New Way to Use IPads For Music Class!

Welcome to Mrs. Stucki's Music class!

Using IPads For Music Class!
I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I found out I was going to have Ipads to use in my music room this year. I work in a rough inner city school where many of the older students tend to be negative, rude and disrespectful to all the teachers. Many of them would frequently interrupt the lesson. Nothing seemed to motivate students even after calling parents, changing their seating chart, setting rules, giving talks about respect, doing fun music games, earning fun days or movie days. I was excited to find something fun to motivate and involve them in musical learning. 

Fun Ipads Music Games: I quickly started looking for games and fun activities to put on the ipads. I found that the sky is the limit with so many apps to chose from. Two of my favorite apps are Tiny Piano and Story Bots. Both of these apps are free and easy for students to use.

Motivating Tough Students with IPads Games: My plan was to use the IPads for music centers but realized that I could use them to motivate my older students. It worked like magic. After two weeks of using the IPads in my music room, my class no longer resembles a tough inner city classroom. The older classes are now respectful, participating in class and doing their work without being negative.  What a big change from when they started at beginning of the year.

How It Works; Since I have 5 IPads, I divded my class into groups of fives with one person on an IPad. At the beginning of the class I announce what group will be using the IPads today. I remind students that if they interrupt the lesson, they will lose their turn to play on the IPads when it is their assigned IPad day.  I stop teaching the last 10 minutes of the class and let the assigned group play in the IPad center. The rest of the class will play a music game, folk dance, boomwhackers or other activity.  A different group of students would get to use the IPads on the next day.

Try using IPads as a way of changing bad behavior if you teach tough inner city kids that are disrespectful. IPads have worked better than any other behavior plan I've used in the past. Teaching music is a joy again and my classes are taking responsibility for their own musical learning.  Leave a comment below and let me know what you are doing with IPads in your classroom. See you back soon for my next blog! Sherry Stucki :)


If you are looking for more fun activities and ideas for your music class? be sure to Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim freebies, teacher tips & tricks,  Sherry :)


Check out some of my favorite games and activities!

     

10 Fun Music Center Games

Welcome to Mrs. Stucki's Music Class!

I was thrilled to be selected as one of the presenters at the Idaho Music Educators Association Conference this month. I got to share 10 Fun Music Center Games with other music teachers and make some new friends. The music games focused on three areas: Rhythm Reading, Note Reading and Instrument study/ for music listening logs. Here are some of the games we played at the teacher conference. Click on each picture to read more about that game.

1. Exciting Rhythm Games: 
Add more music games to your class and watch your class quickly improve their music skills! My class loves working on their rhythm reading with these games.

2. Fun Note Reading Games:
I use the games below to help my students quickly learn the names of their music notes and music symbols.

Instant Note Reading Game! Grades 3-6th 

This game is played like the Candyland Game
( using candy hearts or skittles for markers and music note cards from the music staff)!

3. Play More Instrument Games:
In order to get my class writing better reflections for their music listening logs, I realized that I needed to teach them the names of music instruments. Since the instruments are creating the music, they needed to connect the music to what the instruments are doing in the music. I have seen a huge difference in their music reflection logs  by playing more instrument games (see pictures below. 

Grades K-8th

Instrument Matching Game K-2nd

Students love playing music games! Your class will love working on their music notes, rhythms, music vocabulary, composing songs and more with exciting music center games. Leave a comment below or let me know about your favorite game. Hope to chat with you soon! Sherry Stucki :)

4- Fun Valentine Day Music Activities

Hello Teachers,

I'm really excited to share 4-Valentine activities that work well in my music class. Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday and my kiddos look forward to celebrating it with fun activities in music class. 

Musical Candy Note Game:
3rd & 4th graders love playing this game while learning the names of their treble clef notes. I use candy hearts or skittles as game markers to play this game. They have to match the treble clef note cards from the music staff with the letters on the game board. The first child to get to the end of the game board wins the game. I let the children eat the candy when they are done playing the game. If you would like to play this game with your class click here to learn more about it.

Line Dancing (grades 4-8th)
My class loves dancing to the cupid shuffle and request this dance every year. My 6th graders had so much fun with this dance that when they heard the Cupid Shuffle music playing during one of their school field trips, they all decided to stop bowling and show their dance moves right inside the bowling alley. I was thrilled when the classroom teachers told me about the flash dancing at the bowling alley. If you want to try this dance with your class, you can get the dance directions and a Valentine mini-music lesson by clicking here.

6th graders doing the Cupid Shuffle!

Valentine Games: Lucy Locket Lost Her Valentine
My younger student (grades k-2nd) love this game. One student leaves the room as another student hides a Valentine card. The student in the hall returns to the room to find the hidden Valentine card. The class sings Lucy Locket Lost Her Valentine to help this student find the hidden Valentine. The class will sing the song loudly when the student is close to the Valentine card and they will sing softly if the student is going away from the Valentine card. Here are the words to the song: Lucy Locket lost her  Valentine, Kitty Fisher found it. Not a single candy in it, only ribbon 'round it (use same melody as the Lucy Locket game). This game is a favorite with young children.

Playing Candy Rhythms
Valentine's Day is not complete without candy. I place different candy bars on the whiteboard (see picture below). Then I point to each candy bar on the beat and have the class tap out the syllable names of each candy bar on percussion instruments. Then I have them echo play ta and ti-ti rhythms. Now I have them end the music by playing the candy bar rhythms again. My class loves playing candy bar rhythms on percussion instruments and it's fun to move the candy around to create new rhythms for them to play. 

Candy Bar Rhythms

If you are looking for more fun activities and ideas for your music class? be sure to Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim freebies and teacher tips & tricks,  Sherry :)


Check out some of my favorite games and activities!

     

Fun Freebies For Music Teachers

Hello everyone,

This week I am so thankful to celebrate a Teachers Pay Teachers Milestone! Thank you so much for your support of my store in helping me to reach my goal of over 200 followers! I could not have achieved this milestone without you, so I wanted to offer a few freebies as a way to say "thanks".

Download these free Orff Instrument Labels for your class. They would also look great in any concert or music program. You can grab this freebie by clicking on the picture.

The next freebie is one of my classes favorite songs. This is a great song to play on boomwhachers, recorders, or Orff instruments. It has a fun mini lesson and covers several essential music skills to teach your class. You can check it out here by clicking on the Snake Charmer picture on my sidebar or Freebie Tab at the top of this page.

Want more freebies? Click on the pictures below to grab these freebies for your class. Again, I would like to give a big heart felt thank you for your support! Enjoy these free music products! Sherry Stucki :)

                           

        
 

What Really Works to Get Kids Reading Music Notes

Welcome to Mrs. Stucki's Music Class

I'm focusing on activities that really work to get kids reading their music notes. I've found that playing music games and note repetition are the easiest way for kids to learn note reading. Games are a great way to engage students in repetitive note reading, so I thought I would share some fun games that really work to get kids quickly reading their music notes.

Fun Note Reading Game:  Musical Candyland game is a big hit with my classes. This game reinforces note reading because it gives the students a lot of repetition. The game is played like the traditional Candyland except that kids must read the music note on the card they draw before they can move their marker.

Musical Candy Land Note Game

Musical Candyland is also a perfect game to use for music centers. I like to have half of my class play the Candyland game while the rest of the class works on music note worksheets. After 12 minutes, I'll tell the class to switch places. If they are working on coloring worksheets, they will now get to play the Candyland game while the other students work on the coloring worksheets. 

This game comes with: music note game cards, music note flash cards, a student answer key sheet and note coloring pages to use for assessments or for note reading practice. (I use 2 Musical Candyland game boards in my music centers- with several kids on each board). If you want to use this game for your class, you can check it out here.

Recorder Note Reading Contest

Mad Minute Game: This game only takes one minute, but is one of the fastest ways to help your class learn the names of their notes. I make a star for each student in my class. Place the student's name on their own star. Simply give a one minute timed note reading test. (I usually give them a music charm for passing the test). When a student passes their Mad Minute note reading quiz, take their star and move it up to the next level on your wall or bulletin board. This will help you keep track of which test to give to each student. The class will love seeing their name on the wall as they improve at reading notes to advance to the next level (I use Mad Minute Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond Levels). You can turn it into a contest to see what class earns their Gold level 1st. My class works hard to earn the Gold level to receive a special prize. I know they are ready for playing recorders when everyone has passed the Bronze level. This encourages the class work hard to pass the Bronze level so they can start their 1st recorder class. They take note reading more seriously when they know they have to pass the Bronze level in order to start recorders.

If you are looking for more ideas for  note reading with your class, check out these other fun note reading games below. Enjoy Sherry Stucki :)     

         

       

Loads of Fun Halloween Games & Activities

Welcome to Mrs. Stucki's Music Class!

My students are so excited about Halloween this year. They are already asking to sing Halloween songs and play Halloween games. Here are some of the things I've done that are a big hit with my students.
Cool Ghost Singing Game:
This ghost game is one of their favorite singing activities. The game gets the class reading new rhythms and learning to compose music. They love being able to use these ghost cards to compose their own music for the "B" section in the music. I have my class sing a variety of short songs such as "Bubble In A Dish" for the "A" section of the music. They perform the "B" section by clapping or playing instruments to the ghost rhythms that are placed on the board. I select a new person to compose a different rhythm pattern for the class to perform and repeat the game.

Mystery Composer Game:
I like to introduce Johann Sebastian Bach to my class by using this fun mystery composer game. The class gets to pop the Balloons and learn fun facts about Bach. They love popping the balloons to discover that Bach had 20 children along with a variety of other facts. The class is always surprised that they have already heard the music to Bach's Taccata & Fugue in "D" Minor. This music is used in cartoons and TV shows around Halloween time. Bach's music is

also a great example for teaching your class about music with a minor sound. (Many more games and activities are located inside the ghost game and mystery composer packets).


Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think or tell me about your favorite Halloween activity. See you again soon! Sherry Stucki :)

You can also check out some more spooky Halloween games, songs and activities by clicking on the words:

Halloween Eye Spy                                 Halloween Beat Chart                         Solo Singing Games

What No One Tells You About Your Music Classes

Are You Having To Do This Over and Over Again?

I was spending a lot of time, redoing my seating charts. Almost every time I came to school a new student transferred to my music class or moved away. Sometimes I would need to redo the seating chart to move a student that was misbehaving or move the seat of a special needs student being moved from one music class to another. This would force me to use considerable time redoing seating charts instead of using my time writing lesson plans or preparing materials for the next lesson.

I've used a variety of seating charts throughout my teaching career but really liked using computer generated seating charts. This didn't solve my problem. I quickly found that if you change one name on the seating chart, you would need to re-type a lot of other seats again. I just didn't have that much time to type up new seating charts every week. There had to be a better way to do seating charts that didn't take up so much time. One day I noticed the Art teacher using a seating chart I hadn't seen before. It was such a simple idea that I wish I had known about this when I fist became a teacher. I took her idea and tried it out in my own room. I was thrilled to learn that it worked for any style of seating chart. It worked so well that I still use it today.

Instant Seating Charts
Once you set-up your seating chart, you'll never need to retype another chart for the rest of the school year. Here is how it works. Use the smallest sticky note paper and cut them in half. Place one name on the sticky note paper. Do this for each child in the class. Arrange the names on a color sheet of paper to form a class seating chart. Do this for each music class that you have. (I like to tape the child's picture next to their name.

When you remove a child from the class list, just remove the sticky note with that child's name and attach it on your class roster so you know who moved. Simply shift the other sticky note seats around to fill in the gap of the missing child. In a matter of seconds you have a current seating chart. You can easily add children by adding a new sticky note paper to your chart and shift the other names around forming the new seating chart. Place your charts in a page protector to secure the sticky notes. You can also write on top of the page protector with an expo pen to place a grade or small note by the child's name. Quickly make a copy of your current seating chart for a substitute teacher.

I use colored dots on the corner of the sticky notes for color codes to tag special needs children or children that need more help with learning. I only need to record names on my seating chart once each year. I quickly move the sticky notes around whenever I need to make a change. Give it a try. I'd love to hear from you, so please take just a moment to leave a friendly comment below. Thank You!

Want more fun activities and ideas for your music class? be sure to Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks,  Sherry :)


Check out some of my favorite games and activities!