I have been very busy lately, but I finally found some time to start converting my anchor charts into digitally produced posters! They look super cute. So far, I have made a black background and white background version of my Recorder Rules poster. It basically needed to be done. Unfortunately, some of the markers I used when I made my anchor charts last year faded BADLY over the course of a school year. It was sad seeing my hard work just fade away week after week. :( These shouldn't fade very much, so I am happy to be cranking them out! If you want one, head to TpT and check it out. There are more anchor charts coming, so keep checking back. You will also see them floating around on Pinterest. *BTW, you can feel free to use these posters in your classroom if YOU make them (and obviously, use them if you buy them!), BUT...please do not recreate/redesign them for download. That means not for money and not for free. Thanks!*
3 Comments
Fantastic news! Through district Fine Arts money, NPE just received a shipment of 4 sections of Flip Form risers! Whaaaat? But you already have risers? Yes. We do. We have 19-year-old, heavy, metal/carpet/wood risers that are great for performances, but are not at all ideal for daily use. Flip Forms are easy to clean, have no sharp edges (unlike our standard choral risers), are made of molded plastic so they will not rust (yay) and, as you can see in the video, are easy to move around. The most exciting aspect of Flip Forms for me is how easily they can be moved out of the way to make more space for movement activities! Check out the video! *BTW, ours are gray with blue tops.* Anchor charts in music class? Why not? The challenge is having multiple classes contributing to them on different days. Solution? I had several classes list characteristics that we had learned about folk songs we were singing. We put that list on the white board and I took a picture after each class. That way, the board was fresh for new ideas and thinking the next day. I consolidated the info and pared it down and it became what you see in this picture...a completed anchor chart about folk music that I can have students refer to when we categorize songs that we work on in class. If you teach many, many classes like I do and still want an "authentic" anchor chart (not just one you devise on your own without student input) I would urge you to try this method! Then let me know how it goes! :) Also, be sure to check out my friend Mark's blog post on anchor charts! His are so nice and neat! We have been using the Orff instruments a lot lately an have run into the same problem in almost every class. Even when we remind everyone that they should always walk AROUND the instruments, inevitably someone will try to walk over one and dump the whole thing over. Not only is this a bummer, it could result in broken instruments - a pricey problem! So, today, I decided we needed a visual reminder. Hopefully the kiddos will remember when they see the giant shoe stepping on the xylophone! :) ahhhh!
I use these Word Power Charts in my classroom and refer to them often. They are most useful for me when the students are up playing instruments since I have them behind the risers. They are intended to be used along with World Music Drumming, but they really do align with almost any activity you would do in the music classroom. I took them a step further and added definitions to each card.
If you are reading this and you are NOT a music teacher, these cards will give you a better idea of how we break music down into different components and do so much more than just sing/play a song! *I purchased the Word Power Charts at West Music probably 8 or so years ago and I know they still carry them, so get some for your classroom! I am in no way affiliated with them, but the people at West are very nice and helpful!* Today I spent a couple of hours in the music room brainstorming, fantasizing and obsessing over how to arrange things for the coming year. I texted this mini-video panoramic view of the room in its current state to another music teacher friend of mine who is much better than I am at this sort of thing so that I could get some outside input. I *think* I know how I will arrange things now... Tomorrow I will be sweating it out, moving things around.
I just wrapped up my 8th year at North Pointe and my 10th year teaching. Really? TEN YEARS? Teaching music puts you in a unique situation where you are highly unlikely to ever have to change classrooms (at least in my district!). So, unless you transfer to a different position, you have the combined blessing and curse of never having to change anything.
When I inherited this classroom, it had a LOT of things on the walls, things hanging from the ceiling and tons of things in three large (read: bigger than my first dorm room) closets. Eight years in, I still had a few things on the walls from the previous teacher. Mostly, the fabric coverings on some of the wall panels and two large banners. On the last day of school this year, I decided that since I have every intention of staying in this classroom for the next 20 years, I needed to rip everything down and start over. This picture is the end result. I realize I should have taken a before picture, but I didn't. Oops! Now that I'm all-in, I have NO CHOICE but to redecorate! Ahhhh! |
Click below to follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers!
Author
Mrs. Chandler Archives
April 2015
Categories
All
|