One very important thing that every teacher is taught is that you always need to be prepared for every lesson you teach. That is, if you want to end the day in a positive frame of mind!A lesson plan can be very simple, and teachers who have been in the game a while can do it almost without thinking, however they always have to be prepared with something ready to do in their lessons.In our area of music there are a few tips that make elementary classes much more fun, both for the students and the teacher.1. Mix up the activitiesYou know the old saying: "Too much of a good thing..." - well in teaching there is never a more true statement! Even if the children love a particular game or song they will eventually lose interest in it, so make sure you stop while they are still liking it and move onto a new one.2. Keep the activities short and sweetShort 5-10 minute activities are always best, depending on what you are doing of course. For example if you are doing a choir/singing type lesson you will want to do one or two songs, then break it up with perhaps some rhythm work or percussion instruments then come back and do songs again and perhaps some movement at the end.3. Break up the routine with something unexpected!Keep the students guessing about what might come next in your classes! Keep some stability of course, but occasionally you can mix it up by getting them to go outside and play a game, or going to visit another class and singing them a song. If you do this every now and then and it works for you students might start really loving your classes!4. Keep them guessing with surprises!All children love surprises, especially young children! Get your students inspired by having a reward for the best singer one class, then the most well behaved the next! Incentive schemes always work, but mix it with surprises and you'll find they'll respond even better.5. Call it a "game"You can call just about any activity a "game" and approach it as such, it'll become much more fun! So if you're going to do rhythm clapping for example, instead of saying "Let's do some rhythm work".... say "Lets play a rhythm game!" with a big smile on your face! You'll be amazed at the difference one small change to the way you describe it makes!6.Keep plenty in reserveWhenever you're lesson planning make sure that you keep plenty of material in reserve, and always have far more than you need for each lesson. You can always have a bunch of simple music theory worksheets copied and ready if you need them, and learn a couple of songs that you know will work every time.Hopefully some of these ideas will help you make your elementary music lesson plans fun and enjoyable for your students.
Article Source: http://www.articlecontentprovider.com/articlesubmit
Teaching Music? Here are six ideas that elementary teachers can use to teach elementary music classes. Ideas that will make the children enjoy their music making, and keep the teacher in good spirits throughout the lesson.
Kevin Tuck has taught music at elementary and high school levels and also in his own private music studio. Kevin is now editor of music teaching materials for the Fun Music Company.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 5 4 out of 5 3 out of 5 2 out of 5 1 out of 5
