#musedchat Archive
Each Monday evening at 8PM EST, music teachers get together and share ideas about important topics within music education. It’s a great chance to interact directly with educators from all over the world and to get new tips and tricks to help you succeed in the classroom. The entire #musedchat discussion is organized and moderated by Joe Guarr.
Monday October 3, 2016
It's time! Our topic tonight: Lesson planning. Be sure to introduce yourself.
Hi all! Jason here from MA. HS choral teacher. Happy October!
Joe, MS band/music tech. Ann Arbor-ish, MI.
Good to see you tonight Jason, hope your October is off to a good start
Caitlin, MS Orchestra in Farmington Hills, MI, hello!
Hi all, my name is Marc. Aspiring CA music/choral teacher
Greetings! Amy from MI. Middle school band teacher.
Welcome to the chat Marc, glad to have you with us
How are you tonight, Amy?
Sorry, , just got home and checking in late! Tweeting from colorful Colorado!
Welcome, Marc! Always great to see pre-service teachers in Twitter chats!
Only been to Colorado once but it was stunning. Good evening to you!
Are you two sitting in the same room while doing this chat too? :)
Regretting scheduling a bunch of due dates for today with P/T conferences this week, but otherwise doing well. You?
The madness of homecoming week is all done, so life is good.
Same here. Did you guys get soaked too? We had a pretty soggy night, but the kids had fun.
It didn't start pouring until after we'd decided to march pregame without raincoats...
Q1: How many of you are required to turn in lesson plans during the year? Is there a prescribed format for doing so?
Oh no! We were super lucky that had enough coats to literally cover my kids. Kept things much cozier.
A1: I am not, so I’m curious to see how people answer.
Sara, MS band from IL checking in late in between acting as a taxi for kiddos.
A1: Only have to turn in lesson plans for official observations. For those, there are required elements.
Good to see you Sara, hope you're doing well
Ben, MS band/general music. Cleveland-ish, but with a lighthouse.
A1: I am required to turn in weekly lesson plans. have a format but it doesn't always work. Rely on strong unit and cmp plans.
Good to see you tonight Ben. Enjoy winning the B1G this season :(
A1: A1: Considering I'm in a pre-credential class, yes I do. Luckily, only two!!
A1: Weekly plans are technically required, but for the purpose of sharing w/ others in your dept. Since I'm solo in my bldg...
My question, though, is do you add Common Core "standards" into your music lessons? If so, how?
Young team still. Afraid of the animals at Camp Randall and always afraid of the rivalry.
A1: Never have to turn lesson plans in...never have to a school admin!
Ugh. Lesson plans I had to write for college classes were far more involved than anything I've ever done as a teacher.
A1: only have to submit a lesson plan for formal eval twice a year, no required format but required elements
When standards are reqd, I usually use state standards.
A lot of people will just abbreviate the standards next to the activity.
No. I rallied hard to keep the scope of my plans to the ncas. Strong music instruction needed to be 1st.
Same here. Good practice to think through everything. But never happens in "real life".
Q2: What's your approach to lesson planning on a daily basis? How do you decide what the day will look like?
I don’t add standards to each plan, but I do keep a binder with them available for reference if needed.
A2: I plan 1 week at a time. Based on previous classes & Ss' practice assignments, what I hear needs work. Also have a weekly...
A1: ASTA has a great curriculum they developed and they made a quick refer poster for the 'standards' https://t.co/INwriiISOi
Always loved a quote from 1 of my favorite professors: Don't teach the standards, good teaching includes them
A2b: ...structure - normal rehearsal on M/T/Th, Wed = projects, Fri = YouTube video, then regular rehearsal.
A2: I try to plan backwards.
"Oct: What skills/songs/sections should we have learned."
Pace lessons/rehearsals from there.
A2: I actually kind of reverse plan, I write down what I did after class to keep me on track for the next day
Due to SIG status, my plans have to very detailed and tied closely to standards. It's a pain but I've learned new stdrds quickly
Samesies. Desk and scores currently covered in Post-Its. https://t.co/i4MbdZPigV
A2: I actually kind of reverse plan, I write down what I did after class to keep me on track for the next day
A2: Keep a notepad, iPad, old hall pass nearby for rehearsal notes. Always construct plans day of with prev lesson ideas in mind
A2: Day-to-day planning occurs based on notes from previous rehearsal
A2: I do some light score study/skimming in the AM before classes to plan details. Big ideas based on previous class needs
A2: I follow Marzano's 4 questions. No joke.start with needs then indicators of proficiency. Plan from there.
A2: Piano & Theatre classes are planned more weekly with assessments, quizzes, and activities rounding out each week.
Spinoff of Q2 - how often do you use (individual) student practice/playing tests to drive lesson planning?
A2: Plans are day to day and class to class. Each moves at its own pace w/ its own challenges.
Love that quote. Focus on teaching, and if you need to show standards, you can figure out language later
A2 Spinoff: For my piano classes, daily. Theatre less so, with choral ensembles being least. Maybe unfortunately so.
A2.1: Always build on previous day's experiences and have an eye out for spontaneous extra lessons to include daily.
As often as possible. My kids fill out practice reflections and tell me what they need to work on. Can plan w/ that.
every time I have individual practice playing exams. Why else would I have them?
I'm afraid to ask: is there a stigma about "winging it"? I find manyt days, a sketch plan allows the group to adjust as needed
A2: Ss will be my main focus in determining what each class day will look like and what material could be covered Plan day to day
I'm afraid to ask: is there a stigma about "winging it"? I find many days, a sketch plan allows the group to adjust as needed
god I hope there's no stigma...
A2: I'm learning that feedback from SS is very critical to planning days
I'm curious about the mix you all use. Music is such a group activity. How to balance group/ind needs? https://t.co/DeD6t11drw
Spinoff of Q2 - how often do you use (individual) student practice/playing tests to drive lesson planning?
I try not to as much as humanly possible. Improvisation is essential, but without a plan I lose my mind.
I'd rather spend my plan time on details to help my kids improve, rather than micromanaging.
Many days may look like I'm "winging it," but often have a general, but highly flexible plan in place.
How often do you include these?
I don't think an experienced educator in that situation is really winging it. At that point you are assess. needs.
Don't get me wrong, I make schedules and color-coded everything. But never "hit m.64, 67, 102" in my daily plans.
I might make a plan to say, address articulations from m.40-48.
That's a good thing to learn. Meeting Ss where they are rather than plowing through if they're lost is important.
3 to 4 times per quarter formally.
Something else inevitably pops up when working on that section, and the rest of the days plans change
Pretty typical "planning" for me! Sometimes I have specific targets, sometimes it's very flexible.
"warm ups in F Major today to reinforce key in second piece."
A huge weakness of mine is I tend to want to plow through my objectives rather than meet Ss where they are & take time.
I spend tons of time trying to gear warm-ups to rehearsal that day. Some work more than others.
lol more often than not I'm winging it
Where do you write "pop flute spring back in while conducting" in lesson? They didn't teach us that at OSU
Switched to Sound Innovations this yr & liking it. Easy to find exercises that fit current needs.
In between, “find valve oil for horns” and “find nurse for dizzy student”.
:-)
Ah, that oboe is out of adjustment again. Right on schedule.
Probably right next to "put trumpet valves back together."
Q3: What sort of collaborative planning do you engage in throughout the year?
I find I spend too much time addressing student needs, ended up spending 30 min on warmup/technique today... oops
Q3: In the process of setting up site visits to observe other choral teachers in district. Compare process & routine.
A3: Work w/ teaching partner to brainstorm and keep our sections of beginners on pace together.
Sorry I'm in and out, guys. It's feeling stormy here and my wifi is going crazy!
Do you get release/PD time to do that?
We’re working it out. There’s a little bit of prep time that might work or we may work out some other time. In the works…
That sort of thing is super valuable, definitely wish we had more time to do it
Omg this x100! My observers always pop in at these times. Danielson flexibility and responsiveness? https://t.co/aAXJZJAKg1
Where do you write "pop flute spring back in while conducting" in lesson? They didn't teach us that at OSU
Hey Antoine here sorry I'm late putting the bambinis to sleep what did I miss
A3: we have a 3-week rotation of music literacy "bell ringers" planned by b/c/o Ts - try to engage other Mus TS regularly
A3.1: 4 C's!! Collaboration = 1 of 'em. 1 of the best ways to learn.
A3a: Lucky to have 2 outstanding MS band colleagues in dist. We chat informally and meet when possible to exchange plans/ideas
A3.2: I'm always reaching out to other music ts in the area to see wht worked & wht didnt.
A3: Share an office w/band, choir, & general mus Ts so we talk all the time. We do an informal orch PLC about 1x/month.
Good to see you Antoine. Talking about our approaches to lesson planning.
A1 none. Only need to do so during an evaluation year which is every 5 years
for the beginning of the year the sounds about right.
A3b: Try to check up on choir/orch and see where they are as well (& to steal ideas). In past, would observe friends out of dist
A3: We occasionally get an hour of PD on Friday to collab. Unfortunately HS/MS, and intermediate bell schedules don't align
A3: 2-ms district. Both 8th grade women's choirs are learning 1 common piece - sharing Ts electronically and in person
A3: Makes it tough to meet as an entire department
If you haven't read "The Music Lesson" written by Victor Wooten... I encourage it!
A3: Daily Plc with art and choir Ts to help each other plan around standards and have a sounding board for ideas.
I thought this was a hatespeech free zone. I need a chaperone.
A3: Informal orch PLC = let's all meet somewhere after work. We just talk shop and share ideas. No agenda.
How much time do you get for your daily PLC?
55 minutes 4 times a day. We are lucky.
One of my grad school profs published a paper that said some of the best PD happens around the bar at conferences...
the upside of having to turn in detailed plans is that we have time to actually make them I guess.
Through no fault of my present company, gravity is currently winning in the battle of eyes open vs eyes closed. Time for sleep.
A3 it's tough to collaborate when you're the only one teaching Instrumental. I collaborate with you peeps on
A3 I actually put this discussion of on my year objectives. Have been doing so for the past 3 years
A3 I actually put this discussion of on my year objectives. Have been doing so for the past 3 years
There's a lot of truth to that!
I used this chat as Danielson domain 1 and 4 evidence.
Q4: Do you ever pull back the curtain and let the students in on the lesson plans? To what degree?
I’ve tried to have some conversations w/Ss about how they learn music effectively to help shape mine.
A4: working on this one. Start every rehearsal going over our objective and briefly how it relates to our standards.
A4 I have kids at times choose three pieces two traditional concert band and one fluff ie. Pop tune
A4: I like to give Ss choice. I have them fill out google form so I can plan the next topic.
A4: I usually have pieces & measure numbers or large-scale objectives posted. Ss know what we will be working on.
A4: I do share quite a bit w/them about my thought process, too. Hoping some if it will sink in to guide their own thinking?
A4: But maybe that's a personality thing. I tend to be very open w/my Ss.
A4: I will always explain why we're doing what we're doing. Kid-friendly explanations but won't dumb it down.
A4: General outline of the day's plans gets posted on the board each day
A4: I also try to project an objectives slide each day for my concert choir.
Same here. I know they get bombarded with info daily, but a view into how we think and operate can be big.
Also helps them know I have a reason for (almost) everything. Then they are more understanding!
Burton Hable, Assistant Director of Bands at Centennial HS in Ankeny, IA. Jumping in late after making dinner!
How are you tonight, Burton?
A4: Share a general outline, similar to . Want to involve them more in the planning aspect. What needs to get better? How?
