Resources - Note Knacks

RESOURCES

Teaching elementary music takes more than great lessons—you need practical ideas for everything that happens in between. Teaching also means having lots of ideas—and knowing what to use when. Our Resources page is your Go-To Toolkit, filled with practical activities, strategies, and teaching tools for the entire year. Explore ideas for running your classroom, creating learning centers, managing transitions and having fun games and activities ready when your students need something to do. This page will be here for making music teaching easier, more engaging, and more fun.

And this is just the beginning! I’ll be adding new ideas, activities, and practical teacher tips regularly, so check back often. My goal is to keep building a collection of resources you can turn to whenever you need a fresh idea, a little inspiration, or a solution to one of those “What am I going to do with them today?” moments.

Chutes and Ladders Vocal Warm Up

by Note Knacks Music

I am always looking for fun ways to warm up the kids voices. I have used the handy dandy slide whistle, lines on the board, sirens, etc.…., but for the little ones I thought it would be fun to use a familiar game. I came up with the idea when I was playing around with […]

Create A “Morning Message”

by Note Knacks Music

When I taught in a combined first and second grade regular classroom, the head teacher always wrote a “morning message” that was to be read as soon as the students came in the classroom in the morning. This message often included the activities of the day or something special that was going on soon. It […]

Curriculum Decisions Part 1: My Top 5 Resources For Creating A Curriculum

by Note Knacks Music

When one moves schools, a lot goes through one’s brain: What space will I be working in? What materials and resources will I have available? How many kids in a class and how often will I see them? What special needs will arise? How is disciplined handled? …and then there is the major question of: […]

Why Sharing Is A Four-Letter Word

by Note Knacks Music

Yesterday I was at a playground in an open mall here in GA with my daughter. She saw a wall activity where kids can flip a series of large tiles. Although another child was playing, she thought she would join in. He got angry at the intrusion and pushed her away. His mom immediately jumped […]

Mindfulness In The Music Classroom

by Note Knacks Music

“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” – Mindful.org Last Saturday I attended a workshop by Brenda Barr on this topic. It was perfect timing as the holiday season is upon […]

4 Must-Haves to get ready for the School Year

by Note Knacks Music

Classroom Set Up Part 3: A “New Set Up Scavenger Hunt”

by Note Knacks Music

I have been living in my current house for 6 years, yet there was nothing on the walls, really, until about 3 weeks ago. My sister and a dear friend of mine were coming to visit from Rhode Island (where I am from), so I thought it was time I decorated…. at least the first […]

Classroom Set Up Part 2: Get Ready In 4 Easy Steps!

by Note Knacks Music

As promised, here’s a first look at my classroom! The floors were done last week, so everything was in a new place. This actually was quite helpful, as I was able to see the room arranged in a different way. It was by no means a set up that would work, but it offered another […]

Getting Back To Centers: A Listening Activity

by Note Knacks Music

This activity you can do as a center, in small groups or as a whole class. For the center activity, you will need listening center equipment, which can be expensive, so opting to do this as a whole class or in small groups makes sense! The goal here is to take the skill of identifying […]

Center Series: Activities

by Note Knacks Music

For the first week of school, my goal was for the activity to be familiar for the kids returning and simple enough for any newcomers. I also wanted it to be fun and unexpected! I created task cards for each group to help them be more independent ~ they worked really well in that kids […]

Center Series: Logistics

by Note Knacks Music

When creating a center based curriculum, there are a lot of logistics involved beyond what concepts/ skills you want your kids to learn. Questions arise: what procedures need to be taught? What materials are involved? Do I need to set them up, or can the kids do it? How does only having 20 minutes play […]

The Steady Beat Freeze Game Updated

by Note Knacks Music

When I was a teacher, I was always looking for new ways to practice the steady beat with my students. And while kids LOVE the Freeze game, even our favorite activities can start to feel a little predictable after a while!

So why not combine the two?