

Hear-Think-Wonder: A Visible Thinking Routine for the Music Room

Hear think wonder. A visible thinking strategy for the music classroom

Listen to this blog post by clicking on the player below! Hey music educators! An important part of a Culturally Responsive Music Education is utilizing learning moves that move students from dependent to independent learners. Today, I’m sharing one strategy to support deep thinking that you can use in your classroom. And as always, be … Read more