7:00pm Eastern

The Elementary Music Summit Kickoff Call

with Bryson Tarbet, M.M.Ed.

Join us for the start of the Elementary Music Summit®! Join us for the Kickoff Call where we will set the stage for an exciting event filled with learning, inspiration, and community building. In this session, we'll outline what to expect, share tips on how to make the most of your summit experience, and ignite your passion for elementary music education.

This is your chance to connect with fellow educators, get motivated, and gear up for an incredible journey of professional growth. Let's kick off the summit with energy and enthusiasm, setting the tone for the best summit yet!

9:30am Eastern

¡Cantemos y juguemos!

with Ani Silva-Berrios

Let's sing and play! Learning a variety of songs and games to create a joyful and playful musical experience for your students.

10:45am Eastern

Maximizing Engagement with Project-Based Learning in the Middle School Music Room

with Alessandra Santaguida

Looking to engage your middle school music students with project-based learning, but not sure where to start? This session will offer specific strategies and teaching ideas to put students at the centre of their own learning through project-based learning opportunities. Please note: This session is pre-recorded but will still be broadcasted live from the Mainstage.

12:00pm Eastern

Teacher's Pet: Loving Your Voice While Teaching Your Students

with Dr. Jennifer Whitehead

"Teacher's Pet" is a presentation acknowledging the vocal health challenges inherent in teaching with creative strategies for managing them. It includes valuable, in-depth vocal health information specific to the needs of teachers, as this group must carefully manage the "teacher's pet" - their own, irreplaceable, valuable, and precious voice.

2:00pm Eastern

Tune In: Integrating Pop Culture Trends into Music Education

with Gina Vidak

Join us for an interactive workshop designed to help music educators stay in tune with the latest pop culture trends and seamlessly incorporate them into their music education program. In this session, participants will explore innovative strategies for leveraging popular music, media, and technology to engage students and enhance musical learning experiences.

3:15pm Eastern

Move It, Move It

with Stephanie Leavell, MT-BC

Music therapist Stephanie Leavell offers a dynamic approach to classroom management by exploring various types of movement songs and how they can be strategically sequenced for sensory regulation. Attendees will gain practical insights and a toolkit of movement songs to implement in their own classroom, enhancing engagement, learning, and overall well-being.

4:30pm Eastern

Add to Your Collection of Songs and Activities: Music and Movement for All!

with David Bedard

Add to your already existing repertoires! Attendees can expect this session to be filled with songs and music-and-movement activities that can be used right away that foster kindness, deepen community, and meet children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and motor needs.

This session aims to leave attendees with some new songs and music-and-movement activity takeaways, while also highlighting ways in which early childhood and elementary music can be used as a vehicle for initiating, and leaning into, conversations about body diversity and inclusivity! Providing numerous access points is key, and your imagination is your only limitation!

9:30am Eastern

Playing the Pages: Combining Children's Literature, Cross-Curricular Connections, and Orff-Schulwerk

with Lindsay Rosen

Children’s literature allows us to be more than music teachers; through cross-curricular connections music flies right off the pages. We will sing, say, move, play, and create through the Orff process while infusing repertoire, fundamental concepts, and diverse mentor texts in classroom-ready, teacher-friendly ways. We will empower student voice and choice and ask “what else can we do with this?”

10:45am Eastern

Creating Sub Plans for the Long(er) Haul

with Rainy Barton

Have you ever had to miss work as a teacher and went "Now I have more work to do- I have to make sub plans!" (I know my hand is raised!). Well what if that absence ends up being for a longer period of time? How do you prepare? What do you leave behind? This session is here to help you answer that question with ease!

In this session, Rainy will be sharing her tips, tricks, and best practices for creating longer term sub plans for your music classroom, in cases of sickness or maternity leave- for both musical subs and non-musical subs! These are all tried and true, as Rainy has gone through two maternity leave absences while teaching! Rainy wants you to be able to have a gameplan going forward, and find ease in your planning- less stress, more success!

12:00pm Eastern

Melodies in Motion: Popular Tunes on Orff Instruments

with Chesley Talissé-Woodburn

Playing popular songs on instruments in the music room can be so much fun, but it can also be scary not knowing where to even start! Students love learning something they know or have heard before and they love being able to perform music they have listened to at home for their friends and family! Your students also love to be a part of the process as they help you create the arrangement! Playing popular songs in the music room creates a joyful environment for your students while building trust and community.

Chesley would love to share some tips for you on how you can find and create pop song arrangements to use in your classroom. She would love to share a few short videos of some pieces she has arranged and share with you her step by step process when creating these experiences!

2:00pm Eastern

I Got the Job! Wait, What Do I Do Now?

with Erin Elliott

Whether it’s your first teaching position ever, or your first year in a new school, starting a new position can be daunting and a recipe for burnout if you aren’t careful. Between navigating new colleagues, new procedures, and getting to know several hundred new students and their abilities, the first year of teaching is always the hardest.

If you are starting in a new position this session is for you! We’ll dive into prioritizing what needs to happen quarter to quarter, manage school expectations, learn how to assess your students abilities and plan effective lessons for the first few weeks, and find community and resources, all with a focus on work-life balance to avoid burnout. Don’t be on this music teacher island by yourself! You’ve got this!

3:15pm Eastern

Classroom Management Tips & Tricks

with Becca Davis

There's a lot that goes into classroom management, and in this session, we are going to explore different strategies, ideas, tips, and tricks to implement into your elementary music classroom to help keep you classroom running smoothly. You'll learn about structuring your class, transitions, phrases to use, and ways to keep students following directions in a positive learning environment.

4:30pm Eastern

Unleash the Aussie Awesome: A Choral Adventure

with Debbie O'Shea

Sing your way Down Under with captivating choral pieces by Australia's brightest composers! Dive into a treasure trove of achievable, engaging, and downright FUN repertoire that will ignite the voices of your young singers. We'll explore the works of celebrated Aussie composers and discover hidden gems that will inspire you and your choir.

Get ready to transform your rehearsals into a vibrant celebration of Australian choral music!

10:00am Eastern

What Makes A Wildcat Wild?

with Roger Sams & Music is Elementary

Join us for an enlightening pre-recorded session led by renowned music educator Roger Sams as we dive into the innovative teaching methods outlined in the "Purposeful Pathways" series.

This session, sponsored by Music Is Elementary, will provide practical insights and hands-on demonstrations that you can apply directly in your music classroom.

In this session, Roger Sams will guide you through a modular approach to teaching music literacy and performance using "Purposeful Pathways."

You'll experience the step-by-step process of preparing students with rhythmic and solfege echo patterns, moving into literacy work using rhythm syllables, and practicing singing solfege while reading from the staff.

Roger Sams' expertise and practical advice will empower you to make informed teaching choices based on your students' readiness and needs. By the end of this session, you'll have a deeper understanding of how to use the "Purposeful Pathways" series in your classroom, creating an engaging and dynamic learning environment for your students.

10:45am Eastern

"¡Bienvenidos a Todos!" - Supporting English Language Learners in the General Music Classroom 

with Christa Jones

Music class is the perfect place for English Language Learners to thrive and explore. In this session, we will explore instructional strategies for students who are learning the language of their school community and apply these strategies in a practical way for use in the music classroom.

Whether you’re a seasoned music teacher or just starting out, this session will equip you with practical tools for creating a music class environment that welcomes, engages, and affirms all your unique students.

12:00pm Eastern

Free Internet Resources for the Elementary Music Educator

with Amy Burns

There are many free+ (many are free and some are free trials/free with limitations) tech tools waiting to jazz up music classes for elementary music educators. Take a deep dive into these sites and learn how to utilize them in your teaching scenarios from a cart to a 1:1 classroom. Score a shiny new tool or two to add some zing to your music classes!

2:00pm Eastern

Empower Your Classroom: Transforming Students' Experiences Through Movement

with Leanna O'Brien

 Say goodbye to traditional lesson plans and hello to dynamic, engaging experiences that make music truly come alive! In this session, we'll show you how incorporating meaningful movement breaks can actually enhance learning, simplify teaching, and solidify musical concepts like texture, tempo, articulation, dynamics, pitch, and more.
  
Join us as we demonstrate 3 key movement breaks you will be able to use in your own classroom the next day, how our lesson structure is the key to successful teaching, and how movement should always come before management as we demonstrate how behavioral issues can be combated through allowing students to learn the way they were meant to. Don't miss out on this opportunity to transform your teaching experience and empower your students to succeed!

3:15pm Eastern

Playful Teaching, Vibrant Learning

with Rachel Gunderson

We know that children learn faster and remember things better when they are at play! In this session, participants will explore playful and engaging ways of developing children's musicality as well as teaching music literacy. We will briefly discuss how SongWorks principles and practices support both educators and students in the classroom. Come and see how increasing playfulness can reignite your enthusiasm for teaching and sustain you in your career!

4:30pm Eastern

Design with Me with Musically Minted

with Claire Rehmke of Musically Minted

We've made it half-way through this year's summit! Let's unwind with a casual "design and chill" session with Claire from Musically Minted.

Grab a coffee (or other beverage) and a warm blanket and let's talk, design, and get off of music teacher island.

9:30am Eastern

Using Diverse Books in the Music Classroom

with Janine Slaga

Picture books can be a powerful teaching tool in your classroom--not only for making deep connections to musical thinking, but also for providing “windows” and “mirrors” to increase a sense of belonging in your classroom.

In this session, we will explore how to build rich lessons around the books in your general music class, using examples that are specifically chosen for representation. You will leave with ideas about diversifying your classroom library, as well as some ready-to-use lesson ideas for your PreK to Grade 5 classes.

10:45am Eastern

RU Ready for This? Exploring the Possibilities of Keetman's Rhythmische Übung

with Michelle Brinkman

The clinic will use Gunild Keetman’s Rhythmische Übung (often referred to as RU for short) as a as a starting point for exploring various meters and tonalities; as well as provide opportunities for composition and improvisation in the upper elementary or middle school level general music classroom.

The RU is a collection of rhythmic exercises that utilize various types of body percussion (snapping, clapping, patting, and stomping). Activities will be presented that can be utilized with little or no instruments, as well in those classrooms with a full Orff instrumentarium.

12:00pm Eastern

Dyslexia in the Music Classroom

with Rachel Ammons

Dyslexia is one of the most prominent learning disabilities, which means you likely have students who have dyslexia whether you realize it or not. This learning disability affects a person's language abilities, including reading, writing, and decoding, all of which take place in the music room. In this session, we will discuss what dyslexia is (and what it isn't), how it may show up in your classroom, and discuss strategies for supporting your students.

2:00pm Eastern

Travel the World with your Music Passport!

with Sloane Singleton

Travel the world with your students without leaving your classroom using a Music Passport! Students will experience different cultures and musical genres right in the comfort of their school. Teachers will use this Music Passport to teach World Music to upper elementary students.

3:15pm Eastern

Make Music Matter: Culturally Responsive Curriculum Design

with Ashley Cuthbertson

To ensure K-12 music educators are able to meet the diverse and ever-evolving needs of all music learners, centering culturally relevant and responsive practices in music curriculum & instruction must become the norm, not the exception.

In this session, K-12 music educators will learn key moves they can make in order to shift music curriculum beyond simple facts and skills, to a robust approach that engages learners in deep understandings by centering culturally relevant & responsive contexts of engaging with music. You will learn the key principles of culturally responsive curriculum design and how you can utilize them in your K-12 music program, so you can most efficiently design learning experiences that engage all learners in high quality music instruction they are excited to learn.

4:30pm Eastern

Curriculum Mapping Post-It Party (AAP Exclusive)

with Bryson Tarbet, M.M.Ed.

In this hour-long guided co-working session we will work through the brainstorming and organization needed to start a high-quality curriculum map. By the end of the hour you'll have a yearly curriculum map for a target grade level finished.

This co-working session is reserved for those who have upgraded their ticket to the All-Access Pass.

10:45am Eastern

Recorders Drive Me Nuts!

with Analisa Byrd

Teaching recorder is an acquired taste, but a lot of it depends on your approach. If you hate teaching recorder, have you stopped to think that maybe it isn’t the kids that are making it so difficult, but rather your approach? If that hurts a bit to hear, then maybe you are in the right place!

In this hour-long session, Analisa will show you ways to teach recorder without headaches. She will give you classroom management techniques for larger classes, instrument options for differentiation, lesson plan ideas, and so much more!

12:00pm Eastern

Learning Through Movement: Songs, Games, & Movement Props

with Sandra Hendrickson

Let’s get moving! Enhance your elementary music curriculum with an array of engaging tools: scarves, bands, parachutes, bean bags, movement songs, and circle games. Sandra will share and demonstrate how incorporating movement-based activities can add depth and inclusivity to your lessons, catering to the needs of all students. You’ll gain insights into specific activities and teaching strategies to seamlessly integrate movement into your existing curriculum.

2:00pm Eastern

Making Elementary Choir FUN!

with Mollie Schwartz

Do you teach 3-5th grade choir OR Do you want to START an elementary choir? This session will provide you with warm-ups, partner songs, repertoire, and rounds to engage young singers, and give you strategies to boost confidence with leading elementary chorus. Mollie combines movement with relevant songs to excite and motivate elementary singers to become the best singer they can be while also gaining a sense of community within a choir.

3:15pm Eastern

Elevate Your Music Teaching Skills: Four Decisions for Elementary Music Specialists

with Bryson Tarbet, M.M.Ed.

In this keynote training, Bryson will delve into the vital aspects of curriculum and planning in elementary music education. Explore the importance of creating a song list as the foundation for a successful program, and weigh the benefits of pre-planning over the summer versus building it dynamically throughout the school year. Gain insights into effective strategies, decision-making processes, and best practices that empower educators to create engaging and comprehensive music education experiences for their students.

4:30pm Eastern

The Elementary Music Summit Closing Call

with Bryson Tarbet, M.M.Ed.

Join us for the grand finale of the Elementary Music Summit®, our Closing Call! As we bid farewell to an incredible event filled with inspiration, growth, and connection, we'll reflect on the highlights, celebrate our accomplishments, and set our sights on the exciting future ahead as we reveal to you a secret project we've been working on behind the scenes! 

Don't miss this final opportunity to come together as a community and leave the summit feeling empowered and ready to take your music teaching journey to new heights. Let's make this closing call a memorable celebration of our shared passion for elementary music education!