How can we intentionally cultivate creative skills in elementary student-musicians? What does it look like to weave student choice and collaboration throughout the learning process? This session gives a practical framework for approaching creative activities in elementary general music. Teachers will walk away with specific strategies and tools to implement more improvisation and arranging in elementary general music curricula. With an emphasis on creative problem-solving, musical interdependence, and building collaboration skills, this session provides purposeful activities to embed students’ musical choices in an elementary music setting.

Join Kate Bright as she demonstrates the power of elemental music and movement. Kate will lead participants through her story “Just Like the Moon.” Participants will learn how to address SEL learning in a music class while exploring pentatonic scales, layered ostinati, and barred instrument techniques. Participants will also learn the basics of composing in an elemental manner so they can create music for use in their own classroom.

Known for his colorful and expressive children’s stories, Gerald McDermott’s volume of literature includes folk tales from around the world that lend themselves beautifully to music making. In this interactive, hands-on session, attendees will improvise music and movement while dramatically interpreting the beloved children’s stories of Gerald McDermott. The use of handheld unpitched percussion instruments, scarves, body percussion, and other manipulatives will help bring the stories to life. Session attendees will leave feeling inspired and excited to bring this meaningful children’s literature to life in their own classroom. The session will close with a raffle to win a complete set of the McDermott books used!

In this session, authors of From Across the Street (Del Otro Lado de la Calle) will introduce session attendees to some of the Folkloric music of the Dominican people. This hands-on session will provide you with the tools you need to introduce Dominican music to your students and create lesson plans that acknowledge the rich history and culture of the Dominican Republic.

In 2012, David founded the Composers’ Guild, an after-school club for students interested in learning how to compose instrumental pieces. The program’s goal was not just to teach the fundamentals of music composition but also to have a performance component where the student’s work would be performed at an annual recital by hired musicians. Since 2012, over 80 original works have been premiered at our school, and the confidence it has instilled in so many students is unquantifiable. While rehearsal time is precious and concerts are always imminent, this session will show you the power that teaching composition, and performing those compositions, can have on your students.

Jessica Grant will lead you in exploring several familiar fairy tale stories through speech, movement, drumming, and composition activities. We’ll learn a drum ensemble section of the piece before working in small groups to summarize stories into short raps and perform it all together in a rondo form. Using the book ‘Clever Jack Takes the Cake,’ we’ll explore how we can create original musical character themes with body percussion, speech, and instruments. Join in the fun of turning stories into musical compositions!

Rhythm is fundamental in both music making and storytelling. Many cultures have used rhythm in drumming for many things (communication, dance, celebration, etc…) In this session, attendees will have a blast with improvisation, storytelling and more within a drum circle. Come ready to play!

The Rhythm of Gospel (In-Person)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that encourages educators to consider how classroom environments or curricula may inhibit learning for all students, including those with disabilities, socio-economic or cultural differences, age, and all differences. Universal Design for Learning encourages educators to consider the needs of all students through strategies that address individual needs with access embedded from the start. Come learn about the tenants of UDL, engage in example activities, and work through a lesson of your own! Please come with one lesson or activity in mind- you will use it as a basis for some of our work.

Google is so much more than a search engine! In this session, directors will learn how to use Google Workspace for increased productivity, organization, and efficiency in the music soon. You’ll gain skills to optimize Google Drive, Chrome, Gmail, Calendar, and more. Discover strategies that will help you spend less time at the computer, and more time making music.

Maximize Voice and Choice in Music Classes (Virtual)

Middle School General Music?! What?! In this workshop, participants will actively engage in simple and applicable projects and activities that encourage student ownership. Danielle and Jessica will guide you through a lesson from start to finish while providing practical ideas that will amplify your musicians’ voices.

Learn from the author of Drum o’ Clock and engage in this highly interactive session on music from Guinea.

Using the story “Something from Nothing” by Phoebe Gilman, participants will explore creativity through singing, playing, moving, and creating. Our time will culminate in a soundscape to accompany the story. This Orff-inspired session will be highly interactive and rooted in playful music-making as a way to reach students at the primary level.

There is so much to keep up with in your work and home life. It can get overwhelming trying to make sure you’re crossing all of the t’s and dotting the i’s. In this session, we’ll go over practical ways you can keep up with all of the to-do lists, so you don’t feel depleted in any area. You’ll leave this session feeling ready to start the school year in a more balanced, focused state.

Do bananas make music? In this presentation, you will discover a fun and practical way to implement S.T.E.M in your music classroom. This presentation is based on the upcoming book by Javel titled, ‘Music is Bananas.’ Learn from five famous yellow fruits! Teachers and students can see how to take a grocery item to create music and to discover that music is everywhere. (This presentation includes a demonstration of the S.T.E.M. tool Makey Makey).

This session will provide teachers with practical tools for helping students develop notational reading through literature. The Joe Family from Grand Staff and the Common Sidewalk teaches readers beginning music theory through the personification of music notes. Each note, a member of the Joe Family, has distinct attributes and funny, memorable ways of moving down the Common Sidewalk of Grand Staff. This simple text, the first in a series, challenges readers to struggle with abstract concepts, and symbols that represent an amount of sound, and metaphorically connect them to delightful characters. Grab your shoes and get ready to move. It’s time for a day trip to Grand Staff!

About one in ten students in music classrooms have ADHD, but music teachers may not feel fully equipped to best help students with ADHD. In addition, unlike many other diagnoses, teachers play a significant role in the process because symptoms must be present in more than one setting. In this session, you will learn how gender bias can prevent students from getting a correct diagnosis, how ADHD can show up in music classrooms (it’s more than just hyperactivity), and specific supports music teachers can implement to help students with ADHD succeed in their classes.

Whether you’ve inherited an established program or are building something new, this session will allow teachers to envision the path to a music program that reflects your values and strengths and that of your community. Using solo and group reflective practices, this session will reveal teachers’ values and determine how their values align (or don’t) with the activities in their classroom. Teachers will come away with clarity on which activities, programs, and projects to keep, modify, or scrap altogether.

Creativity and collaboration in the classroom are easier and more fun than you might think. This session will give you games and activities that you can use immediately to take the scariness out of composing and improvisation. Whether your classroom is virtual or in-person, these exercises can be successfully used with student groups of all sizes and experience levels. Be sure to bring your instrument so you can take part in the improvisation and composition games yourselves!

With our F-Flat community, we can be bold and gold as we cultivate community healing and joy! Alice Tsui, author of “We Are Golden”, will lead participants in an energizing music-making session filled with affirmations, sharing one’s voice, diving deeply into one’s self, and celebrating our community. Our joy is our healing, our joy is our resistance, so let’s dance and make music boldly!

All learning needs to be active and fun. Discover the importance of music, the arts, and fun as techniques for better access to literacy and academic success. Participants will be introduced to research supporting the use of play, music, and the arts as methods to stimulate synaptic growth, reduce the affective filter of learners, and incorporate language patterns and phonemes of English into everyday student learning. Join in this playful, fun workshop and explore activities that will engage all students.

In this session, authors of From Across the Street (Del Otro Lado de la Calle) will introduce session attendees to some of the Folkloric music of the Dominican people. This hands-on session will provide you with the tools you need to introduce Dominican music to your students and create lesson plans that acknowledge the rich history and culture of the Dominican Republic.

What does it mean to tell your story? And, as music educators, why is it important? In this high-energy, inspiring session, attendees will learn the following: (1) why it is essential to mine and understand our stories, (2) how connecting with students ultimately means connecting with their stories, and (3) how storytelling can transform our classroom spaces.