9 Preparing for Your Teaching
Martina Vasil
Whether you have taught before or not, teaching an elementary music lesson will likely be brand new to you. The purpose of this chapter is to help you prepare for a successful lesson.
Communicate with your Cooperating Teacher
Before you design your lesson, be sure to be in communication with your cooperating teacher about the lesson you will be teaching. They will have advice on what would fit in their curricular map, will be able to tell you the class you will be teaching that day and any special accommodations needed, and can tell you what instruments and other equipment that are available for use.
Refer to Chapters 3–8 To Design the Lesson
I will always ask for a detailed lesson plan and provide you with a template. It’s important that you think in detail about all the steps you need to take and the information that should be included. This information is not necessary gathered in this order. For example, you might start by picking out the repertoire first.
- National Core Arts Standards for the grade you are teaching (Chapter 3)
- Learning objectives (Chapter 3)
- Materials you will use
- Designing a lesson with active music making (Chapter 4)
- Designing a lesson that reaches all learners (Chapter 5)
- Choosing relevant and authentic repertoire (Chapter 6)
- Designing a sequence with assessment (Chapters 7–8)
You are allowed to use Chat GPT to get a draft of a lesson if that would help you. You are also allowed to use lesson ideas from aosa.org, me, workshops, and the music library in Rm 212. After you write your lesson draft and get feedback from me, you are expected to implement all the changes. Reach out if you have questions about any edits. You will also have an opportunity to practice your lesson in class.
Memorize the Music
You need to know the music you are teaching inside and out. Listen to the music on a loop until you have it memorized and can sing a phrase or model a movement at any point in the music. It is unacceptable to sing the song inaccurately or model the movement or instrument playing incorrectly. Would you show up to a choir, band, or orchestra rehearsal without knowing the score inside and out? Treat the material for this lesson just as seriously. If you remember the Orff process of a lesson, the first step is imitate. If you are the model, and you model it wrong, the children will sing, move, or play incorrectly for the remainder of the lesson and it will be hard to correct.
Prepare a Slidedeck
Most schools have a screen where you can show a slidedeck and it can be really helpful for you to have your lesson outlined in that way. Make sure all permissions are set to public so that you won’t have issues pulling up the slidedeck at the school. That includes any videos or audio clips.
Review your slide deck to ensure proper accomodations for students. Use pictures and words, ensure colors are easy for color-blind students to follow, and make any other adjustments you need for the class you will be teaching. This is why you do the earlier assignment on the demographics of the school and why it is important to talk to your cooperating teacher before designing the lesson.
Build in Expectations/Transitions
Think through how you will communicate your expectations to students. They need to know if you are using the same rules as the cooperating teacher (recommended) or perhaps you have a shorter list of rules for just that day you are teaching.
Expectations go beyond classroom rules. If you are going to have student move, how do you expect them to get up from their seats? Without talking, stand up. How do you expect them to move around the room? Movement expectations are to stay on your feet, keep your body to yourself, keep quiet, and take your own pathway around the room (that is, please don’t follow anyone).
If you want students to go to the barred instruments (xylophones and metallophones), how do you expect them to move there? What do they do once they get to the instruments? Before we move to the instruments, here are my expectations. I will send you to the instruments 4–5 people at a time. Remember to walk AROUND the instrument and not step over it. Once you get to the instrument, please sit behind it and keep your hands in your lap. Please no playing yet.
Similarly, what are your expectations when passing out unpitched percussion? When using ukuleles? When students are watching a video? Think through all of that and be very clear in communicating to the students. This is a good time to also talk to your cooperating teacher or watch for what they do so you are using language that students are used to hearing.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice your lesson in front of your roommates, your peers, or your pets. The physical act of practicing what you will say and how you might move about the room is essential for a success first teaching. Reviewing the lesson in your head won’t be enough. Treat this like how you prepare for a concert on your instrument. Rehearsing the music in your head isn’t enough, right? You have to physically practice it. The same goes for teaching. I suggest that the minimum number of times to practice talking through your less is three.
Use a Notecard
You are not expected to follow exactly, step-by-step, what you wrote on the detailed lesson plan. After you have practiced talking through your lesson at least three times, reduce your lesson plan to a note card, hitting the main points of your lesson. Have that notecard with you when you are teaching and you will find that you are able to pay attention to the students more and respond to them better in the moment.
Materials and Recording Device
Think about the materials you will need for your lesson and be sure to be in good communication with your cooperating teacher. Do you need mallets? Sound? Does your slidedeck open on their projector/Prometheus board? Bring something to video record yourself teaching. You will watch that video to complete a reflective assignment on your first teaching.
Pay Attention to the Students
As a new teacher, it is very common to turn inward and be consumed with the lesson plan you wrote. Fuller (1969) even created a model of teacher development, in which teachers move from:
- Concerns about self, to
- Concerns about tasks, to
- Concerns about students and the impact of teaching.
This is why the notecard helps. Knowing your skeleton allows you to keep the structure of your steps in your head, all while looking at the students and seeing if they are “getting it.” It is important that you ensure they understand before moving on, or be responsive enough to answer questions, to model again, or to provide correction (e.g., on holding mallets) to help students succeed.
Dress Professionally and Comfortably
Take your cue from the cooperating teacher. Most elementary schools allow more casual dress than secondary schools and I have seen teachers in khakis or jeans rather than dress pants. I often see sneakers rather than dress shoes, too. Talk to your cooperating teacher. The only kinds of clothes I would advise against are clothes with holes in them (it just looks unprofessional), clothes with suggestions of tobacco or alcohol or that has swear words, and clothes that prevent you from comfortably modeling movement (i.e., clothes that are too tight or that roll up and expose parts of your body you don’t want to show when teaching). Shoes are up to you, but I personally found heels that are too high difficult to move in and they hurt my feet by the end of lessons. I sweat a lot so I would often choose dark tops for teaching. Think about what’s comfortable for you, what looks professional, and what works in the school you are in!
Arrive Early
It is crucial that you arrive AT LEAST 15 minutes early. You need to make sure you have the materials you need and your slidedeck pulled up. Test the sound and all audio/video links you have. Sometimes things go wrong (e.g., you forgot to set the permissions to public) and you will need that extra time to fix it before the students show up.
References
Fuller, F. F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental characterization. American Educational Research Journal, 6(2),207–226. https://doi.org/10.2307/1161894