Let’s Get Musical (and Artistic, Too!)

Jodi

As March is both “Music in Our Schools Month” and “Youth Art Month,” it’s a terrific time to highlight arts teachers who inspire students to express themselves in new and innovative ways. And guess what? You don’t have to be a classically trained musician or artist to bring this type of creativity into your classroom. Get creative with these tips from some of the marvelous music and art educators on Teachers Pay Teachers:

Celebrate Music in Our Schools Month

Lindsay Jervis
Elementary Music Teacher

1. “A fun way to bring music into your classroom is to sing daily with your students. Not only is it so important for vocal development and learning to stay in tune, but it can provide a “brain break” from testing and even aid memory. So when you want to help your kids remember important facts or the 50 States, have them sing it!”

2. “Incorporate literature that can be sung in your classroom. Many children’s books have a melody to go along with them. Sing the story to your students!”

Two great resources from Lindsay Jervis:

Freeze Dance {FREEBIE}
Songs and Games to Teach Half Note {Bundle}

Celebrate Youth Art Month

Glitter Meets Glue Designs
Elementary and Middle School Art Teacher

1. “One fun way for middle school teachers to incorporate art into their lessons is to have students illustrate intangible concepts. When I was co-teaching 7th grade, I would have my students select an element from the periodic table to research and design a superhero based on its physical properties. I encouraged them to consider the various aspects of that element, and create and label their new creation accordingly. So ‘Xenotron’ might be a fictional superhero who glows electric blue when she senses a dangerous electrical field. My students loved this project!”

Roll-A-Masterpiece: Henri Matisse Art History Game - Collage Cut Outs Sub Ideas

2. “Whether you’re an art teacher discussing Ansel Adams or a Language Arts teacher demonstrating narrative writing, photographs serve as a terrific writing prompt. Ask students to choose pre-selected images or bring their own in that they’ve taken themselves, then use the image to represent one moment in time somewhere in the story.”

Two great resources from Glitter Meets Glue Designs:

Roll-An-Aboriginal-Dreaming Game – Multicultural Collage Art Activity! (free)
Roll-A-Masterpiece: Henri Matisse Art History Game – Collage Cut Outs Sub Ideas

More Educators of the Arts

Here’s a sampling of other terrific art or music teachers on TpT, along with colorful and melodious ways they inspire students:

Cara at Miscellaneous Me
Elementary Music Teacher
“At my Texas elementary school, I make a big deal out of ‘Music in Our Schools Month’ for my students (and my colleagues!) Here’s a blog post of what I’ve done in the past to celebrate. I’ve created several bulletin board kits that highlight the benefits of music education. Here’s one: Music Sharpens My Mind Bulletin Board Kit.”

The Bulletin Board Lady-Tracy King
Elementary Music Teacher
“I love love LOVE ‘Music in Our Schools Month’! Each year, I create a big display or decorate the main bulletin board in the school, celebrating the amazing musicians in my classes. Here’s an example of last year’s display. My Exit Tickets for Music Class BUNDLED MEGA Pack are a quick and effective way to to perform formative assessments in just minutes. They’re comprised of a host of topics including instrument families, pitch names, and note names. The response I’ve received from students is tremendous — they love them!”

Joyful Noises Express
Former Music Teacher; Traveling Music Workshop Provider
“Bring on the rhythm and rhyme! Multi-sensory learning is so much fun for the kids and great for brain development, too. I love adding songs, rhymes, and games to Math, Social Studies, holiday celebrations, and (of course) Language Arts! One of my favorite resources is “Ten Rhymes for Any Time” – Rhymes and Games for A Busy Day!”

I am Bullyproof Music
Former Teacher; Writer of Empowering Wisdom Songs for Kids
A must-share story: “After receiving letters from Retta of Rainbow City Learning, telling me how her songs were inspiring her students, I reached out to tell her she had a gift for using my music to teach kids Common Core mixed with common sense. I then asked if she’d be interested in creating some lessons together. Well, that was the beginning of something great. Retta and I have discovered we are two peas in a very productive pod. We have a list of a zillion lessons we want to create for other TpT teachers. Here’s our very first: Common Core Common Sense. Lessons, posters, cards, a song, more!

Can we please take a really long moment to thank all teachers who realize lyrics can teach, can matter so much, and can leave such a powerful dent on young thinking — especially when the lyrics are packed full of wisdom and paired with an incredibly cool tune? Great lyrics are worth their weight in gold.”

Art with Jenny K
Elementary Art Teacher
“My school district holds its annual student art show in association with ‘Youth Art Month,’ so a lot of time in my art classroom is spent developing student art for display in our show. This year, our district is celebrating its 120th anniversary, and I’ve developed large mosaic portrait posters for the kids to draw of both our first superintendent as well as our current one (hopefully our current superintendent will like his portrait!) I also teach lessons this month that focus on famous artists. Here’s my Pop Art Romero Britto resource!”

Renee Goularte Share2Learn
Elementary Art Teacher
“This time of year, I like to pull together what students have learned and let them make their own creations. I put out my Art Task Cards – The Complete Set along with a slew of materials and just watch my students work. Afterwards, we have great discussions about how and why they created what they did. You’ll find more great ideas for art projects here.”