early childhood education Laying a Foundation for a Lifetime of


Music Making and Enjoyment Corynn Nordstrom, WMEA State Chair, Early Childhood Education


The passage of the Every Student Suc- ceeds Act (ESSA), designating “mu- sic” as a required subject for students to receive a well- rounded education, affirms what we as music educators


have always known: music stands on its own as a core subject and music education has far-reaching, lifelong benefits.


As a general music educator, I have the awesome responsibility of helping to lay a foundation for my students’ lifetime of music making and enjoyment, starting from their very first day in school. I must determine what musical experiences my


littlest learners (Kindergarteners) have had prior to attending school, and their abilities are all over the map! In order to lay this foundation, I utilize the following goals to guide my instruction:


• Provide a musical environment rich in a variety of tonalities, meters and styles


• Help students develop musical understanding and skills


• Help each student achieve his/her music potential through individual- ized instruction


2017-2018 Wisconsin Music Educator Ad All three issues: September, January, April Submitted 8/1/17


These goals are challenging due to the limited contact general music teachers have with our students, and the diversity of musical understanding and ability students bring to our classes. In fact, at the very beginning of my career, I would not have thought of these goals as achievable.


Working side by side with educators to maximize student learning


_________________________________ Heard about new music


standards? Not sure how the new


standards connect to your current curriculum and instruction?


Where do you start with implementation?


Wendy Barden, music educator and national clinician, is very familiar with the standards and can bring many practical ideas and resources to your work! Check out both her workshops and professional development opportunities


available in your own district.


_________________________________ Visit https://seguecp.com


58


I earned a bachelor of music degree in clarinet performance and music education. My student teaching was in middle and high school band. But where did I wind up? Teaching elementary music! Right out of undergrad, I accepted a long-term sub position for which the teacher on leave wrote all of the lesson plans. Next, I assumed a longer sub position where I was required to write the lesson plans. I had little idea of what I was doing, nor did I want to remain in a general classroom. Still, I knew that in order to fulfill my re- sponsibility to those students (particularly my lower elementary students), I needed to expand my training.


My first step was to attend an early child- hood music workshop at Michigan State University presented by Dr. Christina Hornbach (Hope College). She opened my eyes to what is possible in music classes for very young children, demonstrating how to purposefully incorporate move-


Go to the online version of WSM to easily access hyperlinked content within this article.


ment utilizing Laban Movement Analysis, foster tonal and rhythmic improvisation, and more. From this experience, I came to understand that what looked like simple play was really a sequential approach to teaching music. I was absolutely hooked, and have taught general music ever since.


So how to help lay this musical foundation earlier in our students’ lives? For general music teachers, our first step is to assess the musical developmental levels of our Kindergarteners when we first meet them in the fall. However, most school districts in Wisconsin have preschool programs as well. A disconnect often exists between the K-12 music and the preschool cur- riculums, with no input from the general music teacher. We have an opportunity to work with 4K educators, so that they can also implement quality music instruc- tion. Pointers as simple as demonstrating how teachers can sing in a range more conducive to child voice or incorporating creative movement into their curriculum will make a world of difference.


Reaching out to caregivers in your com- munity by offering workshops or estab- lishing infant and toddler music classes of your own are terrific ways to promote music learning for young children. This spring I presented at a workshop for the Madison Chapter of the Early Childhood Music & Movement Association (EC- MMA). I was happy to see so many in attendance, ranging from caregivers work- ing with infants to preschool teachers. None were music educators, and all were


September 2017


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72