Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Professional Learning and Growth

Professional Development in the ARTS

It has taken me a few years now to locate some of the amazing professional development sources available for teachers who teach the arts. Below is not an exhaustive list, but a place to get started.  I have divided the resources and conferences into three categories: FREE, REASONABLE and EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH IT!

FREE

ETFO is offering an online book talk for its members starting in May. The book that will be the focus of this book talk will be “Primary Arts”. An online book talk is a great way to connect with teachers from other boards and get some new ideas. If you are unable to join the book club this spring, consider running your own book talk at your school. ETFO has created manuals for members to run their own book talks at their schools. You can find more information about these book talks at: http://www.etfo.ca/professionaldevelopment/etfosbookclubs/Pages/default.aspx.

Both the OMEA (Ontario Music Educators’ Association) and CODE (Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators) have amazing websites. If you were handed music, drama or dance as part of your teaching package and you have NO idea how to start teaching these subjects, these two websites will get you started. Both have entire units, assessments and modifications that are aligned with the Ontario curriculum for teaching music, dance or drama. You could easily print off a unit from these websites and teach it in your class tomorrow.  These can be found at: www.omea.on.ca  and www.code.on.ca .

REASONABLE

This year, I applied to the Ontario Arts Council to have a guest artist come in and work with my grade five students for a week. The cost of five full days of workshops, including a performance for the community, was $500.00. The money came out of our performance budget at school, but the added bonus was that I had a full week of PD in traditional Cuban music. I learned right along with the students and will be able to continue to teach this type of cultural music going forward. The program is called “Artists in Education”. This program has artists from all over the province in all of the arts disciplines. As many of the conferences and workshops for the arts are in the Greater Toronto Area, this is a great way to get some professional development at your school in the eastern and northern parts of Ontario. Go to: http://www.arts.on.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=7967.

If you are in the Greater Toronto Area, ORFF Ontario holds excellent workshops three times a year for teachers who instruct music. I have used some part of every ORFF workshop that I have attended in my classroom practice. Even if you don’t have ORFF instruments at your school, the core philosophy of creation, movement and engagement will make your music lessons successful. The workshops are usually in October, February and, for those that are members, there is an extra workshop in March. Workshops are usually between 30 and 50 dollars. It is money well spent. The link is: http://ontarioorff.ca/content/professional-development/workshops/

EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH IT!

Both the OMEA and CODE conferences are intensive experiences with four to six workshops, trade shows, keynote speakers and performances. I have attended everything from “Starting a Ukulele Program” to “Understanding  Aboriginal Music”. There is a wide variety of workshops to choose from and I always leave feeling energized and excited about teaching the arts. Both of these conferences are expensive (in the $300-$400 range),  but most boards have funds that you can apply for to cover the cost. Your local union may also have money to assist in covering the cost of the conference.

I hope this helps. If you know of another great source for professional development in the arts, please leave a comment below!

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, General

How to Run a Recorder Karate Program

recorder belts

A very common program that is run by many junior music teachers is called Recorder Karate.  The program is a series of songs that the kids learn on the recorder that get progressively more difficult. After each song that they have completed correctly, they receive a “karate belt” with a corresponding colour.

Recorder Karate is a program that encourages student growth and allows for a highly differentiated music class. Every student is working at their own level and receiving consistent, specific feedback about their progress.  You can buy the program online through Music K-8.

The program looks like this in my classroom:

5 minutes- Warm-up/hand out recorders (either a student or I lead a quick warm-up)

10 minutes- Sight reading/song practice (we work together on difficult spots within the songs)

20 minute- Independent practice and testing of students

5 minutes- Sharing/clean-up ( I invite anyone who wants to share to come to the front and be a shining star)

After running this program for a few years,  I have learned from some of the mistakes that I have made. I hope some of these ideas will help you with your recorder karate program.

I have learned:

  1. Never start the program without taking a period to do an activity on building community. When I first starting doing the program, I used to dive right in as I felt that I had such limited time with the students. However, during the program, inevitably someone received a belt before someone else and another student struggled to get through the first song. I learned that if we took the time to do activities that talked about “put-ups” instead of put-downs, this encouraged positive language and the class was less competitive. Now most students will high five each other every time someone passes, no matter what level they are at.
  2. Feedback needs to be quick and easy for students to understand. I used to give elaborate feedback to students on pages and pages of paper and I realized that all that writing took up too much class time. Also, the students never read it and it was not helpful in moving the students forward. Now I have a simple chart that they refer to regularly and I can see at a moment’s notice where the student is having trouble. Also, I want to get through at least ten students in a period. This requires my assessment to be quick, specific and to the point. (I have attached the template that I use for my assessment tracking.)
  3. There is only one of me in the room. I have learned to accept the fact that I see my students for 40 minutes and I cannot help everyone every period. I have learned to stress to the class that we are a big recorder learning team and we need to work together. Sometimes I assign people to help others, and other times I do a mini lesson with one group while another group is being led by another student. What I have seen is that for students, sometimes helping another student to improve solidifies their own learning.
  4. Recorder karate is great to run with one grade while you are prepping your other classes for performances or concerts. Once Recorder Karate is up and running, there is very little preparation for each period. This can be SO helpful when preparing concerts, choirs and all the other performances your students will do throughout the year.

Overall, my students have had a lot of success with recorder karate and it is a program that I would recommend to junior music teachers.

Karate Belts and Scores sheet

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Classroom Layouts, General

Classroom Layout Ideas- Music Room

Every teacher has talents. I, too, have a variety of talents, but organizing space is NOT one of them. I recognize that I am a very fortunate planning time teacher because I have a space assigned exclusively for music and I usually spend a week or two thanking my lucky stars for the space. However, after my football touchdown dance is over, I have to attempt to decide on a classroom layout.

In the arts, we rely a lot on community to be able to create together as a class. I believe that in order for my students to create, they need access to materials and space. They also need supportive information and guiding rules in easily accessible locations to facilitate their collaborations.

room

Here are some things I consider when creating my classroom layout:

Materials and student accessibility: All recorders, xylophones and percussion instruments are in places where the students can easily access them. We go over the proper use of all the materials and if we are in the experimenting phase of the creative process, then they are able to access any of the materials that we have introduced. Sometimes this makes for a noisy, chaotic environment, but for me, allowing students the platform on which to create is important.

materials

Rules for recorders and group work: Having some information posted in the room gives accountability to the students. They understand the expectations and I can easily refer to them with a student who is struggling to help the class with their creations.

rules

Designs and creative inspirations: I learned something this year when I put up the remnants of my Ikea curtains over the brown bulletin boards that existed at the front of the room for the first two months of school. Almost every single one of my 300 students commented on the new coverings when they entered the room. There were lively discussions about the interpretation of the design and repeated comments about how much the students liked them. It reminded me that creation is a very sensory experience. I usually spend a lot of time on the aural and oral senses in music but this experience reminded me that utilizing all of the senses heightens the ability to tap into the potential that every child has to create.

ikea

My professional library: Since many of my cupboards, shelves and tables are full of instruments or other materials for student use, I have very little space for my professional resources. However, my librarian came to the rescue this year when she was throwing out some furniture from the library. I scooped up these shelving units and they have come in very handy.

Meeting diverse learning needs: I have a student this year who is unable to physically play the recorder with the rest of class but can easily play the piano. The piano is easily accessible to her, as is the computer for some of the other students that I teach. There are very few materials that are for my use only and the layout of my classroom reflects that.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians

Communicating with 500 parents

I am a music teacher and I have around 500 students that I teach this year. Communicating with the parents of 500 students needs to be approached a little differently than the regular classroom teacher. I don’t send home a beginning of the year letter as I have taught most of my students for a couple of years now. I usually send home communication for other purposes. Below are two letters that I will be sending home in the next couple of months. The first letter is about recorders, and the second letter is about an upcoming concert at my school.

Letter #1:

Dear Parents/Guardians of Student in Grade 3,

As part of the music program, students learn to play the recorder starting in grade 3.  Playing the recorder is an excellent way to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and concentration.  At this level, recorders are the best tool for teaching students to learn to read proper notation on the music staff.  Studies have shown that taking music lessons increases overall academic achievement, and helps to develop self-confidence and problem-solving skills.  For your information, there is an article on the back of this letter on this subject.

At the beginning of May, students will be provided with a clean recorder for use at the school.  Each student will have his/her own instrument assigned to him/her that is not used by other students.  These recorders are property of Red Willow P.S., and will remain in the music room at all times.

Although it is not mandatory, we strongly suggest that students buy a recorder for practicing at home.  This recorder will remain at home.   Recorders will be used extensively in grades 4 and 5 as well, and sheet music will be going home for students to practice with.  Buying a recorder through the school ensures that your child has a good quality instrument.  Recorders purchased at the dollar store are not good quality and they almost always have the wrong fingering system.

Recorders cost $10.00.  Please pay in cash.  We need to pre-order, so forms with the money are due by May 7, 2015.  Please fill out the form below and send it with your child/children.

Sincerely,

Ms. Gallant

Letter #2:

The Music department at Red Willow is extremely excited to invite you to a spring concert starring your amazing children!

What will be happening?

Your child, along with all the other grade 3 and 4 students, will sing songs they have written, share dances that show different cultures, perform a black light show and much, much more.  There will be snacks available for purchase, as well as many photo opportunities.

When is this fantastic event?

The Spring Concert will take place on April 23rd, 2015.  The show will begin at 6:00pm.  We ask that your child be dropped off to the side entrance by 5:30pm.  Teachers will be at the door to greet them starting at 5:20.  Students are required to stay until the end of the show.

How do you get tickets?

Due to the number of grade 3 and 4 students who will be performing; we must limit tickets to 2 per family.  More information regarding tickets will follow.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians

Spring Concert Preparation

 

Last year, my school had our very first evening concert. It went so well in December that we did it again in May. It was the first time I had ever organized a large evening event and I learned a lot. As I am getting ready to do another concert this spring, I have been reviewing my notes from the previous year to prepare. Below are some of the questions that came up and how we decided to deal with them. Hopefully, this can be a starting point for preparing a concert at your school!

What kind of budget can we have?

My principal suggested that we should stay around a couple hundred dollars. We did one shop early in the process for things like cotton balls or glitter. Closer to the show, we did one more big shop. It was easier for our secretaries to do big shops and hand in one or two receipts instead of multiple small purchases. We did not ask parents for money.

How will we communicate information to parents?

A letter went home introducing the concert and a follow-up letter went home with tickets. A Synervoice call (robocall) was made to homes the day before the ticket information went home. Another Synervoice call was made two days before the concert.

How will we control the crowds and ensure the safety of the students performing?

Benches were placed across the front of the gym to prevent parents from coming too close to the classes performing. The principal made it part of her opening remarks to remind parents to stay behind the benches.

Can we sell food?

We asked permission from our custodial staff before we went ahead with food sales. Once the custodial staff gave us the okay, we bought popcorn, cookies and water from Costco. I also told the custodial staff that all volunteers would assist with the cleanup after the concert. Obviously, the teachers’ first responsibility was to ensure that the students were safely picked up by their parents, but after the students were all gone, everyone helped with the cleanup.

How can we deal with people who show up without tickets?

The directive from my principal was to just let it go. We had a couple of people show up without tickets so plan for a few extra spaces in the gym. We didn’t want the evening to be about anything except celebrating the students so we didn’t make a big deal about it.

Can we give high school students volunteer hours for helping us?

Yes!

What time is the dress rehearsal?

We ended up having two different dress rehearsals. (I would do more with a kindergarten performance). I tried my best to move classes around so that no one lost their planning time and I invited the classes that were supposed to have phys ed during this time so that the gym teachers didn’t get displaced.

Will there be dinner for volunteers?

Yes, pizza and salad were provided.

Will we have access to walkie talkies?

We used the walkie talkies on the night of the performance to communicate with each other.

How do we photocopy communication about the concert?

Anything photocopying for the show was done using the office code.

Should we prepare a video recording for sale?

We opted not to have anyone videotape the concert to sell to parents. Most people carry video recorders in their phone and had the ability to record the performance.

How will we do the drop off and pick up of students?

The kids were dropped off and went directly to their classroom. The parents picked up their children from their classroom at the end of the concert.

Can we have an extracurricular club to help with the preparation of the concert?

Yes, the club was a fun group of older kids who helped with everything from decorating and costumes, to holding the doors and helping to collect the tickets. They were amazing.

How long will the concert be?

After putting two classes together to perform, there were 10 performances in total. The concert lasted about one hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Classroom Management, General

Managing a three-ring circus

Classroom management can be challenging at times but add in 30 instruments, noise and tons of movement and you could have a three-ring circus. Some of the extra challenges that planning time teachers have to face are the constant transition of classes, teaching hundreds of students and managing a multitude of materials. With a little forethought, planning and well-trained students, managing a planning time subject can be a dream instead of a nightmare!

First of all, make your expectations of behaviour very clear and transparent. I also make my expectations short, catchy and to the point. Right now we are doing a bucket drumming unit, so I take 10 seconds in the hallway before the students enter to say “If you play before I say….” and the students respond with “Then I’ll take your sticks away”. The students know what is expected of their behaviour before they even walk in the room. Furthermore, follow through on what you have said. If anyone even plays a little bit I walk over to them and just hold out my hand. I do not stop giving instructions and I don’t give the student a hard time. If he or she looks confused I point to the sign posted in the class. I hold onto the sticks for the first five minutes of class. Once I have taken one pair of sticks on the first day, the students usually remember the rule. It is impossible to talk over instruments, especially drums, so I stick to this rule in every class. I briefly review the expectations of behaviour almost every class.

Secondly, the arts are amazing as there are many opportunities for sharing performances. Groups or pairs are often presenting their creations so audience behaviour is something that needs to be explicitly taught and reviewed. I refer to some of the symbols above to help students do their best work. Strategic grouping and seating can also go a long way in preventing problems. I put a big focus on group work at the beginning of the year so that activities in my class can run more smoothly.

Another tip is to make your materials accessible to students. In the hallway, I quickly tell the students what instruments to take out or what materials will be needed that day. I will either assign a few students to be in charge of taking out the materials or everyone will get their own as they enter. Materials should be in a clearly labeled location and at a height that students can access. Since I only have the students for 40 minutes twice a week I need to maximize the time in which students are engaged in fun music activities. This also speeds up transition time which is where some of our students get themselves into trouble.

I’ve realized after a few years of teaching that good classroom management is 95 percent about planning. If you are well-planned you will often have fewer management problems to deal with. I was walking down the hall the other day past our drama/dance room and the teacher had put the outline of a giant mitten on the floor. Even I was intrigued. What were they using this mitten for? I know if I am that interested, every kid who walks in this classroom will be doing the same. I also know that the students in French class are doing crazy fashion shows and in music they are talking about music that is important to them. Planning engaging activities will keep students on track.

Finally, You can implement a reward system in a planning time subject. Our French teacher has a straight forward and simple system that is very effective in encouraging the students to do their best. She divides the students in groups and they work towards rewards.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt General

Passion for Teaching

I learned something this fall that will stay with me as a teacher for a long time. I always encourage my students to be creative and be risk takers but I am a planner that usually takes small cautious steps to learn something new.

However, by pushing myself out of my comfort zone I learned that…..CHOIR IS AWSOME!

Let me explain. I am a music teacher who had NO INTEREST in ever running a choir. I trained as a taiko drummer in Japan and am able to play the piano reasonable well. All of my training has been instrument based and I have never once stepped foot in a choir rehearsal. Due to my inexperience, I was very nervous to run a choir so my colleague always led the way.

Due to circumstances this year, I had no choice but to step up and take over the choir. I put in an announcement for choir in October and I started with about 40 students. All of a sudden, I realized how fun it was to join together in song with 40 people and I think my excitement rubbed off on the students. Soon my 40 student choir turned into a 150 student choir and all fall we were having a blast singing holiday songs during our nutrition break. I never in a million years would have thought that I would look forward to Monday and Wednesday choir practices so much. My main focus while running this choir for the students was to have fun and that is exactly what I did as well.

I did my usually research about how to run a choir by reading books and watching videos but this time I really tried to just share my love of music with them. It is a passion of mine but sometimes I think I forget to show the students my passion when I am busy helping them with their technique or teaching them to read or write music.

There is something so powerful about stepping outside your comfort zone and stumbling into a whole new world of possibilities.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

Visual learners that are visually impaired?

Is there such thing as a visual learner that is visually impaired? If you came to visit my grade four music classroom you would meet her. She would tell you all about her favorite lip gloss, her new music she is learning and her favourite TV shows. Basically, you would be lucky to get a word in edgewise. But one of the greatest things about having this student this year is that she has taught me some very important skills for teaching music to students who are visually impaired.

First off, just because she is visually impaired doesn’t mean that she doesn’t want to see the music or instruments just like everyone else. She has been a committed recorder player this year and I realized quickly that verbally explaining hand position or tonguing to her caused her confusion. Instead, she became very successful when I stood directly in front of her and showed her the technique.

She also tells me if there is not enough natural light in the class. She will ask me to open the blinds or ask me if she can go and stand beside the window. I try to never stand in front of the window myself because the bright light is then behind me, which makes it difficult for her to see.

Technology has also been our friend this year. I was busy preparing music that was enlarged for her to take home when she informed me that she has technology at home to enlarge everything. She also has taken pictures of items on her tablet and increase their size to see them more clearly.

This student also has incredibly strong sense of pitch. She is easily able to play pieces on the recorder that she has heard and can sing along to songs soon after learning them. I thought that the heightened sense of pitch for visually impaired people was a myth, but after reading a few articles on the topic it seems that that is the reality. People who are visually impaired often have perfect pitch or a strong sense of pitch. My student certainly fits in that category.

Teaching this student has taught me a lot as an educator. It has confirmed some previously held beliefs, and has brought to light some new discoveries about teaching someone who is visually impaired. This has made me a better teacher for all of my students.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, General, Learning About Your Students

My dad’s name is “Bill”

Over the past couple of months, I have been working with a team of teachers and behavior specialists to help one student in my music class who is struggling with disruptive and oppositional behaviour. Through the process I have learned a couple of things. First, that the situation will not be solved overnight; it takes a lot of thought and time to implement a program in order to witness change. I have also learned that five heads are better than one when trying to instill positive behaviour plans. But ultimately, the biggest thing that I learned only happened this week….

When the student first started to have trouble within my class, my first step was to look in the student’s OSR for evidence of a Behavior Support Plan. I read the plan very closely and I decided to implement the suggestions from the plan. The plan indicated that the student should count backwards from 10 when they became upset. I tried this strategy, but I received no response from the student. The plan also suggested that the student go to a quiet spot in the room when they became upset. I asked the student to move, which they did, but they scribbled all over the floor with markers in their quiet spot. Overall, the Behavior Support Plan didn’t seem to help the student be successful.

Next, I met with the classroom teacher. As a planning time teacher, mirroring the language and behavior management system of their regular classroom can be very effective. It requires a lot of flexibility of the planning time teacher but when situations arise that need intervention, this can be a great place to start. Unfortunately, the classroom teacher was dealing with many of the same behaviors that I was and did not have much advice for me.

Then, I met with my colleague to brainstorm some ideas to help the student in my class. My colleague and I came up with a tracking system to try and figure out if there were some triggers that led to some of the student’s behavior. I went up during the lunch break and just observed the student about 10-15 minutes before they came to me every time I taught them and continued to observe them in my class. Observing them in different settings was incredibly helpful. I could see what happened directly before they came to me. The student struggles greatly with recess and comes inside regularly with issues that have happened outside. I also witnessed the ongoing, major conflict that exists between my student and another student called “Bill” in the classroom.

I know what I need to do now in order to help the student. I need to help them transition from the playground to the classroom to help them in music. I have started going up a few minutes early for this period and touching base with the student before they come to see me. I tell them something positive and initiate a conversation about their life. These three minutes twice a week have really made a difference.

Until this week, the one issue I still didn’t fully understand was why this student hated “Bill” so much. The student never wanted to sit near “Bill”, would never work with them and the mere presence of “Bill” annoyed them. Through one of conversations this week things became a little clearer when the student told me that their father’s name was “Bill”.

Taking the time to listen and get to know our students can really make a difference in building a relationship and thus helping us to manage their behaviour.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Building Inclusion, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Equity, General, Planning

Teaching Students who are Hard of Hearing

This is the second year that I have had a couple of students who are hard of hearing in my music classroom. How do you teach someone to sing or play instruments when they can’t hear the sound they are producing? This is the question that I was faced with last year. After some trial and error and a brand new book “Music for Children with Hearing Loss” by Lyn Schraer-Joiner, I am by no means an expert, but I have learned a few things.
First and foremost, the students that I have act just like any other student in my class and want to be treated as such. They do not like to be singled out or have any attention brought to them, so when I make modifications to the program for them I try to be subtle about my changes.

When the two classes come to see me for music, I am very aware of a few things:
1) I only speak when I am facing the students. I do not speak when I am facing down to play an instrument or when my body is turned to the blackboard.
2) I ensure that the students who are hard of hearing are beside a good model for singing songs. This can be a skilled student or myself.
3) When I am speaking one on one with the students who are hard of hearing I lean down to their level. I speak normally and do not overemphasize any words.
4) In all of my other classes, I do not repeat the answers that have been given by students during class discussions as I feel that it diminishes their voice. The exception to this rule is in my classes with my students who are hard of hearing.
5) I bring manipulatives beside my mouth so that the students can focus on my mouth and the manipulative at the same time.
6) Brand new learning for me this year was to place the soprano glockenspiel, xylophone or metallophone on a raised music stand or table as this will make it closer to the chest cavity, which will help the student hear the instrument more clearly.
7) When I do activities where the students have to match the feeling of the music on the piano, I arrange it so my students who are hard of hearing are closer to the piano as the notes get higher.
In a nutshell, after working with my students who are hard of hearing, their singing and instrument playing have really improved over the course of the year or so during which I have taught them. Singing and instrument playing is a skill that all can achieve given the right instructional practices.