Planner Cover!

So you've figured out the parts of the planner that you want to use.  You've downloaded everything and only printed what you need... but now there are more decisions... 

Binding v.s. hole punching 

1. I LOVE notebooks!  but  having relied on notebooks all these years I've had one too many binders bust open when they are knocked to the floor.
2.  My planners are most likely to bust open when a student backs into my music stand and knocks it over... It doesn't happen very often unless my binder is on the music stand ready to bust open and then it happens all the time.  
3. HOWEVER, if you have an uncertain schedule, or if you anticipate a change then a notebook with hole punched pages is your very best friend.  
4. 
   

Covers, Lamination, Tabs and Dividers 

1.  I've included cover pages in my planner.  Last  year I just printed them on plain paper, but this year I've decided to print them on card stock.  I have too many sections to use the tabs offered in the print options, and I'm rather fond of the post it tabs so I'm going to use those rather than get them printed.  

2.  After using the planner for a year, I also recommend getting your covers thickly laminated.  Thick enough seems to be 10 mm... I had the left, top and bottom trimmed so that the page could fit into the binding and then I CAREFULLY trimmed the corners so that they were rounded rather than sharp.   I left the laminated edge on the right side so that I can add my tabs later. 

3.  I have pictures of family on my cover and like to personalize it, but if you are stretched for time and want something easy, feel free to use this cover. 

To download this planner cover 

Click HERE

2015-2016 Revised Music Teacher Planner - Chapter 5 - Meetings, Notes and Budgets

This chapter is the final chapter of the planner.  You will find a variety of note taking templates for all of the wonderful meetings we get to attend.  For myself, I find it useful to keep my professional development notes separate from my every day meetings.  I also found that this last year, my notes section wasn't quite big enough, so I decided to actually remove my weekly calendar to buy some additional note taking real estate.  

You will also find budget and financial planning templates in this chapter.

Being good stewards of the resources we are entrusted with is extremely important.  To do less than our best in this area can only cause problems.  Furthermore, when you are trying to build or maintain a solid program, investments in music and equipment are necessary.  In these days when budgets are always decreasing while the needs stay constant, it's a great idea to get creative about how we find resources.  Multiple funding opportunities means a need for very purposeful planning and record keeping so that you can make every work for your program.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 5 HERE

If you would like to download chapter 1 click   HERE! 

If you would like to download chapter 2 click HERE! 

If you would like to download chapter 3 click HERE! 

If you would like to download chapter 4 click HERE! 

Advise about printing:  

The PDF files that are linked here include pages as I have them set up for my own planner.  Your needs may be different than mine so feel free to print more or less of any given page. You will notice that each page is either left or right of center.  This is to allow for binding or hole punching. 

For best results try to arrange your planner so that when your book is open an even numbered page is on the left and an odd numbered page is on the right.  

Please remember that all parts of this planner are intended as a gift to busy music teachers who spend hours of their own time and regularly contribute their own money to the cause of making their music classrooms a haven of learning through music.  If you choose to use any part of this planner please do not sell it.  If you choose to share any part of this planner with others, please share the link to the blog rather than downloading and then mass producing planners for others.

If you find any part of the planner useful or if you have a request or suggestion please leave a comment below.

Rhythm Karate - FREE Download! - when the best ideas of others foster the best ideas in me!

Last year around this time of year I looked up at the clock and noticed that my 2nd graders had finished our entire lesson, AND played several of my best games AND we STILL  had 10 minutes left!!!!  ...  I'll admit that I wasn't feeling particularly inspired, but I wanted to try my best to review known concepts because being May, I knew that I would only see my kiddos a couple more times.... AND I wanted to have fun because once again, being May I knew that nothing less than fun would be motivational for my students.

So across the room I spied my set of handy dandy color coordinated rhythm flashcards.  At this school I have the ones created by Denise Gange.  They can be purchased HERE!  

I looked at the clock one more time and I said, "Let's play Rhythm Karate!" Even as I said it, I was remembering the fantastic motivation that happens with Music K-8 Recorder Karate and doing some quick thinking about how to turn my borrowed idea into a fun whole group review of rhythm on the fly....  and what about belts?  I didn't have any!  YIKES!   

 I asked my students to look the first  card over and figure out how they would read it, play it and say it.... 

 Then the entire class played and said the first card.... and the second.... until we reached the end of the first color...   If the performance was sloppy, we repeated it and cleaned it up....   If a rhythm was unfamiliar, I would pause and ask questions until the students could teach each other how to perform the rhythm... As the cards flew by the students got more and more excited and more focused,  Because effort and focus was high, even my students who would ordinarily be left behind were keeping up...   Once a color was completed, we cheered and I wrote down on their seating chart that they had earned their white belt... that's it!  I just told them, "You've just earned your white belt!"  "Hooray!"  At which point they were SOOOOO excited that they literally BEGGED to earn another belt right then!  Did I mention that they were excited?  No physical belts required!  If time allowed, we would do a couple of cards from the next belt and then I'd notate on their seating chart the number of the card where they left off.... easy as pie!  

   

The students were so excited about it that I tried it again  the next day and my partner teacher next door tried it and loved it!  Everyone was on task, everyone was excited and everyone was able to progress at a good pace through the cards.    

The next time I saw them they immediately asked which belt they would get to earn today and in about 15 minutes they were able to read, say and play all of the orange cards (that contained most of the 2nd grade rhythms)  and had started the next set of cards that we were preparing for 3rd grade...

This year we decided to include the activity in our lesson plans for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade... Because of natural mobility, we decided it might be best to start on the first set of cards regardless of grade level.  This is great because it gives some of my struggling students the confidence early on because as the colors change the cards get progressively harder.... Starting from the beginning also helps correct lazy and thoughtless habits of students who really have it but need to practice precision. 

Additionally, when you have a class that doesn't immediately fall under the "karate spell" (I have one out of 12 classes) adding unpitched percussion is awesome!    You will want to have a plan for rhythms that contain notes with longer duration like half notes... How do you want those notes played?  However with a plan in place, it is a great strategy because the karate mindset promotes personal discipline which means that poor instrumental technique can cause a class to have to perform the flash card a second or third time. No more sloppy practice!  

We also started posting the belts earned on our board.  I put a class name and then the belt earned next to it.... They enjoy the posting of results so much that my older students are asking when it will be their turn to play.  I have also created a certificate that classes can post on their doors that will declare which belts they have earned.  

This is a GREAT end of the year review activity! I hope you enjoy! 

Download the certificates for FREE!  below! 

3 belt rhythm karate certificate 

1 belt rhythm karate certificate  

I plan on using this poster with 1st grade

This version is nice because it's not limited to certain colors and you can give out as many as you like. 

2015-2016 Revised Music Teacher Planner - Chapter 4 - Performances, Volunteers and Field Trips

I've learned quite a bit using this planner and you are going to benefit as I've made some changes particularly to chapter 4.

The biggest change from the original planner is that I've  moved the volunteer information and tracking charts to the Performances and Field Trips sections because in real life, that is when I need them most.   My hope is that when I am talking with parents on the phone or sitting with them in a planning meeting, I'll be able to quickly jot down who is doing what and not have to spend any time flipping through the right page.  

I've also adjusted the riser seating charts a little as I've used them more.  My school fluctuates in size rather dramatically from year to year.  Last year we had 12 classes in each grade level while this year we had 8.  The number of risers I have never changes, so I need options for riser assignments to keep me sane.  

It's important to remember that not all pages are pictured below.  In order to see the full range of options, please download. 

In my planner I include the following 2 page layout for each performance on the calendar.  For me that includes, Kinder, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 2 Choir performances.

•  an ideas page 
•  a volunteer / to do list 
•  enough riser charts to fit both mine and my co-teachers classes (2-3 pages) depending on the  size of the grade level
• a small performances page - 5th grade "graduation", Volunteer Appreciation Brunch, and whatever comes up throughout the year when some sort of musical performances is requested. 

Then I include the following 2  page layouts for each field trip I take during the year.  For me that is 1 5th grade trip and 2 choir trips. 

• field trip planner page
• checklist page - I made this after I printed my own planner but I hope it's helpful
• chaperon assignment sheet - I wish I had included this one too...hopefully next year...

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 4 HERE

If you would like to download chapter 1 click   HERE! 

If you would like to download chapter 2 click HERE! 

If you would like to download chapter 3 click HERE! 

Advise about printing:  

The PDF files that are linked here include pages as I have them set up for my own planner.  Your needs may be different than mine so feel free to print more or less of any given page. You will notice that each page is either left or right of center.  This is to allow for binding or hole punching. 

For best results try to arrange your planner so that when your book is open an even numbered page is on the left and an odd numbered page is on the right.  

Please remember that all parts of this planner are intended as a gift to busy music teachers who spend hours of their own time and regularly contribute their own money to the cause of making their music classrooms a haven of learning through music.  If you choose to use any part of this planner please do not sell it.  If you choose to share any part of this planner with others, please share the link to the blog rather than downloading and then mass producing planners for others.

If you find any part of the planner useful or if you have a request or suggestion please leave a comment below.

2015-2016 Revised Music Teacher Planner - Chapter 3 - Roadmaps, Checklists, lesson plans and calendars

I use this section of my planner to plan my year. Without this section of the planner I would be          L O S T .  My favorite part is the "roadmapping pages".  I find that I refer to them throughout the year as I write lesson plans and make adjustments as needed.  In order to make the file a manageable size I only included "master" roadmapping pages and "master" lesson plans pages.  You will want to consult a calendar and figure out how many you need.  When I printed my personal planner I included two more than the calendar led me to believe I would need. 

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 3 HERE

Use this template to decide when each standard will fit best within your grading timeframe

Use this template to build a "roadmap" for each grade level.  As each lesson is taught, check it off so that you can keep track of what specific groups are missing

Use this lesson plan template to add details to your lessons - Since my district uses an online system, I don't include this template in my personal planner anymore. 

Use this calendar to track when lessons are taught.

If you would like a blank calendar to use year after year, or a weekly calendar you can click HERE! 

Advise about printing:  

The PDF files that are linked here include pages as I have them set up for my own planner.  Your needs may be different than mine so feel free to print more or less of any given page. You will notice that each page is either left or right of center.  This is to allow for binding or hole punching. 

For best results try to arrange your planner so that when your book is open an even numbered page is on the left and an odd numbered page is on the right.  

Please remember that all parts of this planner are intended as a gift to busy music teachers who spend hours of their own time and regularly contribute their own money to the cause of making their music classrooms a haven of learning through music.  If you choose to use any part of this planner please do not sell it.  If you choose to share any part of this planner with others, please share the link to the blog rather than downloading and then mass producing planners for others.

If you find any part of the planner useful or if you have a request or suggestion please leave a comment below.