0 ukuleles {i'm CRAZY}

Yes. I am that crazy teacher down the hall who is teaching her second graders how to play the ukulele.

I'm really sorry about the noise... It's just that we have to practice EVERYDAY...

Back 100 years ago {almost} I learned how to play the ukulele in second grade.

I am a little out of practice though, because my older brother turned it into an "electric" ukulele and claimed it as his own... So I guess you could say that I am learning right along side my second graders.

They are learning all these awesome chords and I am surprised at how much they have picked up already. 

The good news is that we only have to learn the G Chord and the D7 Chord to play most of the songs. 

They love practicing with their partners! These two cutie pies are playing Mary Had a Little Lamb.

You should hear the noise in my room while they practice, on their own, in small groups... it isn't exactly "music" to my ears! Ahh! It is during that time that I wonder what I got myself into...

We have only been playing for a few weeks, but they are already quite proud of their new ukulele talent! 

I am excited to see how much they improve over the next couple of months.

Do you play the ukulele {or any instrument} with your students?

What resources/lesson ideas do you use?

Detail: ukuleles {i'm CRAZY}

0 teaching to a tune

Using music in the classroom is such a powerful teaching tool.

Before I share some of your fantastic ideas, I wanted to share my greatest musical resource.

Have you ever tried Heidi Songs with your students?

It comes in a DVD and CD form. I own the DVD and love it.

My students are crazy about these songs! 

Their favorites are Yellow, Black, She, Who, Come, Jump, We're... just to name a few. 

There is a song and dance to each sight word and they are easy to learn.

All of the songs are great to get your students up and moving!

It makes me think of that old chinese proverb...

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."


We need to get our students up and moving!

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Can I just say... Oh my WOW?! You guys came up with some great ideas!

Jodi at Fun in First just posted some great money songs (good timing Jodi)! Check them out here.

Dee Dee at Mrs. Willis Kindergarten posted about a darling calendar time sing-along. Click here to see!

You also need to check out Dee Dee's cute ideas for teaching word families with songs by clicking here.

Cheryl at Primary Graffiti did a great post about using Sam Jones' music in her classroom. Click here.

Check out this great post by Third Grade Teacher, Miss Diss by clicking here.

I love Ms. M's Vowel Bingo Song:

5 vowels in the alphabet, 
I know them all by name.
A, E, I, O, U
A, E, I, O, U
A, E, I, O, U
I know them all by name, OH

(In my version we end by saying... and sometimes "Y")

Cute Kelsey, a reader, said, "I play an awesome game, 'Musical Squares'. Our group activity carpet is a covered in rows of colored squares. Probably 9x6. For this game I ask children to stand on the perimeter of the carpet (1 sqaure per child).  I play music, preferably something fun-they love like 'Who Let the Dogs Out' and any sort of mother goose rap song on CD. I allow the children to walk/dance as they walk around the perimeter of the carpet. When I pause the music, the children have to sit in a square closest to them, the last child standing with out thier own square will have to answer a question based upon the subject. I used vocabulary words recently for a reading lesson-the words were on the board and I would say, 'which word means _____'. The kids loved it and I got a kick out of their dance moves! We play it in math and phonics as well!" 

Teacher Laura had a great way to get your students ready and listening. She said, "I sing...If you're ready and you know it clap your hands...If you're ready and you know it clap your hands. If you're ready and you know it, then I know that you can show it - if you're ready and you know it, clap your hands. I change it to tap your nose, or stomp 

your feet depending on what kind of energy I'm aiming for in the classroom."

BTW, Teacher Laura also has a great post about transitioning with songs. 

You need to check it out here (Thanks Nicole for letting me know)!

Teacher Mum did a post about using music to ease her classroom transitions.  She has a great list of classical music and after reading her post, I definitely want to try this with my kiddos!

I love how Teresa, a reader, said, "the most powerful way that I use music is as an attention getter. In those moments when I am about to 'lose my mind' because no one is listening, I usually burst into a silly song - it ALWAYS makes then stop what they're doing and listen. Music is a powerful tool, and so much fun too!"

I love this idea-- I am going to try it. Maybe I should record their reactions?

Scholastic Music Jams

Sam Jone's Puppy Dog Blues - Houghton Mifflin Songs

Pandora or Playlist

Heidi Songs Blog and Website

Greg and Steve Music

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I know I am forgetting some great resources... if you know of one, please leave a comment and I'll add it!

Detail: teaching to a tune

0 how do you teach with music?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I cannot carry a tune (for the life of me). 

I am not a singer.

However, I sing all the time in my classroom (those poor cuties). 

I can't help it, because singing/music is such a powerful teaching tool.

I am looking to do a future post on music in the classroom

I would love to feature how some of you use music to teach.

So....How do you use music in your classroom?

Detail: how do you teach with music?

0 commutative property?

Growing up, I knew that 5+4=9 and 4+5=9, but I didn't know it was commutative property.

I didn't learn that stuff until college (I wasn't a great listener in grade school).

But my students are required to know what commutative property is and define it...

When it comes to teaching hard words to first graders, my philosophy is to do it in song.

Commutative Property

(sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle)

Commutative Property is when we're adding.

You switch the addends,

and that's okay,

because the sum stays the same!

My students love singing this song. They think it makes them sound so smart.  They love singing it like babies, papa bears, rockstars, opera singers, spookey ghosts, rappers (they are the ones who came up with this one), fancy nancy, mama bear, etc.

After we sing it, I always have someone come up to the
board to show an example of commutative property.

How do you teach commutative property?

Detail: commutative property?