early childhood education
My greatest focus in teaching this year is audiation, which is really no different than other years, except that we can’t also sing together. My young students think of audiation simply as “thinking music.” We are spending much more music class time actively audiating, and that is not a bad thing. When I record videos of my- self singing songs, I always sing patterns for my students to audiate. Everything I record I also link to my Virtual Music Room for that week (click to view here). Every time I teach my students in person, I remind them that “We audiate at school and we sing at home!” They can access the Virtual Music Room from their school Chromebooks anytime via their Music Google Classroom.
Movement has been another emphasis. Moving in classrooms certainly has its challenges, but I have had consistent suc- cess in managing music class behavior during movement activities with three simple guidelines:
• We listen while we move. • We freeze on two feet. • We move in self-space.
My students can easily recite these “rules” for movement – and they work! I have not yet had to ask a student to stop mov- ing and observe others moving safely. A few gentle reminders are all they have needed, likely because they are sitting at their desks and tables for most of the day. They don’t want to risk having to stop moving by talking, balancing precariously on one foot, or invading another student’s space. I design movement activities based on Laban Movement Analysis: Flow, Space, Weight and Time. If you have not focused on guided creative movement based on Laban in your teaching, Jennifer Bailey’s Dance and Freeze: Carnival of the Animals Edition is a wonderful resource. (Click the link to download it for free from Teachers Pay Teachers).
Steady beat and rhythm are also a major focus of this year’s music lessons, as in any other year; keeping the beat on our bodies and using body percussion for rhythm are mainstays. However, the lack of manipulatives and instruments takes
Wisconsin School Musician
away much of the fun and engagement for students. I have found Music with Mrs. Gibbs, some Musication (i.e., Deteggtive Anderson), and Ready Go Music to be quality and fun steady beat and rhythm reading transition activities suitable for K-2. I’ve also created my own or adapted other music teacher’s Google Slides to incorporate rhythm reading in class and at home. Click here to access a Google Slide I copied from a teacher who generously shared on the Facebook group “Teaching Music on a Cart” and made it my own.
Finally, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has been an overarching theme in my music teaching. I regularly search for and choose repertoire to meet students’ emotional needs; young students have big feelings, even when not in the middle of a global pandemic. I began the year playing recordings for my in-person students and singing with my virtual students “School’s a Little Different this Year,” “It’s Going to Be a Good Day” and “Move it, Move it!” (all by Stephanie Leavell). If you are interested in more of her music, look up Music for Kiddos. Her quality, SEL- focused music has helped my students and I all to cope with challenges and emotions this school year.
Some days, I’m still feeling sad that we aren’t singing in music class or I’m not seeing my students face to face. Some days, I’m sad because I feel like I’m not providing my students with as quality of a music education as I had been able to pre-COVID-19. And that’s ok! As I told all my students at the beginning of the school year, “Mrs. Nordstrom is sad about not being able to sing together. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still find OTHER ways to enjoy music.” They nodded en- thusiastically. I could see their smiling eyes. We still have music, and we still have joy. So, it turns out, I am learning just as much from my students as they are from me. And that is no different than any other year!
Corynn Nordstrom teaches music at Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Menomonee Falls. Email:
nordcor@sdmfschools.org
Recognition for Teachers With 25 Years of Service
• Were you a first-year teacher in 1996 or prior to 1996?
• Have you taught for 25 years (or more)?
• Have you been an NAfME member for at least 10 of those years?
If the answer is yes to all of these questions and we haven’t previously honored you, then now is the time. WMEA is planning to recognize teachers with 25 or more years of service in Wisconsin State Music Conference materials and the September issue of Wisconsin School Musician.
Simply complete the 25 Years of Service form at
https://wmeamusic.org/ awards/25-years-of-service. Submissions must be received by June 1, 2021.
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