Teaching Music to Neurodiverse Students

If you are like me, you have a wide diversity of students as far as how they think, process, and behave.  The fancy term for this is neurodiversity.  I presented on neurodiversity at The Music Crew virtual conference in July, mainly focusing on autistic students and people with CI.  If you have these students in your music class or have a self-contained music class, this presentation is for you!  

Please note:  I used the term neurodiverse throughout the presentation, but avoided the terms neurodivergent/neurotypical because I was unsure if they were still considered appropriate.  As of this writing, they are still used, so I apologize for any confusion.  

Neurodivergent would refer to people with ADHD, ASD, CI, etc.  

Neurotypical would be people without those divergent thinking patterns.  

I have also learned since recording this that autistic people prefer to use the term "autistic" instead of "people with autism," so please know that if I ever present on this again, I will make those changes!  It's always good to learn and grow!!

Here is a handout to help you if you like taking notes or want to look up the resources mentioned.

I hope this is helpful to you:

Here is the ASD Visual Schedule mentioned in the presentation.

Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Tips for Learning Names in the Music Room

One of the biggest challenges for music teachers is to learn the names of all of their students. I have taught anywhere from around 300 to 1,000 students per year. While I LOVE getting to know all of these students, learning their names can be quite a challenge--especially if you are a new to a school. 

 So here are some tips: 

 1. Learning their names is worth it. 

    The first step to learning names is knowing your efforts are worth it.  If we don't take the time to learn their names, why should they take the time to listen to what we have to say? Learning names is part of investing in who they are. 

 2. Have visual reminders. 

    I have popsicle sticks with each students name on it and put them in cups grouped by class. This is an easy way to see their name when you pull a popsicle stick for someone to take a turn during class. Writing out a seating chart with first and last names is also helpful. 

 3. Play name games. 

    There are lots of great name games out there. Some just use their name once, while others use their names with more repetition. If the name is only used once, I say their name over and over in my head trying to memorize it while the rest of the class is singing. 

 4. Say their names as they enter. 

    At the beginning of the school year, I say each child's name as they enter. They know they are supposed to correct me if I get it wrong. I work on pronunciations until I get them the best I can. 

 5. Take a picture. 

    If I am stuck on a student's name, I take a picture of them with their name written on the board behind them, or I have them write it on a piece of paper and hold it in front of them. In fact, I have all second graders write their names and take a picture of them to practice. It's smart to do this on a school device to respect the students' privacy. I do mine on an iPad and then delete pictures as I learn them or make a "learn names" folder of the students I'm still working on. 

 I hope these tips help you have some strategies to learn names. If you are still looking for name games, here's one my upper elementary students enjoy:

Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Tips for Secondary Teachers "Stuck" in Elementary Music

Teaching lementary general music is a fabulous opportunity, but if you used to be a band/orchestra/choir director and you get thrown into an elementary position, it can be overwhelming!  Here are some thoughts from my 14 years in the elementary music world:

1.  You will be okay.  The teaching experiences you already have will be beneficial to you!  Think about what you want students to know by the time they get to middle school and base your curriculum on that.  Also know that younger kids need to first feel/experience a musical concept to put a name with it--if you just put definitions on a board, students aren't going to keep that information well. 

2.  Go to Orff, Kodály, Music Learning Theory, Dalcroze, or Education Through Music workshops as soon as you can find one near you.  Not only will you learn valuable teaching ideas and lessons, you will also network which is imperative for you!  You need to have someone to ask questions to! 

3.  Speaking of Orff, Kodály, and Music Learning Theory--take a levels course for one or more of these during the summer, it will explain so much about elementary music teaching to you.  The courses are normally 2 or 3 weeks long, but they are life changing!  If you aren't sure which one to take, you can research it.  Here's a comparison between Orff and Kodály level 1. 

4.  Find a curriculum to pull activities from so you don't have to kill yourself coming up with lesson plans your first year.  You may even want to teach the same lessons to K/1, 2/3, and 4/5 so you are only coming up with 3 different lessons each day you see your students instead of 6!  There are tons of curriculum options out there--ask in the elementary music teacher page on Facebook to see what other teachers like and why.  You will have to find something that fits your style.  Teachers Pay Teachers is also an incredible resource for general music teachers!  You can find classroom decor, games, movement activities, sub tub supplies, composer of the month/music history, and other resources that will greatly impact your teaching!

5.  Your first week of school should be about setting clear expectations and learning names.  If you are totally new to this position, it will likely take you 2-3 weeks before you have most names down.  It will feel overwhelming at first, but it is worth it and means everything to your students.  Find name games on Pinterest and through music teaching blogs.  Don't worry about teaching content until you know names! 

6.  You need to know that kindergarten students are like a bunch of kittens or puppies at the beginning of the school year.  Find simple activities such as a few games where they stay in one spot, sing a book to them, or games where they sit.  Perhaps create posters for a few classic kid songs (Oh Mr. Sun, Down By the Bay, Old MacDonald, etc.) and sing those with them to help them become comfortable with singing.

7.  Use your strengths!  If you are a great vocalist, rely on activities that feature your voice.  Those with instrumental backgrounds might be more comfortable working on Orff instruments (I recommend Mallet Madness or As American As Apple Pie as a good place to start).  Keep in mind KG and 1st grade students won't be able to do much with instruments yet other than learning to hold mallets and keep a beat.  If you are a great guitar player, your students will love to do activities while you strum along.

8.  Your "go to" elementary music resources (besides Teachers Pay Teachers) will be West Music, Music Is Elementary, and Music In Motion.  Check out their catalogs--it may be worth spending a bit of your own money to have less stress in your life, and you will use it for years to come!

9.  Games are everything in elementary music!  Students at this age love to play!  Check out Chicken on the Fencepost, Doggie, Doggie, Shanghai Chicken, Pass the Beat, and Bow Wow Wow to get started!

There's so much to learn about teaching elementary music, but hopefully those ideas will give you something to think about.  I'm sensing that I might need to write on this topic a few more times in the future! 

Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Please note:  Noteworthy By Jen is an Amazon affiliate.  Links may be monetized to help support the upkeep of this blog.  This affiliation does not influence my honest opinion on book reviews or resource recommendations.  

Book Review: "Classroom Management for Art, Music, and P.E. Teachers"

     A little over a week ago, I wrote out some of my summer goals, and though I still have 3 days of school left, I’ve already accomplished part of my summer bucket list!  I just finished reading “Classroom Management for Art, Music, and P.E. Teachers” by Michael Linsin.  In two days. 

     Here are some of my thoughts on this book:

1.     Every new music teacher should read this book.  It expresses much of what I have learned over the past ten years of teaching.  

2.     Michael Linsin, though a P.E. teacher, points out many of the realities of teaching music and how they differ from a classroom teacher.  It’s nice to hear from someone who can relate!

3.     His approach is calm and respectful to both the teacher and students.  This is paramount to me—that my students feel they are treated fairly and with respect.  

4.     Experienced teachers can benefit from it too.  It’s always good to hear someone else’s approach to teaching in a specials classroom (I say specials because of how it’s scheduled, but please know that I consider music to be a core class).  You may learn some new tricks, or you may just enjoy hearing someone else chime in to say that what you’ve been doing is a good idea.

    Some favorite quotes:

1.     “The purpose of your classroom management plan is to protect each student’s right to learn and enjoy being part of your class.  It’s a positive, not a negative.”

2.     “It’s in your positive relationships that the secrets of managing difficult students reside.”

3.     “Only proceed when your class is giving you what you want.”

     If your class hasn’t quite been doing what you want, check it out!  It’s a short read and you will likely find some helpful tips :)  Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Please note:  Noteworthy By Jen is an Amazon affiliate.  Links may be monetized to help pay for the upkeep of this blog.  

Tips for the End of the Year

     It's getting close to the end of the school year--and boy, do the students seem to know!  Or maybe it's the teachers :)  Here are some tips for the end of the year to keep it fresh, purposeful, and fun:

End of the Year Tips

1.  Review what your students learned this year!

     I have a word wall for each grade in my classroom.  When we get near the end of the year, I like to do a whirlwind of activities to review the concepts we learned throughout the year while pointing back to the word wall and talking about what we did.  It keeps the students on their toes and also helps them to be proud of all that they have learned!  Here's a sample of part of my 3rd grade word wall (we do a unit playing the violin).  Someday I hope to have the word wall all printed out and pretty. 

 2.  Try a new activity

     I always like to go to workshops to get new ideas each year, otherwise I don't feel as excited about my teaching!  Other great places to search for music activities are blogs and Pinterest.  Recently, my kindergarten students were "painting" their bodies to the beat while we sang "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More." I think we will create our own rhyming verses next week just for fun.  I have the CD that I got through scholastic books, but I don't know where it's available now :( 

3.  Have a choice day!

     The very last day of my music classes is always a game day where students can pick their favorite activities from the year and revisit them!  I also include folk dancing and the broom game as options.  Sometimes we even have our last class outside if the weather is nice. 

4.  Set goals for the summer

     I am the queen of post-it notes.  My desk is covered in them!  But, it allows me to take those small ideas I get throughout the day and not forget them.   So, now is the time of year I look through my ideas for the summer and start working on it.  This year's goals?
     1.  Redo the costume closet at my school.
     2.  Take Kodaly Level I (or Orff Level II if that doesn't work out).  Either way, it will be invaluable!
     3.  Read some books. It's always nice to hear how someone else runs their classroom so you can pick their best ideas and use them in yours.  Here's one I'm going to check out for sure:

     4.  Pick out possible music and musicals for the upcoming school year.  I normally wait to make my final decisions until the school year is in session, but it's always good to have a list to choose from instead of starting from scratch.  And next year I will be K-12--so it's never to early to start planning!

     Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!  Feel free to share how you are making it to the end of the year!

     For more great tips on what to do at the end of the year, click here to see who else is blogging about it!