music class organization and management from mb2music

Marcia R. Barham mb2music [email protected]

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Manage Your Music Classes – The Beginning

Students attend music class twice in a six-‐day cycle. Units of study are thematic and are written in the UbD format. Each year the music schedule is a bit different. Part of the management in music is adjusted to the schedule each year.

I create a document with the six-‐day cycle for planning lessons, make notes, and put important dates. It is also used for planning with my teammate. I use the “August to August” calendar created for educators as well. (http://www.mixedroleproductions.com/index.html) I keep my 6 day cycle and important information it this calendar. (Telephone tree, year long calendar, emergency plans, important school mobile numbers, lists of things I may need to do.) I do this by resizing these letter or A4 sized documents to 70% to fit the “August to August” calendar.

I post my schedule in 4 places in the room. That way, if people come in to visit, I am easily reminded of my schedule and when student are due to arrive. Also, in the busy times of the year, the posted schedule allows me to walk in from other locations in the school, glance at the schedule and set up for my next class if needed. I post class pictures in order of grade level. At the beginning of the year I put the classes in order vertically on a whiteboard so I can familiarize myself with each class before they arrive. This helps me remember names. It also serves me when I need to write a teacher after class.

I teach approximately 400 students. I find it difficult to remember all their names. To assist me with this, I photograph each class at the beginning of the year. Class photos are also helpful when I need to communicate with parents, write SRT’s/IEP’s or when I have a substitute. Nametags are also made for each student. The students decorate them the first day they come to class. This helps me remember names as well. We use nametags all year. This is helpful if a substitute is needed also. I prefer to sit in a circle or facing the IWB instead of chairs so it is necessary for me.

I arrange the seating in the classroom if needed for behavior modification. I also use the nametags at times as the students come into class. I sing, they echo it back to me and I hand them their nametag.

I post:

Rules for music:

1. Listen with your ears, eyes, and whole body. 2. Be responsible for all instruments. 3. Instruments stay on the floor until you are asked to play them. 4. Use appropriate behavior for the situation. 5. Have fun!

Two sets of Orff Rules: (you may use either one; I use the second group and enlarge them on A3 paper.)

1. Walk around the orchestra, never over, never through. 2. Mallets stay on the instrument or the floor until we are ready to play. 3. Use two hands to take off and put on bars.


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Orff Orchestra Rules

Orff Orchestra Rules

1.When enter ing or ex it ing , 2. Walk Around the orchestra,

Never over , Never through .

3. Respect and handle instruments with care. 4. Use 2 hands to take off or put on bars 5. Hold the mallets like handle bars on a bicycle. 6. Be ready to play. Mal lets up , Mallets ready , (mallets on shoulders) (mallets over bars to strike) 7. Play as a team. Watch and L i sten to each other.

Each grade level has a color code. Pre-‐school is yellow, kindergarten is red, G1 is green, and G2 is blue. Color-‐coding helps me in organization when planning for each class. This is a system I developed and works when dealing with several grade levels at once. From sorting through music to organizing class photographs, to the six-‐day cycles.

Music resources are filed according to topics such as Orff, movement, drumming, multicultural, and partner songs. From these resources much of the repertoire is chosen and developed.

In May, my colleague and I discuss some of the curriculum options for the coming school year. We usually leave in the summer with materials to research and possibly create lessons for units for the coming year. We create a sequence for the coming year to integrate as much as possible with the classroom curriculum.

13 units are written into the UbD (Understanding by Design: http://jaymctighe.com/resources/) format and placed on our website. These serve to guide our teaching throughout the year. Flipcharts for the IWB are created ahead of time and notes are placed within the charts so both music teachers will be accountable for the instruction of each unit as we work in separate rooms.

One of the final products for Pre-‐school-‐Grade 2 music instruction is a spring program. It has been designed to show the process of the students’ learning throughout the year. The focus is not performance, but to share knowledge and development from the year’s learning in music.

The classroom is set up so that instruments remain in the same place, especially in the beginning of the year so students will understand how to care for and move the instruments around. This creates an environment where students may become more independent in their learning. Students learn how to set up, play, and return instruments for another class to use. I also use a long piece of green electrical tape so students will know where to line up at the end of class.

Managing each class looks differently. Some classes need little managing once they learn the routines of our 30 minutes together. Some classes require more. Some of those management strategies may include:


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Placing nametags so certain children sit close to me. Seating chart for one or more classes. This happens when there are many students in a class

who need to be separated for various reasons. Putting rubber dots down to help student(s) stay in one place.

Parents are an integral part of the of the total music program. They assist us at various times throughout the

year including making nametags for every child at the beginning of the year, assisting students/ teachers for the Holiday Shares in December, coordinating students and assisting the music teachers during grade level programs in February, March, and April. Parents help the music program run smoothly during the year and it would be difficult to run a music program of the caliber we’ve come to expect. Parents are helpful in keeping programs and me organized during the busy times. Other groups and individuals who play important roles in managing the music program are the

Operations & Maintenance Audio/visual coordinator Technology Coordinator Administration

All performances are coordinated with O & M. We send them the plans for setting up and those are adjusted as needed. The audio/visual coordinator handles the P.A. system, microphones and often comes in by 7am to insure the sound system is running smoothly for rehearsals and performances. He/she is also responsible for making the master DVD made available for parents. The technology coordinator videos performances and helps create a master DVD as well. The school secretary collects all forms and money for the DVD sales and distributes DVD’s to the teachers’ boxes when they arrive. The CD’s cost approximately two dollars each. Information to promote any performance is included in Faculty Bulletins and Monday Newsletters. Classroom teachers also support the music program by including information concerning programs in their monthly newsletters. We also use the music blog to inform parents.

The above information serves as an overview of who, what and how we manage the music program.

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music class organization and management from mb2music

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