Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrument class, directs the FH Philharmonic, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory after being the director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on how to integrate tech into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), published by Oxford University Press (OUP) is available from OUP and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

Countdown to 2024: 10 Elementary Music Activities for a First Day Back to School #5

January 07, 2024  /  Amy M. Burns

#5 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Resources

Every third Monday of January, Americans observe a federal holiday that commemorates the birth of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born on January 15, 1929, and died on April 4, 1968. This holiday celebrates Dr. King's entire legacy, emphasizing civil rights, his advocacy for nonviolence to drive societal change, and his call for public service.

Many organizations and people, including the King Center and musician Stevie Wonder, worked tirelessly to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a nationally recognized holiday. With a petition, a march, and Wonder's song "Happy Birthday," they pushed for the day's passage. In 1983, the bill was passed by the House with a slim 53-vote margin. Despite a Senator's attempted filibuster, the Senate passed the bill by 12 votes. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law in November of that year. However, it wasn't until 1986 that the first federal holiday was celebrated, and at the time, only 17 states had adopted it. By the year 2000, all 50 states had made it a state holiday.

Benefits of a Music Curriculum in the Classroom

Having a music curriculum in your classroom can be a tremendous asset since it offers a wealth of resources, songs, and activities that have cross-curricular connections, so you don't have to start from scratch. Novice music educators can use the curriculum to teach about the holiday, while a seasoned music educator can use the curriculum as a foundation, supplementing it with additional resources for a more in-depth exploration. MusicFirst Elementary (MFE) is an excellent resource, featuring a range of original and public-domain songs that can be used to teach about the holiday, with various musical styles and accompanying information that can be implemented right away.

Looking for a creative way to teach your students about Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement? Look no further than the many songs available to you. You can use one of the many songs available or customize the lessons into a single unit. To do this, click on "+ My Lessons," then click on "My Workspace," then click on "My Units." From there, click on "+ Create a new unit." I recommend including the lessons "Martin Luther King" (from Grade 3), "We Shall Overcome" (from Grade 5), "Change" (from Grade 4), and "Get on Board" (also from Grade 4). With so many options, you can be flexible and choose what works best for your students.

Personally, I adore the top two songs. "Martin Luther King" by Chris Madin, arranged by Rick Coates, is an original song that blends hip-hop and rap styles. Through the Listen and Respond section, students get a great sense of who Dr. King is and how music has cross-curricular connections with what they're learning in their classrooms. "We Shall Overcome" features a beautiful recording and tells the powerful story behind the song. It also highlights how it became one of the most important protest songs in the fight for Civil Rights in America during the 1960s.

Additional Resources

Since I teach a variety of grade levels, I want to have one file that I can use throughout various classes. Therefore, I created a Google Slide Show with links to videos to enhance the lesson. In MFE, I added the Google Slide Show as a PowerPoint and a pdf. The PowerPoint can be downloaded and used separately. However, I wanted the slide show inside the MFE lesson. Therefore, I uploaded the pdf to the lesson. Now, the interactive links will lead to additional resources.

These resources include:

  • The Story of Martin Luther King by Kid President - I would use this with my younger elementary students since he explains Dr. King’s life very well, with empathy, and in terms young students would understand.

  • “Martin Luther King” by Barbara Ames - Lin Manuel Miranda’s elementary music teacher wrote this song and taught it to her students for over 20 years. In 2016, they gathered together and sang the song to share with others.

  • “Martin Luther King” by Theresa Fullbright - This song became popular over 30 years ago. Click on the picture to listen to a video of the song.

  • “Sing About Martin” by “Miss Jackie” Weissman - This is another wonderful song that many elementary music educators have included since it is a call-and-response song. I have included a video with the song, a rhythm play-along activity, and a boomwhacker play-along activity.

  • “We Shall Overcome” - This recording is from the Boston’s Children’s Chorus (BCC) and my students and I would perform a scarf routine as they listen to the song.

  • MFE’s version of “We Shall Overcome” just shows the picture from the curriculum. There is a link to click on to try the curriculum free for 30 days.

  • “Martin Luther King Jr” by Numberock - This song is also a combination of Hip Hop and Rap with a great video included that shows the life of Dr. King.

  • MFE’s version of “Martin Luther King” just shows the picture from the curriculum. There is a link to click on to try the curriculum free for 30 days.

  • Story Time with Ms. Melange - Ms. Melange recorded herself reading the book, I am Martin Luther King Jr by Brad Meltzer (Author) and Christopher Eliopoulos (Illustrator).

  • “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder - I created a recorder descant that the students can perform with an abridged version of the song. The recorder fingering images come from here.

If you would like a copy of the Google Slide Show, click here.

Come back tomorrow for #4 as we are getting closer to 2024. Don’t forget to check out the first day’s New Year’s Rhythm Play-Along video and the Steady Beat Play-Along for the youngest elementary students!

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