Day 21: Sing

in

Day 21: Do you have other hobbies/interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.

I've been so lucky to incorporate my love for music into my classroom. My first few years as an elementary teacher, I had a guitar in the classroom and we sang almost every day.

I selected familiar songs that featured examples of figurative language. Similies, metaphors, alliteration, hyperbole, etc.

It was an easy way to make connections for my students and show them that language is powerful. We looked at a different song each week, during the last 15-20 minutes every day, and read through the lyrics. Lots of interactive reading took place between myself and the class, and we searched for different things every time.

Of course, after rereading and searching and re-searching, we sang it. When I taught fifth grade, those classes performed at the end-of-year talent show. 

A few years in, I joined the music teacher at my school and I helped out with the student choir. Fourth and fifth graders we invited and we met once a week before school. I did this for two years before I left elementary and made the jump to middle school.

My second year at middle school, I was asked if was interested in teaching a choir class with some other awesome teacher friends. There had not been enough students signed up for choir at the end of the previous year to sustain a full section during the normal school day, so a faux choir was created. We ended up having over one hundred students sign up and we met for thirty minutes every day.

That was last year - and it was a lot of fun. We did pop music with the students and incorporated choreography and drama into the performances. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to share the love of music with students.

I guess it's no surprise that this year, I've got two choir classes (the real ones) and two math classes. The group is now split by grade-levels and we have a bit more time together everyday. I'm happy and excited for the chance to work with them again. To teach them more about musical skill and theory. To improve their abilities as a singer and a performer. To build their confidence and allow them to express themselves. But mainly to let them simply enjoy singing.