Ten classroom music teaching resources for the new term
Monday, September 12, 2022
As we enter the second week of term, Music Teacher magazine has collated a selection of its most practical resources for classroom music teachers in both primary and secondary, from creating a Music Development Plan to building a positive and supportive music department.
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Primary:
1. A practical guide to writing a primary school Music Development Plan
Are you a primary school music lead feeling overwhelmed about the prospect of writing a Music Development Plan? Karen Marshall has written a comprehensive guide accompanied by an editable template for you to fill in.
2. Building a musical culture in a primary school with the NPME
As headteachers report feeling overwhelmed by the refreshed National Plan for Music Education, MT provides practical, realistic, and tried-and-tested solutions to achieving the plan's aims in a primary school.
3. How to use GarageBand in the Key Stage 2 music classroom
Using a DAW (digital audio workstation) to teach primary music doesn't come naturally to everyone. Kay Charlton advocates having a go whatever your technological background, and demystifies GarageBand in nine simple steps.
4. Enhancing the primary curriculum with technology
Always keen to share free and easy-to-use tech resources with other primary music teachers, Frazer Hinchley offers some ideas for how you can incorporate Chrome Music Lab into your curriculum.
5. Wing it with purpose: Improvisation at Key Stage 2
Many of us can feel self-conscious when it comes to making music off the cuff, let alone teaching children to do so. Kay Charlton comes to the rescue with some ideas for incremental improvisation with Key Stage 2.
Secondary:
1. Whip Around or Pass: an adaptable game for classroom engagement
The new school year provides an opportunity to try new strategies or update your existing toolkit. Here, MT outlines an adaptable game you can use to promote student engagement in the music classroom.
2. Building an invested team in and around your music department
Even if you're heading up a one-person music department, it's still possible to build an invested and supportive team around you. Liz Dunbar offers some words of wisdom.
3. How to teach listening skills in the music classroom
Cutting through the constant noise around what music students should be listening to, Dr Elizabeth Stafford explores how they should be listening to it.
4. Developing Key Stage 2 musicians with technology
In the second of her columns on developing the musician through music technology at Key Stage 3, Liz Dunbar shares some tried and tested classroom applications for you to use in your school.
5. Taking risks when teaching GCSE and A Level Music
How does the phrase ‘less is more’ relate to GCSE and A Level Music teaching? Alex Aitken shares his reflections and practical applications on how you might be brave and, ultimately, support your students to become more musical.
