Using "Happy Birthday" in the classroom is the EASIEST activity to use and reuse with close to zero planning. My suggestions will be through the lens of a choral classroom, but they could be easily adapted for general or instrumental music!
I LOVED to have my students sing "Happy Birthday" to staff members around the school. In addition to making the recipient feel celebrated, these mini performances:
Here's how I introduced the activity:
"It's [insert random staff member's birthday here]'s birthday today! We have the opportunity to make them smile and bring them joy today. Here's the plan." From there, I give a set of directions based on the group I'm working with. Here are some ideas:
What ideas do you have? Share below, I'd love to hear!
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If I'm being honest, reading is the last thing I think to do. Listening to music? Yes. Watching Netflix? 100%. Watching my toddler and doing a thousand loads of laundry? All day every day.
That being said, reading is such a vital part of our professional development. Learning from every authors passion, experience, wisdom, and unique perspectives through their writing is an invaluable tool that impacts our growth as educators. So without further ado, these are a few of my favorite MUST READS for music educators right now!! Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
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I recently came across an article that listed questions that could be used in a meeting to reset or redirect the group. The whole time I kept thinking how they could be adapted to redirect or reset a rehearsal. You can read the original article that inspired this post here.
Being stuck, bored, frustrated, or complacent are all valid feelings in the rehearsal process, but here are 15 questions to ask to reset a rehearsal.
Being stuck, bored, frustrated, or complacent are all valid feelings in the rehearsal process, but here are 15 questions to ask to reset a rehearsal.
- What musical aspect are we trying to adjust/achieve? Let's re-state it.
- What is the most important thing to accomplish in the next 30 minutes?
- Shall we take a quick brain break?
- What do we want the audience to feel in this spot?
- What are we trying to communicate in this section?
- What is the most important thing to have completed by the end of the rehearsal?
- Who has an idea to try for this section?
- How is everyone doing, on a scale from 1-10?
- What is the short-term solution for this problem? How can we set up for success long-term?
- What should our decision criteria be?
- What can we de-prioritize from rehearsal today?
- What things in the music can we control right now?
- How should we best go about tackling this problem as a team?
- What is keeping you from being present today?
- Can we leave the room and re-enter, leaving everything negative at the door?
I'd love to hear if these questions worked for you, or what you use to reset your rehearsal! Leave a comment below.
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Learning, LifeLabs. “Top 20 Resetting Questions.” LifeLabs Learning, 2020, ideas.lifelabslearning.com/lab/20-resetting-questions.
In his article "Advocating for Choral Singing and Artistic Growth During Covid-19," Michael Sheetz shares advice for music ministry directors, community chorus directors, university choir directors, and teaching artists. His suggestions inspired me to adapt them into applicable strategies for classroom teachers. The original article on Chorus Connection does go into further detail than I will below, so I encourage you to read that as well!
Here are my top 3 takeaways from Michael's strategies that are applicable in a secondary ensemble.
I hope these ideas encourage a sense of normalcy in the rehearsal process for you and your students!
- Sing in real time - but on mute. We actually did this for a choir that met over Zoom this past spring and I was surprised at how well it worked. We used this strategy with the entire ensemble (30+ high schoolers) and as sectional breakouts. It works best if you have an accompanist track that the meeting host can play from their computer, or, if it's a sectional, you can play a practice track. It is SO SO great to see everyone's singing faces as you're singing along, and I do feel like it's still possible to feel connection even though it is over a screen. If singers are relying on the music, encourage them to get their eyes up as much as possible.
- Keep your class structure the same. Start with a warm-up! Similar to #1, have your ensemble mute themselves but sing along with their cameras on. After a few structured ones, do a silly one that students may be brave enough to try in front of everyone, like a tongue twister. Then move onto a sight-reading activity. Share your screen and a starting pitch. Set a timer and have them sing through on mute. As the teacher, you can scroll through visually and see who is actually trying. Then, play or sing through, but ask them to sing with you so they can compare what they are singing vs what they are hearing. Students may perceive this as a safer environment to tackle sight-reading in than in the classroom (for example the fear of judgement from the student sitting next to them is gone). By doing warm-ups and sight-reading as an ensemble, you are holding them accountable for going through those class processes even though as the teacher you don't have the auditory feedback. They are also then ready for class structure when/if you do return to in-person rehearsing.
- Invite guests to your rehearsal. Bringing in a guest to your virtual rehearsal can keep class fresh and exciting. Whether it's bringing in someone to talk about a career in the arts, a guided songwriting class, alumni to inspire your current students to leave a legacy, or guests to lead some breakout room sectionals, your students will gain knowledge from others even though it's not in-person teaching. BONUS - these partnerships can benefit more than just your students! It can provide a much needed break for you as the teacher, and keep the connections going in a time where many artists are lacking work. Just be sure to set up expectations for your students prior (be respectful, cameras on, etc.).
I hope these ideas encourage a sense of normalcy in the rehearsal process for you and your students!
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Sheetz, Michael. “Advocating for Choral Singing and Artistic Growth During COVID-19.” Chorus Connection Blog, 16 Aug. 2020, blog.chorusconnection.com/advocating-for-choral-singing-and-artistic-growth-during-covid-19?utm_medium=email.
When I knew I was going to write a post about journaling in the music class, I reached out to several students to see if they would be willing to share their feedback about the process - good or bad! The response was so overwhelming I decided to share as a follow up post.
If you missed the post about how to incorporate journaling in the classroom, read it here.
There is one thing I forgot to share earlier - I never collected these for a grade. I wanted this to be different than journaling in other settings, this was strictly for them and their reflection and growth. Sometimes I would wander so the proximity would hold them accountable for working, but overall the buy in was there and as mentioned before I would just journal alongside them.
See their thoughts below!
If you missed the post about how to incorporate journaling in the classroom, read it here.
There is one thing I forgot to share earlier - I never collected these for a grade. I wanted this to be different than journaling in other settings, this was strictly for them and their reflection and growth. Sometimes I would wander so the proximity would hold them accountable for working, but overall the buy in was there and as mentioned before I would just journal alongside them.
See their thoughts below!
"I absolutely loved journaling, we did a ton of entries my sophomore year. That’s actually the reason I started bullet journaling/gratitude journaling. I think setting aside time for it is beneficial because it’s a way for students to have an outlet, but in a school setting :)"
"I really enjoyed journaling in Topaz because it definitely helped me personally get in touch with different emotions and then I was able to channel those emotions into the music that our choir would sing. Hopefully it was the same for other members of the choir because I think that it definitely would affect our sound quality and tone."
"When we did journaling in class, I actually really enjoyed it and felt it was a great use of our time in class. It helped me to focus and center my thoughts on something that helped get my creative juices flowing in order to be ready to make music in class. It was also a way to take a break from all my other classes and to have a time to relax and reflect on my day. I overall really liked it and thought it helped our class connect in a different way in order to make our best sound together."
"When we journaled in class is was one of my favorite times! Since we had choir to start our day, ir was a great segway into the day and was very refreshing to be able to write for 15 minutes and just let our minds flow. Whenever I was having a bad day I would always look forward to journaling to be able to breathe, write it out and zen out to the music playing."
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"Journaling was influential in choir for so many reasons, but the one thing I truly loved about it was being able to have a set amount of time to relax and reset before choir. It was always beneficial for the entire choir because we were able to put the world away for 15 minutes and refocus. Writing my thoughts out and letting go of the “baggage” I had going on before coming to choir truly impacted my mood, especially on bad days, and helped me find positivity in my life and gave me motivation to put my all into rehearsal."
"Journaling in Topaz helped me out a lot when I was having a stressful day at school. When we journaled, it made me be free of my thoughts in a way where I can just relax and be myself. Writing things down helps me think things through, and doing that in Topaz always made me happy and feel more at peace!"
"I loved journaling! It was such a good way, especially in the morning (because choir was my first class), to reflect and set some goals. At the time, I wasn't into journaling that much, and I would say some of the journaling prompts we did together helped inspire me to continue journaling even after we stopped!"
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Like many of us, I inherited a full music library... there were gems and solid pieces I had never heard of, but also some that were old and outdated. The biggest frustration though was the lack of organization... the mislabeled envelopes, music missing all the inside pages, music with the same title but different arrangers mixed together, a number system no one has a guide to.... the list went on and on.
This post isn't about the physical organization of your library, but rather the place where you have record of what's in it. If you need restructuring of your physical organization, I find it's best to do these hand in hand, but if not, use it as a chance to Marie Kondify your library. Does it spark joy? If not, move along!
It's important to note before we get started that mine is a choral library, but this could easily be adapted for any type of music!
This post isn't about the physical organization of your library, but rather the place where you have record of what's in it. If you need restructuring of your physical organization, I find it's best to do these hand in hand, but if not, use it as a chance to Marie Kondify your library. Does it spark joy? If not, move along!
It's important to note before we get started that mine is a choral library, but this could easily be adapted for any type of music!
Here's my spreadsheet columns that have stood the test of time! I've been evolving and fine-tuning this organization for over 8 years, and it's finally in a place that works great for me!
A. Title - (isn't this obvious?) If it's from a bigger work, musical, or opera, I put that title in parenthesis, for example: For Good (Wicked).
B. Composer/Arranger - I learned the hard way to always put the full name of both if possible. If it's a popular artist, I put that too, for example: Imagine Dragons arr. Mark Brymer.
C. Voicing - I try to be specific here with the divisi. Sure the cover might say it's SATB, but if it's really SSATBB I'll put that here.
D. Genre - This can be hard to specify at times, but I put the genre I know I'll recognize the song by so that when I sort by this column it pops up where I would expect to find it. If it's more than one genre I put that too (i.e. Pop, Disney that you see in row 38).
E. Language - Again, isn't this obvious? If there's more than one, put them all!
F. Number of copies - I like to put the number we should have and the number we actually have. It helps me know how many have been lost or misplaced, and how many we might need to order. Don't count photocopies so you know how many real copies you have/will need.
G. Accompaniment - Y or N is for piano accompaniment, anything else I am sure to indicate separately. For example "N, percussion" means no piano but there is percussion. "Y, recorder" means, yes piano and also recorder. If something is optional I'm sure to note that too!
H. Last Performance - Be consistent with how you're labeling this and it can be a helpful tool when choosing repertoire in the future. I found it best to put ensemble name, concert, and then year. This way, I can sort that column and it will show me all the songs I've done with that group, along with the concert and year. It also makes it easy to share a list of songs that have been done before, let's say, for Honor Choir. I can sort and then share that specific list with our clinician so they don't choose a song from years prior! If there's more than one, I use commas to separate. See below:
A. Title - (isn't this obvious?) If it's from a bigger work, musical, or opera, I put that title in parenthesis, for example: For Good (Wicked).
B. Composer/Arranger - I learned the hard way to always put the full name of both if possible. If it's a popular artist, I put that too, for example: Imagine Dragons arr. Mark Brymer.
C. Voicing - I try to be specific here with the divisi. Sure the cover might say it's SATB, but if it's really SSATBB I'll put that here.
D. Genre - This can be hard to specify at times, but I put the genre I know I'll recognize the song by so that when I sort by this column it pops up where I would expect to find it. If it's more than one genre I put that too (i.e. Pop, Disney that you see in row 38).
E. Language - Again, isn't this obvious? If there's more than one, put them all!
F. Number of copies - I like to put the number we should have and the number we actually have. It helps me know how many have been lost or misplaced, and how many we might need to order. Don't count photocopies so you know how many real copies you have/will need.
G. Accompaniment - Y or N is for piano accompaniment, anything else I am sure to indicate separately. For example "N, percussion" means no piano but there is percussion. "Y, recorder" means, yes piano and also recorder. If something is optional I'm sure to note that too!
H. Last Performance - Be consistent with how you're labeling this and it can be a helpful tool when choosing repertoire in the future. I found it best to put ensemble name, concert, and then year. This way, I can sort that column and it will show me all the songs I've done with that group, along with the concert and year. It also makes it easy to share a list of songs that have been done before, let's say, for Honor Choir. I can sort and then share that specific list with our clinician so they don't choose a song from years prior! If there's more than one, I use commas to separate. See below:
I. Thoughts - this is where I spill it all, knowing I'm the only one who will read it. It's also great to have notes if you leave the position so the incoming teacher has an idea of what has worked and what hasn't. I place this column as one of the last so I can cut it out if I need to share the library with anyone. I also put notes about the performance, such as "this would be fun with choreography" or "kids decided to do a line dance in the middle and it was hilarious!" so I remember down the road if I consider the song again.
The next three columns I added later so you'll see they are mostly empty, but I fill as I go.
J. Audio/Video Link - I like to link excellent examples here that I may want to share with students , or that I can listen to to remind myself what it sounds like without having to google again.
K. Performance Link - This is where I link recordings of our own performances! It's really fun when you do a song again to go back and show an old recording to the students... you can either showcase what they did well or highlight what could be better :)
L. Practice Tracks - If we've made practice tracks before, I note it here! I have a google folder where they all exist.
So there you have it! Here's my final thoughts on the matter:
Any suggestions I missed? What's worked for you? Comment below!
The next three columns I added later so you'll see they are mostly empty, but I fill as I go.
J. Audio/Video Link - I like to link excellent examples here that I may want to share with students , or that I can listen to to remind myself what it sounds like without having to google again.
K. Performance Link - This is where I link recordings of our own performances! It's really fun when you do a song again to go back and show an old recording to the students... you can either showcase what they did well or highlight what could be better :)
L. Practice Tracks - If we've made practice tracks before, I note it here! I have a google folder where they all exist.
So there you have it! Here's my final thoughts on the matter:
- If you don't have time to tackle this, offer volunteer hours, lettering points, or have a student aide get started. It's simple for them and kind of fun for them to learn how to navigate searching for all the info to fill out! Just be sure they know the importance of correct spelling!
- Some people have found it helpful to include a link to order on Pepper, or the cost per copy.
- If you use iPads, it could be helpful to note which songs you have digital copies of vs. physical octavos.
- Why Google Spreadsheets and not regular old Excel? A Google Spreadsheet is a living document. You can share and it will reflect those changes immediately. Furthermore, it's easy to share with your department, student helpers or collaborative pianists who might help you edit, long term subs, colleagues in case they want to borrow anything, or the next teacher to take over your program if you leave. You can also share with students if you ever do a "create a concert" type assignment. Just double check your sharing settings before adding anyone to the document!
- When a folder of music is physically lost, I make the column red so I know it's missing but it existed at one point, and when it's found I change it back.
Any suggestions I missed? What's worked for you? Comment below!
Journaling CHANGED my auditioned treble choir. It became something they looked forward to, asked about, and brought them together. It made their musicianship and confidence improve vastly.
It all started when Pinterest started throwing "Bujo" pins into my feed. "Bujo" is an abbreviation for bullet journaling, which looks like a creative dream, but as I scrolled I kept thinking, "who actually has time for this?" But the more I thought about it, the more I pondered how this might be something I should make time for. If I value reflection, affirmation, and gratitude, shouldn't I actually carve out time for an activity that fosters those things?
At the time, my auditioned treble choir was the first block of the day, right at 7:25AM. I decided I would try journaling alongside my students to see if it was worth it, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't be giving up any personal time to try it. Selfish? Yes. Am I glad I did it this way? YES! I had no idea the impact it would have on these singers!
Here's how it went down:
See some examples below! For those that list multiple lists, I would typically pick one prompt a day rather than display that whole thing. Some days we wouldn't write, we would just color or doodle - super therapeutic! Some days we'd reflect in writing about a performance, but mostly I focused on building up the individual, positive affirmations, and gravitate. The boost in self-esteem, focus, motivation, and even energy was amazing.
It all started when Pinterest started throwing "Bujo" pins into my feed. "Bujo" is an abbreviation for bullet journaling, which looks like a creative dream, but as I scrolled I kept thinking, "who actually has time for this?" But the more I thought about it, the more I pondered how this might be something I should make time for. If I value reflection, affirmation, and gratitude, shouldn't I actually carve out time for an activity that fosters those things?
At the time, my auditioned treble choir was the first block of the day, right at 7:25AM. I decided I would try journaling alongside my students to see if it was worth it, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't be giving up any personal time to try it. Selfish? Yes. Am I glad I did it this way? YES! I had no idea the impact it would have on these singers!
Here's how it went down:
- I told them to bring blank paper or a journal to class. I was surprised at how many were already excited to bring in a journal before even knowing what we were going to do with it!
- The first day I told them we were starting a "bujo." Again - instant buy-in because I used a cool abbreviation for something I shared I found on Pinterest. I showed them a few pictures and talked about my expectations for the time we set aside to journal.
- We didn't journal every day but did at least once a week.
- Here were the cues that meant it was a journal day: door was closed (so they had to enter and it was quiet inside), once though the door, no talking. Prompt was up on the board, classical music was playing. If these things were happening, the students knew to enter quietly, grab their journal stuff, and find a space somewhere on the floor. Similarly to #tbt (if you haven't read that post, you can do so here), they can find any space that is spread out from one another. I don't allow them to share pens, markers, paper.... the second they do that they lose the focus from the internal reflection time.
- I set a timer for anywhere from 7-12 minutes once the bell rings. I don't tell them how much time, it's a surprise and I just choose depending on what we need to get to in class or how much quiet time I need to finish my coffee! They quietly work on their prompt. The first few times I tell them if they finish early it's doodle time, or go back and look at old pages and add/reflect. It's not a time to finish homework, sleep, or get on your phone. Fill the time. Free write, draw to the music, be creative!
- I take attendance, and then do the journaling with them. Same prompt, same amount of time.
- My prompts were rarely related to music, and I adjusted them to what I thought my students needed.
See some examples below! For those that list multiple lists, I would typically pick one prompt a day rather than display that whole thing. Some days we wouldn't write, we would just color or doodle - super therapeutic! Some days we'd reflect in writing about a performance, but mostly I focused on building up the individual, positive affirmations, and gravitate. The boost in self-esteem, focus, motivation, and even energy was amazing.
Make bullet point lists of:
From bohoberry.com
Make a list of your all time favorite songs, or write out lyrics to a song and doodle to make them artsy!
Musical Reflections:
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Free write about a place you have great memories at.
From @plantosucceed on Instagram
Self-Discovery Prompts:
From crazylaura.com
From @mycanadianseoul on Instagram
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Throwback Thursday (or #tbt) is one of my favorite activities to do in the classroom. You can do with any age, and it can be as quick or fill as much time as you like!
Here's how I used the activity, but it can obviously be adapted to best fit your classroom needs & teaching style! For me, I typically did at the beginning of class right after warmups before transitioning into rehearsal, but I also had success using it as a carrot (if we get through XYZ we can do #tbt at the end of class today!) or in the middle of a rehearsal if I felt like we needed to switch things up.
Want to dive even deeper?
Keep an eye out for future posts with some of my favorite #tbt's!
Here's how I used the activity, but it can obviously be adapted to best fit your classroom needs & teaching style! For me, I typically did at the beginning of class right after warmups before transitioning into rehearsal, but I also had success using it as a carrot (if we get through XYZ we can do #tbt at the end of class today!) or in the middle of a rehearsal if I felt like we needed to switch things up.
- Let kids spread out across your room. I had enough space to tell them "you must be at least 5 feet away from another human," and I would let them choose to sit in chairs, on the floor, stand, whatever! I found that by allowing them to spread out and making them avoid other students, it helped them be present and avoid distractions. If you don't have the space to spread out, I still encourage you to have them move. Maybe a circle or move to a space that allows you to spread out?
- Remind students what their job is while the song is playing. For my class, I told them to listen for the following: 1. What instruments do you hear? 2. What voices do you hear? 3. What genre do you think this is? 4. What year do you think this is from? 5. Who is the band/artist? You can switch this up for whatever fits with your objectives or goals, but it was best for me to keep it consistent and simple.
- Tell them to close their eyes. I am that annoying teacher... "if you can see me your eyes are open" or "my eyes are open so I can see that yours aren't closed" and I would literally wait until all eyes were closed. Sometimes it was painful to wait, but it was just another way that I held kids accountable to my expectations. At the beginning of the year I would ask, "why do you think we are closing our eyes?" and would get some really neat responses on listening, our senses, and focus. You can also turn off the lights if you feel this will help.
- Play the song. Beyond reminding them of what they are listening for, we've also had discussions about being present. I'll say "when was the last time you just sat and truly listened to a song? Usually when we're listening to music we're multitasking... we're in the car, doing homework, in the shower... but right now your job is simply to rest, extend your ears, and soak in the song."
- When the song ends, tell your students to open their eyes (because lets be real, some won't until you tell them) and ask question number one! I like to go in order because I feel like you reveal more as you dive into each question. I don't tell students what is correct/incorrect, they just share guesses for each one. A talking piece is best, even if they are spread out it's usually ok to throw across the room with clear expectations. I take the time to let everyone share. You will get RIDICULOUS answers for genre and year, just wait! My favorites are kids thinking the Beatles was Backstreet Boys, that Journey was from the 1920's, and that Michael Jackson was Britney Spears (I wish I was joking and yes they were serious - enter facepalm emoji here.)
- When we get to the last question, I stop when someone guesses correctly or no one gets it right. Depending on time, I will share snippets of other songs by the same artist (do you recognize THIS one?), facts about their life, dive into the lyrics, or really anything unique or interesting that might hook the students.
Want to dive even deeper?
- Keep adding to a #tbt playlist throughout the year on Spotify or YouTube that your students can access. You'll be surprised at how often they listen!
- At back to school night, have parents write suggestions for #tbt on a notecard (this also saves you from having to come up with ideas every week!)
- Collaborate with your Social Studies teachers on a unit they are working on and choose a song that ties in - see if students make the connection!
- Ask your Administration for their song suggestions
Keep an eye out for future posts with some of my favorite #tbt's!
In our world today, teaching students to write a thoughtful, clear email is invaluable. How many times have we received emails lacking a greeting, subject line, correct spelling, or even a name!?
I teach my students how to compose an email as an assignment each Fall and it sets them up for success the rest of the school year. I set aside a chunk of class time to chat about WHY it's important to send a well-written email (it's a reflection of you and your intelligence to whoever's on the receiving end, it will serve you in the future to know how to communicate, etc.,) and then we get to work!
For my assignment, we complete this in preparation for a field trip. We talk about how their email is advocacy for our music department - they as students hold the power! I'll say something like, "In one email, you are showing teachers that students in choir are responsible, care about their work, know how to communicate, and it will not be a problem if you miss school for a music-related field trip. You are paving the way for future choir students to be able to miss school for this (insert experience here). It's really important you do this well." Furthermore, it is instilling that as their teacher the expectation is that students communicate and make up work when they are gone.
I teach my students how to compose an email as an assignment each Fall and it sets them up for success the rest of the school year. I set aside a chunk of class time to chat about WHY it's important to send a well-written email (it's a reflection of you and your intelligence to whoever's on the receiving end, it will serve you in the future to know how to communicate, etc.,) and then we get to work!
For my assignment, we complete this in preparation for a field trip. We talk about how their email is advocacy for our music department - they as students hold the power! I'll say something like, "In one email, you are showing teachers that students in choir are responsible, care about their work, know how to communicate, and it will not be a problem if you miss school for a music-related field trip. You are paving the way for future choir students to be able to miss school for this (insert experience here). It's really important you do this well." Furthermore, it is instilling that as their teacher the expectation is that students communicate and make up work when they are gone.
Using the PDF, I have each student write an email for the upcoming field trip. We talk go through the points together and get to drafting! Before they send they have a peer proof edit. Once the peer gives the go-ahead, they are instructed to send to all the teachers they will be missing (we're on block schedule so there's typically multiple) in BCC, and they CC me so I can go through and grade them. We talk about the importance of BCC'ing - you don't want everyone replying all (because we all know how that goes haha!) My rubric is simple - points for sending on time (which is easy since we do it in class), correct details (subject, field trip info, date, etc.), and correct spelling/grammar/punctuation.
For classes that don't have a field trip in the Fall, we do a mock email and they send to only me.
Besides learning how to write a great email, this lesson serves my students in so many ways - it supports clear and correct writing, it teaches them how to be professional, and it works on their communication skills. And guess what else? I hold them accountable for writing first-rate emails this way throughout the school year! I don't make them include me beyond the first one (but you could if you feel your students will need more time to build good habits), but whenever they send me an email and it's missing something from our bullet point list, I'll show them in person and have them resend it.
Other ideas to incorporate this into a lesson could be:
Your students may not continue in music the rest of their lives, but knowing how to send a well written email will serve them a long time.
For classes that don't have a field trip in the Fall, we do a mock email and they send to only me.
Besides learning how to write a great email, this lesson serves my students in so many ways - it supports clear and correct writing, it teaches them how to be professional, and it works on their communication skills. And guess what else? I hold them accountable for writing first-rate emails this way throughout the school year! I don't make them include me beyond the first one (but you could if you feel your students will need more time to build good habits), but whenever they send me an email and it's missing something from our bullet point list, I'll show them in person and have them resend it.
Other ideas to incorporate this into a lesson could be:
- Sending you an email at the beginning of the year to introduce themselves
- Writing a thank you email for teacher appreciation week
- Asking you questions they may have that are unanswered after you go through class expectations at the beginning of the year
- Reaching out to prospective middle school students introducing themselves and sharing about your program.
Your students may not continue in music the rest of their lives, but knowing how to send a well written email will serve them a long time.
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