Elementary Teacher workshops

Help! I Am Teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten Music

If early childhood, Pre-K, and kindergarten music are on your schedule and you aren't confident with teaching at that level, this clinic is for you! Burns will share some of the activities, resources, and lessons she has used with her PreK students for the past 25 years.

Bringing out your students' creative sides!

Tag along with Burns and unlock the creative genius in your students! We'll jam out to familiar tunes, play exciting games, and even throw in a few tech tricks to pump some life into your classroom- whether you're working with one device or a whole cart. From preschoolers to upper elementary, we'll dish out some cross-curricular activities that will have your students buzzing with excitement!

Free Internet Resources for the Elementary Music Educator:

There's a treasure trove of freebies waiting to jazz up music classes for elementary educators! Dive into this workshop and score a shiny new tool or two to add some zing to your classroom jam sessions!

10 Ways to Use Canva in the Elementary Music Classroom

Ever been intrigued by Canva but felt lost in the creative jungle? Or maybe you've dipped your toes in but crave more design wizardry? Follow Burns on a magical journey as she unveils 10 (plus a few surprises!) ways to rock Canva in the elementary music classroom. Let's paint some musical masterpieces!

How Can I Create Play-Along Videos with Mostly Free Tools?

Play-along videos have become popular because they can be used for meeting performance standards, for retrieval practice, and at times, just as fun musical activities before a break. But how can one be made so that it blends into your curriculum, using mostly free tools? Burns will show you how to create them so that they meet your curriculum.

Creative Technology Tools for Your Elementary Music Classroom

There's a tech jungle out there, making it feel like a maze! Fear not, Burns is gearing up to unveil a treasure trove of tech goodies, from freebies to splurge-worthy treats, all set to ignite your students' musical genius!

Strong Foundations: Technology Tools for Elementary Music using MusicFirst Elementary

Explore MusicFirst Elementary, a cloud-based platform containing a user-friendly K–5 music curriculum for teachers of all experience levels, non-specialists included. Learn about state-of-the-art music teaching resources and on-screen teaching and learning tools, allowing for extensive personalization and customization.

Seesaw in the elementary music classroom: bring your music classroom to your parents' mobile devices

In your elementary music classroom, the focus is on music-making, music creation, and music performance among other activities. But how do you convey this to the parents of your students? Moreover, how can students track their musical development from the start to the end of the year? Introducing Seesaw, a digital learning portfolio for students, which has revolutionized the elementary music classroom. Amy will demonstrate how the free version can be utilized to display students' musical achievements, compositions, curriculum links, and their musical advancement over the school year.

Chromebooks in the Elementary Music Classroom

Technology is increasingly prevalent in education, with teachers now being assessed on their utilization of technology in the classroom. When students are already heavily engaged with technology at home, striking a balance in incorporating technology into elementary music classes while ensuring the primary focus remains on creating music is crucial. Burns will explore this challenge and present various methods to incorporate Chromebooks into elementary music classes without losing sight of the objective of creating music. She will share successful practices from her own elementary music classroom, as well as introduce websites, programs, and cloud-based applications - ranging from free to subscription-based - and strategies for managing a classroom equipped with 1:1 Chromebooks. Participants will leave the workshop with practical ideas and tools to implement in their own classrooms as soon as Monday morning. This comprehensive session is ideally structured as a two-day workshop.

Lesson plans: elementary general music classroom with iPads

When elementary general music educators receive iPads without much training, they require resources for support. Amy will demonstrate several effective lessons from her classroom and provide great resources for incorporating iPads into elementary music classes. Amy emphasizes how iPads can serve as a tool to enrich the existing curriculum or teaching method.

Using Technology to Assess in the Elementary Music Classroom:

Technology has enhanced the effectiveness of assessments, particularly for music educators who instruct over 100 students weekly. In this workshop, elementary music educators will learn diverse methods to assess students using a single device or multiple devices.

Lesson PLans: using technology with elementary music approaches

This workshop explores numerous methods to incorporate technology into elementary music classes for music creation, performance, appreciation, and engagement. It will delve into effective techniques using iPads, Chromebooks, Interactive Boards, or mobile music classes and how to align them with your existing music curriculum. Burns will showcase how technology can aid students in composing, performing, and engaging with music through elementary methodologies by Dr. Feierabend, Kodály, and Orff Schulwerk. To fully grasp all the content, this workshop is recommended to span over two days.

Integrating Across the Curriculum: Using Technology to Integrate Elementary General Music with Other Subjects

If you have been asked to show how you integrate your elementary music classes with other subjects, this is the workshop for you! Participants will learn how technology can assist with integration while keeping the music curriculum intact.

STEAM IN THE ELEMENTARY MUSIC CLASSROOM

Can STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) be incorporated into the elementary music classroom while keeping the music curriculum intact? What resources are available to music educators? Amy will demonstrate STEAM projects from her classrooms and give numerous ideas to incorporate STEAM into the music classroom.

Creating & Composing Music with Younger Elementary Students

Using technology can help very young students create and compose music. Burns will show activities and creations/compositions from her early childhood/elementary music classrooms that vary from limited technology to 1:1 classrooms. She will also discuss how these technological tools already complement creating and composing music through visuals, movement, and performing on instruments.