The Anacrusic Podcast

Today on the Anacrusic Podcast, I'm sharing three major things I learned about pushing and pivoting through a lesson plan. Listen to this episode for tricks on how to save your lesson plan in the moment! ========================== LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO ========================== ✨ Join the FREE Planning Challenge 👉 https://annemileski.com/challenge ✨ Snag the FREE Sequencing Roadmap 👉...

⭐️ Join the NEW Anacrusic Community here 👉 https://annemileski.com/community If I could turn back time back to when I was about to trade in my trumpet for a tuning fork, these are the things I wish I would've known! These aren't necessarily the strategies and tips that you would learn in your college courses or summer trainings, but just honest advice from one of us. ====================...

⭐️ Join the NEW Anacrusic Community here 👉 https://annemileski.com/community If it's your first year teaching music, I made this podcast just for you! This episode is filled with five different things categories you should consider as you get ready for your first year of teaching. Whether or not you're a brand new music teacher, changing campuses, or simply moving from secondary music to...

In this episode, Anne discusses Self Determination Theory & Singing Games in the Elementary Music Classroom. This episode was inspired by some light research for improving students motivation and participation, particularly as students reach those upper elementary grades. By considering the three pillars of SDT: autonomy, competence, and relatedness, we can better promote student engagement in...

"I know this could be better." I know we've all had that thought. It's easy to go down that whole rigamarole of feeling like you're not living up to your potential in the music classroom, and to spiral down the different ways you could be doing things better. First things first: you're a caring, thoughtful teacher. You wouldn't be here if you weren't, am I r...

Ostinato is not just a concept on your curriculum map to check off... in fact, it's much like all of the other things listed on that curriculum, it comes back again and again! But ostinati are special. They are not only a pathway to partwork, they are also opportunities for student choice, creativity, and independent musicianship. Today I'm sharing 4 ways that I use ostinato in my classr...

Something that I consistently hear from both practicing teachers and student teachers alike is "what is the best way to break down activities over multiple lessons?" It feels a little like you should be able to just sing the song and play the game. And yes, absolutely that is the goal for our students! But what if it's something a little more advanced, or we simply want to stretch t...

I recently received a piece of feedback  that "scripting wasn't working for them." they felt like trying to create exactly what they would say in front of a group of students without actually being in front of that group felt really in authentic and not right. My response was, "well of course not." You would never want to read a prescribed script to your students in your c...

Creativity is a BIG word. But getting started doesn't have to feel quite so hairy scary. Why? Because it really comes down to one thing: student choice. Today I'm talking about how to implement a few strategies to begin offering your students choice and facilitate creativity in your elementary music classroom  today . Here are some of the things we talk about: Convergent vs. Divergent th...

Having an opening routine in your music class is a surefire way to get students primed and ready to go when they first walk into your classroom. It's no secret that I think having an intentional beginning sequence to your lessons is important--we've talked about it on a couple of podcasts so far (and are linked down below) I've even gone so far as to share what I do with my younger...

Aside from the ordering of concepts and skills we teach in our music classrooms, there’s this whole other side of “stuff” that we need to figure out in order to teach our children music effectively. How children learn music best is one of those big, “can of worms” types of questions that can easily leave you wondering even more than that first original question. Today on the podcast, my friend Vic...

Kindergarten is one of those very very polarizing topics. It’s either that it’s completely your jam (raise your hand if you’re with me there!) or something that you completely dread. Odds are, the reason it feels either anxiety inducing or the most fun ever is because honestly? Kindergarten music is 100% it’s own animal. Today on the podcast, I’m back with my friend Victoria Boler to chat about al...

The first week of school is tricky. Alongside opening routines, we’re also trying to figure out, quite literally, what to do with our kids for the rest of the year. What do they know? What can they demonstrate? And how are we going to continue to make music for the rest of the year? Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our another "Tea with V" episode wit...

Back to school season is in FULL swing. Whether you've gone back to your classroom or are just prepping to do so, I'm willing to bet that you've been thinking a LOT about rules, procedures, and routines that you'd like to get rocking and rolling this year. Especially when it comes to  opening routine s. Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our v...

Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop Riddle me this: have you ever had a conversation with another teacher and tried to explain what you really do in your music classroom day in or day out? Or have you ever tried to really use words to describe the types of experiences that you facilitate in your classro...

We’ve already talked about the benefits to using transitions in your music classroom: how it keeps things flowing, provides opportunities for quick assessments, and genuinely just makes everything about your music classroom more intentional and purposeful. But what about the actual stuff, the actual things that you do to make transitions happen in your classroom? There’s really three big categorie...

Transitions are one of those things that (1) seems awfully intimidating at the beginning, and (2) turns into an absolutely essential part of your music teaching once you see the magic they can create. So if you’ve ever wanted to know more about transitions in your music lesson plan and why you should make them a part of your planning process, today’s podcast episode is 100% for you. We aren’t just...

In this episode, we’re going to piggyback off of TAP 126 and talk about all things closing routines..  Now admittedly, this will be a little bit more freeform than our opening routines and rely completely on how your lesson went and what your kids need from you. But just like the opening routine, we have two big overarching goals that we want to focus on in a closing routine. Here’s a few things w...

An opening routine is one of those game changers in your music teacher life. It’s one of those not so little things that make a huge difference for both you and your kids and the ultimate flow of your music lesson. If you’ve never thought about how to incorporate a fluid and flexible opening routine, this is the episode for you. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… The two biggest go...

Way back in the day, I made a pretty embarrassing life choice. I took a picture (2 actually) with literal labels stuck to my head with different pedagogical approaches on them. The second picture just said “music teacher.” The pictures… definitely not the best choice, but I DO still stand behind the point. Rather than being focused on having the absolute perfect picture of “fill in the bank” style...

I was having a conversation with my good friend, Victoria Boler about the conversations we have with other music teachers we’re working with in our programs or chatting to on instagram . And THIS is the one that comes back again and again. I’m sure you’ve asked yourself the same, because I know I definitely have! It’s not a bad question. The intention behind the question is to figure out what cert...

Today on the podcast, we’re taking the next step towards the best way to teach a singing game in your classroom. Last week was all about the things you think about before kids ever come into your classroom: the planning, their experience, and how you can build off of it. And today is all about what to do with kids actually in the room. In this episode, I’m walking you through how I teach three of...

You don’t really think about it until you’re in it. It’s like teaching a song to your students. Since you know how it goes, and can sing, say and play upside down with your eyes closed… it seems almost inherent. But just like teaching a song, teaching your students a new singing game requires a very specific sequence. And there are a lot of things you have to think about before you start teaching...

It’s seriously one of the most frustrating experiences you can have as a teacher. You feel like you’re hitting your head against the whiteboard, saying things as many different ways as you possibly can, and the kids just aren’t getting it . We’ve all been there. Either the kids are off catching stars instead of being truly engaged in our lessons, or they are doing exactly what we’re telling them t...

What is your earliest memory of music making?  I have these memories of really organic, joyful music making with my family. We were always singing, my dad was always creating, and my mom was always there to dance and smile and sing along with us. My earliest memories of music making in a "formal setting"? Well, that was a little bit different. I was thinking about this a lot the other da...