How To Teach Music with Jessica Grant

Clint Hardy, Middle School Choral Director in Keller, TX, is here to share several great ideas for teaching expectations and sharing information, activities to help you learn about your students, helping students get to know each other, and teaching us a fun music game involving rhythms.   These are fabulous ideas to use at the start of the year or integrate at other times as well. Instagram - @ch...

As we head into the school year, I thought I'd share some of the things I wish I'd known when I was starting my first year as a music teacher.  These are ideas that many of us may need, even if it's not our first year.  Want some help getting started in your first year?  Pick up a copy of ' The Afternoon Ti Guide to Teaching Music .'  Tons of practical ideas and strategies to help you as you start...

It's Book Release Week!  I can't wait to share a project that's been years in the making. My illustrated children's book called William's Song is being released on August 11, 2023 with F-Flat Books. Follow Anna Betts, the illustrator, on Instagram at @anna_betts_art. Her work is gorgeous! In today's episode you'll hear the story behind the book, listen to the poem, and hear ideas for how you can u...

It's Back-to-School and I'm helping you get ideas for teacher planners, life planners, digital resources, and planner accessories with guest Danny McKay!  Danny McKay is an elementary music teacher who has found joy and organizational tools that help him plan.  He's here today to talk about why and how planners can impact our lives, why the process matters as much - if not more - than the planner...

There's been a lot of discussion, articles, and information coming out about an AI chatbot called ChatGPT.  What is it?  How does it work?  How can we use it?  I'm sharing what I've learned about it and how I've used prompts to brainstorm ideas and gather information. Website: www.jessicagrant.org Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

If you've had the opportunity to take a Summer Levels Course, you are truly fortunate to have learned from some of the most amazing educators.  You come away with a wealth of ideas and experiences.  You want to capture everything you've learned, take it to your students in the fall and immediately implement all of the incredible pieces, strategies, lessons, and joy into your classroom.  You're lik...

Want to set goals and go after them?  Check out the Get Your Goals Course on my website at www.jessicagrant.org.  For $15, you get video tutorials and access to both Google Sheets templates and printable workbooks.  You'll learn how to brainstorm, select goals, make action plans, and go after the things that matter most to you!  Go Get Your Goals! In today's episode I'm sharing some goals I've bee...

This is the third and final podcast episode in the Summer Blueprint series about lesson planning.  While you could do these ideas any time of the year, summer is a great time to put together curriculum ideas shared in episode 260, long range plans shared in episode 261, and short range plans in today's episode.  I'll share five ideas for how you can focus on short term lesson plans by: Beginning w...

Last week I shared ideas for working on parts of your curriculum in the summer.  Today I'll be sharing how you can focus your attention on a specific grade level of your choosing and plan a blueprint for long range lesson plans.  I'll provide five ideas for both year-long plans and monthly plans including: 1. Identifying the concepts and skills you want to teach 2. Creating a sequence for teaching...

It's summer and you're soaking up the sun while thinking about putting together an outline for mapping out your curriculum for the coming year.  Here are seven ideas for getting started: Scheduling work and play Lists of concepts by grade Lists of song material by concept Create manipulatives Select choir materials Select a musical Purchase something created by another music teacher Head to F-Flat...

Danielle Larrick and I just released our book "Two Teacher Perspectives on Health and Wellness" with F-Flat Books.  You can head over to F-Flat Books to purchase your copy!  Share it with a friend.  Use it for a book study with teacher friends and colleagues.  It's the perfect summer book to focus on your needs as an educator.  We're giving you an exclusive sneak peek into the book!  You'll hear u...

Danielle Larrick and I have teamed together to write the perfect summer book for teachers all about teacher health and wellness.  Get the inside scoop about what you can expect within the book including: Ten chapters related to health and wellness topics such as imposter syndrome, identity, anxiety, joy (when things are going great!), sleep, energy, and more Key takeaways for each chapter Book stu...

When the school year comes to an abrupt end, it takes some time for our minds and bodies to catch up to the fact that we can now rest.  Or at least breathe a little bit for sure.  Here are five things we can do to wind down for summer. Take a day of rest Get closure Summer meal plan Be okay with a mess Think about what you want your summer to be Grab the Summer Meal Plan Freebie HERE ! Instagram:...

You may have seen the meme/gif going around with this word on it.  What a perfect way to describe how many of us feel at the end of the school year!  I'm sharing three ideas for what you can do when you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and overstimulated. Instagram:  @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org

How do we finish the year well when we're so tired?  What should we choose to push forward on and what do we ease up on?  Here are six things I'm doing at the end of the year to keep learning continuing in the classroom and reviewing material already learned.  Ideas include: Podcasting Lessons Teaching New Instruments (sounds crazy, but I'll explain) Short Unit Plans Reviewing material learned thr...

I've often found it challenging to find books that I love to use with my older students so I created this fairy tale project to use possibly familiar stories in a way that allows students to work together to create short speech pieces/raps and put together an entire classroom performance, if you desire. Today I'm sharing the process I use with my students for this project over four class periods. ...

Calligrams are a word or part of a text where the design and layout of the letters or words create a visual image that relates to the word themselves.  They can be created using one phrase, individual words, song lyrics, poems, or specific text. In today's episode, you'll hear four ideas for using calligrams in the classroom and learn how I used a calligram project with my students based on song l...

This past week I spent time backpacking in the Smoky Mountains with my seventh grade students.  Here are five lessons I learned in the woods that apply to teaching at the end of the year (or anytime really!) Website:  www.jessicagrant.org Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

Allison Russo is a consultant, writer and educator who has written a fantastic book called "Planning Purpose."  I've enjoyed working through the process within the book to find ways to implement my values and the values of my students into the content I'm teaching.  I'm excited for you to learn from Allison and encourage you to follow her on Instagram @thecriticalgood. Allison's Bio:  Consultant,...

Sharing ten things that are making a difference in my life right now.  Life lessons.  Specific content and apps.  Things in general. Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website: www.jessicagrant.org

This project is a huge hit with my students!  Listen in to hear how you can use Minecraft, Flip, and Student Peer Reviews to help students learn about Musical Artists.  Purchase materials for the project HERE ! You'll hear: *Ideas for using the project with your students *Four levels of implementation (peaceful, easy, normal, hard) *Student peer reviews *Rubrics and more   How to record your scree...

I loved this chat with Ashley Brown Woodside.  Ashley is an incredible musician, dancer and educator who loves to inspire her students through the use of movement and music.  More specifically in using elemental concepts in movement to guide their learning and musical experiences. We talk about several movement ideas including: Defining elemental movement Making movement accessible and challenging...

There is an art to designing a lesson plan.  Learning your personal pacing and the pacing of your students' work takes time and experience.  Here are a few ideas to help you figure out how to pace your lessons from start to finish! Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica! Website:  www.jessicagrant.org  

Have you ever had this happen: Your lesson moves at a faster pace than expected and you have extra time emaining.  Or your class time has ended, your students are lined up, but their teacher isn't there yet and you might be there for a few minutes longer.  What do you do?  Five minutes may not seem like it's that big of a deal, but in the teaching world it can feel like an eternity.   Here are fiv...

This conversation with Bryson Tarbet about differentiation is extremely relevant and insightful.  It will get you thinking about how you already differentiate learning in the classroom and things you might want to try.  Most of all I hope you come away from our talk being encouraged by what you're already doing, thinking about how to give your students what they need where they are and allowing yo...