Guest Feature Continued from page 45
the standards? Most likely, some (or possibly all) of your students will be ahead or behind of the what the standards call for. If this is the case, it’s more important to meet your students where they are and go from there. If this means that your fifth-grade students are most aligned with third or fourth grade standards, then that’s a good place to start. Likewise, sixth graders who are performing consistently at seventh grade benchmarks should be allowed to continue to progress forward in their knowledge and skills. As teachers, you have the choice within your school or district to re-imagine the specifics within each grade level so that you can help students progress to where they need to be.
The National Core Arts Standards in music are still new to many of us. Instead of implementing everything at once, perhaps pick one piece as a
starting point. Focus on one grade level or start with the broader Artistic Processes and then gradually focus more on the process components. Wherever you are with the standards, know your fellow general music teachers and I are all right there with you. It is my hope that if you take small steps into exploring the standards that they will become more manageable over time.
References The National Association for Music Education (2014). The National Core Arts Standards for General Music (Pre-K - 8). Retrieved from https://
nafme.org/wp-content/files/2014/11/2014-Music- Standards-PK-8-Strand.pdf
Reprinted with permission of the New Hampshire MEA, Spring Journal ©2018
About the Author: Erin Zaffini, M.M. in Music Education, teaches early childhood music, and is Professor of Music Education at Keene State. She has taught grades K-12 and served as a clinician for both NAfME and the NEA. She also has presented at music educator conferences. She previously lived and worked in Philadelphia for five years, where she taught methods courses for undergraduate music education majors at Temple University.
2018 Professional Grant Recipient
Spring Grant Recipient: Michael Jaycox
“This past spring, I was fortunate to receive a $500 professional grant from the Wyoming Music Educators Association. I used this grant money to further my education by completing my Orff- Schulwerk level two from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where my sister lives. After doing level one, my teaching was revolutionized by the Orff-Schulwerk method. And level two really took my teaching to a whole new level. Orff is becoming a major part of who I am as a teacher, and I am looking forward to implementing a lot of new ideas this school year, transforming my teaching into that of a true Orff teacher. It was amazing to work with big names in Orff-Schulwerk including
Jacque Schrader, Beth Melin-Nelson, Andrew
Ellingson, Paul Hallstead, and Amy Fenton. I also have loved making some amazing friends through my time in these levels, as I feel these friends will become lifelong colleagues and friends. I am already planning on finishing my Orff Certification next summer by taking level three, once again at SMU.“
Michael’s fellow level two members celebrating completing their level by holding the different modes.
Each year, the Wyoming Music Educators Association offers two Professional Development Matching Funds Grants of up to $500 each - one in the spring and one in the fall. Visit
http://wyomea.org/newsresources/ professional-development-grant/ for information and application.
46 Wyoming Windsong
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