Every grade level that comes into the music room has a different set of concepts you need to cover. It’s the how to do it part that can get a bit confusing. When you use concept based teaching in the music room, you’ll notice how much more efficient and effective lesson planning becomes. Instead of wondering what to teach and when, you know that you’re focusing on the concepts and are checking for student understanding.
In this blog post, and on episode 232 of The Elementary Music Teacher podcast, I’ll talk about how to use concept based teaching in the music room and why it’s helpful to do things this way. Oh yeah, and make sure to sign up to attend the “How to Design Curriculum for your Elementary Music Classroom” workshop that’s coming up soon.
Concept Based Teaching
When I was in college, we were taught how to lesson plan. But, I was so stressed about knowing what songs and activities to use, and didn’t understand how to effectively plan. So, I started my elementary music teaching career and just kind of “hoped for the best” when planning each week. My lessons went okay, but I realized I would get towards the end of a 9-week period and my students didn’t fully grasp certain teaching concepts. So, I had a mindset shift and realized I was planning all wrong. I began using concept based teaching in the music room, instead of planning on a whim. Concept based teaching is simply allowing your students to have a deeper understanding about a topic taught. So, basically you’re focusing on the bigger picture, like in a unit, instead of the smaller picture, like in a single lesson.
Planning around the Concepts
When lesson planning, a lot of times a music teacher will plan for “singing” or “instruments” instead of processing what concepts these activities will be covering and the purpose behind doing them. So, when planning around the concepts, if your students are singing in the music room, the concept you might be covering is “singing in a round”. When you know students are focusing on round singing, then you can think through the how. Will they be doing this in a center activity? Are students going to be singing with a partner, in a small group, or as a whole class? Are they singing a familiar song or something new? A thought process just like this should continue when you’re planning around every concept for every grade level. There should always be a rhyme to your reason, in other words.
Give yourself Time
When planning around concepts, it takes time to figure out how to best do this. My biggest piece of advice is to give yourself time. Maybe you want to start by focusing on one grade level at a time. Or, maybe you want to focus on one concept at a time. Or, maybe you even want to focus on one month at a time. Whatever the case may be, reframing the way you lesson plan takes consistent effort. Just like with anything else in teaching, you won’t know how to do something new right away. But, keep trying, and you’ll figure out a system and an approach that works best for you.
How are you using concept based teaching in your music room? Tell me about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post. I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it too.
P.S. Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher? Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!
Also…I wrote a book called “Make A Note: What You Really Need To Know About Teaching Elementary Music” to help music teachers move forward in your teaching career. You can get your copy here.
