The First Three Classes

Kindergarten and First Grade

Good folks! If you’re like me, you’re getting prepared for another school year of teaching music and movement. These first classes are crucial for establishing good habits and procedures that will pay dividends later in the year. This post will guide you, step-by-step, to a successful launch of your school year and prepare your students for the BEST experience imaginable. But first…

Housekeeping:

My good friend just upgraded her subscription to the TEAMM. She emailed her principal and tacked the subscription fee onto the budget. In a few weeks she was reimbursed and now she’s digging through the archive of lessons and taking advantage of the tools! Principals love MusicXT because we don’t require a lot of expensive materials or instruments. It’s a minimalist approach, and requires very little annual budget! Upgrade yours today and embrace movement-centered teaching!

From the Archive:

One of the reasons it is so difficult to be a first year teacher is that SO much of the success you experience in the classroom is reliant on what you do in the first three class sessions. When you don’t realize this, understandably so because you have never experienced it before, much of the work you do in the first weeks is just flailing in the dark, grasping for anything that seems to work.

When we teach a movement-centered approach, these first classes are even more critical. The amount of structure and routine that is necessary to instill in students so that they will be able to execute big-body movement games, even on a logistical level, is staggering. I’ve seen many teachers crash and burn when they assume that students can simply follow directions and move through space in an orderly and intentional fashion. Chaos is always lurking on the periphery of the classroom when we ask students to make choices around their use of space.

Lucky for you, you are a TEAMM subscriber at MusicXT and in this post we’ll explore some of the most critical tips and activities that I use in the first three class sessions. In the first installment, we’ll look at activities I might suggest for Kindergarten and first graders, followed by second and third grade. Finally we’ll look at a few suggestion for older elementary students in fourth, fifth, or sixth.

Each post will lay some philosophical ground work for the first classes, but ultimately you’ll find each activity laid out with accompanying video. If you follow this prescription you can’t go wrong. Piano or improv skills are NOT necessary for success! Your students can benefit from the unique principles of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Enjoy the FIRST THREE CLASSES!

Kindergarten and First Grade

If you haven’t been through my Music Driven Classroom Management materials, I will reiterate the importance of procedures. Not only is it important to have procedures, it is important that they adhere to MDCM principles of PTM (Physicality, Temporality, Mutability) and that they are delivered with consistency. Personally, I always meet the students in the hallway and enter the room using PTM principles.

MDCM Webinar Wrap-Up

The first three classes should start with practicing these procedures. Even if it feels repetitive, you MUST reinforce the automatization of these critical routines. If the procedure feels dry or boring, or if the students aren’t engaged with it, its because the PTM of the procedure is not in place. Analyze the procedure and diagnose the problem. Perhaps it is not physically interesting enough, or temporal in nature. Most commonly, however, the mutability is the missing piece. How can you make the procedure more fun by adding variables?

Once we get into a circle, I’ll introduce my rules. These rules also have PTM principles. Each rule includes a physical response, a rhythmic element, as well as some mutability. I’ve found through the years that classroom rules should be as simple and general as possible.

I only use four rules: Control, Attitude, Respect, and Effort. I attach each rule with a physical gesture and choral rhythmic response. I can use these responses later to remind children of the rules and also to redirect.

After we practice the rules I’ll move to my favorite “name game.”

Again, I’ll play this name game, or variations on it, for the first three classes. It might take that long to get through the whole class anyway, and I’ll continue to play it maybe for up to 6 or 7 class sessions.

The next part of the lesson will be practicing my standing up/sitting down routine. I have some fun ways of doing this, how do you cue the children to stand up or sit down? Leave a comment below and tell us your ideas!

Once the children can stand up or sit down, I invite them to “find space.” We’ll practice a few times making good decisions about space. Ultimately we'll play my favorite game “Master of Stillness.” You see, we start every class with stillness. Silence is such an important part of music, and since our class uses movement as a means of musical expression, we need to start with stillness. Whenever I ask “who is the master of stillness?” the children will stand REMARKABLY still. I’ll let them stand there for a good minute before I announce the “Master of Stillness.”

Each class starts with those activities, but now we can do a few different games to both establish some basics of body technique and establish some good habits when managing space. You can choose which ones might be most interesting to your kids, and in any order really.

Secret Stopper:

This is a classic game that helps children to build awareness of space and follow directions.

Wiggle, Swing, and Jump:

This game is done standing in one spot, perfect for classrooms with limited space. It builds awareness of weight, following directions, synchrony, and steady beat. It also has a quick reaction element!

Ice Cream for Breakfast:

This one has a rhythmic improv element, and also is really fun!

Two Dots:

This one is a fun game that the children really enjoy and is builds their listening ability, quick reaction, predicting the future, and cooperation. They also will love the way the game scaffolds and becomes more complex as it goes.

Jump with Lèo Delibes:

This is a choreography to the Pizzicato by Lèo Delibes that is fun. It also involves listening and does not require a ton of space. You can do the activity a few times and they’ll love it.

By the third class, the students are ready to tackle the very popular BALOON TIME game!

This game really HOOKS the kids on music class and really buys me a ton of good-will. They will follow me much more willingly after we do this game. It is vibrant and colorful and beautiful!

It is important to remember that the goal of these first three classes is NOT any musical content or elements. Rather, it is simply to set the foundation for the rest of the year. The goal is to prime the students for expressive movement, to introduce simple body technique, and to encourage good habits for space management and behavior expectations.