Page 5 - Elementary Music Curriculum Bundle Intro

Chairs are a huge part of the equipment in the music room, not only size but placement. I always insisted on medium sized chairs. At the beginning of my career, I was extremely conscientious and had a set of small chairs and large chairs. I would change out those chairs according to the age child coming into my room, small for K-1st, large for 2nd-4th. Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize that was sheer craziness! Not only was my back suffering but it took a lot of time and space to store one set while using the other. And, then, I learned the hard way that some schools have very whacky schedules that don’t take into consideration what works best for their related arts teachers. I would go from a 3rd grade class to a Kindergarten back to 4th grade. Oh, my! That put an end to swapping out chairs.
I student taught in East Tennessee with a veteran teacher who had her students sitting in rows. They used books, sat in their chairs, and never got up. I knew then that when I had my own classroom, I wanted my students to sit in a semi-circle, books (when needed) went under chairs, and we had a huge space for movement. Several times during class, I would have the students come up and sit on the floor in front of my chair. I sat during class because I learned from a wise teacher that standing over children is threatening. But sitting on eye-level is non-threatening and helps children become more comfortable with you.
I also learned that everything on the walls should teach and “speak” to my students. Because I was in a low socio-economic area, I wanted the music room to not only be a place where the children would feel good and also safe. Instead of slapping posters haphazardly on the walls, I began collecting some very nice prints of jazz musicians and musicians and instruments from many different cultures and put these in nice frames and hung them on the walls. What a huge difference that made for the students, teachers, administration, and for me! Be sure you have a world map or globe that is accessible during your class times. Point out the origins of all folk songs every chance you have. For more suggestions, read my blog post—"What Does Your Room Say?" Teaching cultural diversity and respect does not just happen during designated months and holidays. It should permeate every lesson you teach!
5th graders enjoying the Virginia Reel!
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© Copyright 2015 by Janis Aston. Revised 2020. All rights reserved.