Elemental Conversations with Victoria Boler

If you find that you sit down to plan and suddenly feel the urge to do the laundry and organize your cabinets instead of working on a scope and sequence…. if you spend more time scrolling for ideas and inspiration than working on lessons… if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of resources you have for planning… or if you feel stuck and unable to make decisions because you’re waiting for inspiration… I think this is the episode for you.

Show Notes: www.victoriaboler.com/podcast/i-get-distracted-when-i-sit-down-to-plan

TIMESTAMPS 

(01:47) - What it’s Like to Plan the Year 

(04:40) - Too Much Noise in Planning 

(07:58) - Planning Strategies Overview

(09:18) - Sticky Note Savior 

(12:12) - Come Back to This Comment

(12:29) - Reframe: The First Six Minutes

(16:15) - Just Keep Typing 

(19:09) - Reframe: There’s No Such Thing as Writer’s Block 

(21:13) - Summary 

(22:26) - Overwhelmed by Overwhelm

We know we “should” plan over the summer, but where do we start? Let’s consider some elemental questions to help us navigate the “should” of summer planning. This will be a unique approach for all of us, so starting with curious questions can serve us well.

In this episode:

02:53 - How are you doing?

06:04 - Where are we coming from?

6:16 - Review last year

11:05 - Hopes and dreams for this year

13:56 - What do we want?

17:50 - Long-range plans

19:48 - Scope and Sequence

26:17 - Concepts and Songs List

31:45 - First Day of School Plans

34:30 - Feeling Overwhelmed or Feeling Overwhelmed by Overwhelm

Links mentioned in this episode:

Curriculum Outlines Blog Post - https://victoriaboler.com/blog/3-curriculum-outlines 

A Scope and Sequence for Elementary Music Blog Post - https://victoriaboler.com/blog/scope-and-sequence-elementary-music 

Long-Range Planning for Elementary General Music - https://victoriaboler.com/podcast/2021/8/11/planning-a-music-curriculum

Lesson Planning When You Have Too Many Resources - https://victoriaboler.com/podcast/2021/11/15/lesson-planning-when-you-have-too-many-resources

Review and Reset: Wrapping up the School Year - https://victoriaboler.com/podcast/2021/11/15/lesson-planning-when-you-have-too-many-resources

How might we approach a difficult conversation with a colleague?

Let’s start by remembering that we are on the same team, and we’re both looking for ways to reach a student who is having a hard time. For our part, we can lead with empathy and imagination. When it’s time to talk we can actually start by listening. And then we can communicate directly and without apologizing. Here are the first few steps we can consider taking.

00:00 - Intro

02:47 - Sitting on the Same Side of the Table

05:01 - I See Where You’re Coming From

07:00 - I’ve Done the Same Thing

08:45 - Two Ears, One Mouth

12:31 - Recruiting Cooperation

14:51 - The Ask

17:10 - How Can I Approach the Conversation Without…

19:22 - Resources

Better Than Carrots or Sticks: Restorative Practices for Positive Classroom Management

Episode 21: Classroom Management

Set Boundaries, Find Peace

Dr. Becky Kennedy

Episode 58 with Jessica Grant

Find the full show notes at https://victoriaboler.com/elemental-conversations 

Let’s Connect: 

 Website  | Instagram  | YouTube  | Website | Planning Binder

When students can play by ear, so many musical doors open up! It gives them freedom to play songs from other people just by hearing melodies in their heads, and equally important, it allows them to take the songs they have created in their heads and actualize them on an instrument.

Today we’ll talk about what’s really happening when we play by ear, which is that we’re actually just listening and creating meaning out of the melody. We’ll talk about a step-by-step process we can use to play by ear. We’ll back up in case we need to brush up on some prerequisite experiences. And we’ll dive into a few logistics that will help things go a little more smoothly.

00:00 - Introduction

01:25 - When I was learning to play by ear

05:20 - Making Sense by Ear (How to Listen)

Dowling, W. J. (1986). Context effects on melody recognition: Scale-step versus interval representations. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3(3), 281–296.

Rogers, M. R. (1983). Beyond intervals: The teaching of tonal hearing. Indiana Theory Review, 6(3), 18–34.

08:40 - Listening Experiences

10:22 - Physical

13:36 - Aural

18:10 - Visual

25:31 - First Instrumental Experiences

26:27 - Barred Instrument Exploration

29:43 - Logistics

30:54 - Everyone has a Job

Episode 34: Strategies for Sharing Instruments

32:13 - Practice Sharing

35:09 - Managing Noise

36:55 - Getting Started: Just One Phrase

Find the full show notes at https://victoriaboler.com/elemental-conversations 

Let’s Connect: 

 Website  | Instagram  | YouTube  | Website | Planning Binder

How might we take one short, simple children’s folk song and extend it across multiple lessons?

Let’s talk about some core questions that can frame some of these decisions, because the beauty of this topic is that we can all arrive at different correct answers, depending on how we answer these questions. We’ll look at some strategies for extending a song once we’ve answered our core questions, and then we’ll explore an example or two.

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Find the full show notes at https://victoriaboler.com/elemental-conversations 

Let’s Connect: 

 Website  | Instagram  | YouTube  | Website | Planning Binder

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00:00 - Introduction

01:13 - Two core questions

01:45 - Musical concepts

05:02 - Musical Skills

05:45 - Musical dispositions

06:59 - Lesson Planning Tools

07:31 - Long-Range Planning

10:37 - Activity Map

15:45 - Length of lesson segments

16:59 - Song Extension Example (Pito Pito Colorito)

35:03 - Pacing across lessons

37:15 - Will students get bored with the song?

39:02 - Wrapping up

Today we’re talking about one of the most common daily frustrations music teachers experience…… Students won’t stop talking! What can we do?

The answer might not be the one we want to hear, but taking ownership for our own leadership of the classroom is actually the best place to start the conversation.

00:00 - Introduction

00:58 - Elemental Questions

01:23 - Two core truths about students talking

02:00 - When do students talk?

02:22 - Developmentally-appropriate and situationally-appropriate expectations

06:19 - Who is actually doing the talking? (Episode 33)

08:24 - What can we do?

09:53 - Classroom Transitions (Transitions video)

15:56 - Students talk when they’re bored

16:31 - Pacing (Episode 37)

20:41 - Processing

24:39 : Student Interest (Multiple Means of Engagement)

25:48 - Students talk when they’re engaged

32:37 - Quick wins to try

34:18 - Where to read more (How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Teaching with Love and Logic)

34:55 - How do we want to spend our energy?

Today I’m thrilled to be sharing this conversation with my friend, Danielle Larrick about teaching middle school and upper elementary general music.

These grades can sometimes feel challenging to teach - our approach will look, feel, and sound very different from other grades we work with on a weekly basis. Students’ interests have shifted from their younger years, their social worlds are changing, and finding activities that match their motivation level can feel like a discouraging search.

Simultaneously, this age group is enthusiastic about ensemble collaboration, and their growing collection of musical skills and consciously-known concepts opens exciting music curriculum doors.

In this conversation Danielle skillfully walks us through ways to approach upper elementary and middle school general music. We talk about how to establish trust, what types of activities work well, and we even explore a drag-and-drop idea you can try right away to refresh your teaching.

01:58 - It’s Danielle!

02:30 - Danielle’s journey to middle school

05:47 - What do middle schoolers need?

09:01 - Establishing trust

16:12 - Keeping it simple - Activities that work

22:48 - Giving Options for Musical Challenges

26:30 - Everyone is a Musician

28:56 - Student Motivation & Activities

35:09 - Danielle’s Teaching Situation

36:08 - Music Workshops: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony

40:45 - Structures for Classroom Management During Projects

46:00 - Structuring the Chaos

48:38 - A Rhythm Activity to Try Tomorrow!

58:53 - Engagement and Independence

02:01:29 - The Confident Music Educator

02:06:10 - Quick Questions: What was a recent win in your classroom?

02:07:21 - Quick Questions: What is the next teaching project you’re excited about?

02:08:01 - Quick Questions: What makes you such a good middle school teacher?

Let’s take a deep breath and make a plan.

How might we approach a semester that has gone off the rails? What are some ways we might get back on track - and what does “on track” look like anyway?

Find the full show notes here.

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Let’s Connect: 

 Website  | Instagram  | YouTube  | Website | Planning Binder

I’m excited to share this conversation with Jessica Grant! Jessica brings wisdom and encouragement to educators as they face everyday challenges of teaching music.

So often, the challenges of music pedagogy are not the things that weigh on teachers at the end of the day. Communication with colleagues, feeling overwhelmed by the workload, managing difficult student behaviors, and initiating conversations with parents or guardians can feel more overwhelming.

Jessica’s perspective is grounded both in the reality of teaching, and in optimistic encouragement for music teachers.

In This Conversation:

03:03 - It’s Jessica Grant!

03:12 - Jessica’s teaching situation

04:54 - Teaching upper elementary and middle school general music

05:52 - Music is for everyone

08:33 - Self-care and teachers as people

16:58 - Asking for help

20:39 - Organizing volunteers

30:49 - Asking for help with a team mindset

36:59 - Initiating difficult conversations with parents

42:27 - Building bridges

47:24 - The first parent phone call

54:45 - The mindset before the call

01:00:06 - Information without interpretation

01:00:50 - Practice with the positive

01:03:08 - Start small. Start with understanding

01:04:30 - Quick Questions: Why should we write?

01:05:45 - Quick Questions: What was a recent win in your classroom?

01:07:00 - Quick Questions: What is the next teaching project you’re excited about?

01:08:58 - Where to learn more

01:13:19 - Where to find Jessica

Any ideas for teaching on a cart? I’m saddened by the lack of space to move and play instruments.

I’m teaching on a cart this year. Any suggestions for easy-to-transport activities?

Teaching on a cart with no space for movement - students are at desks

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Let’s look at some strategies for teaching music on a cart. We’ll focus primarily on strategies for finding the right activities…. and we’ll start by reconsidering the question itself.

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Episodes mentioned:

- Episode 13 - Teaching Music on a Cart

- Lazy Genius: How to pack a lunch for work

- Episode 34 - Strategies for Sharing Instruments

- Episode 28 - Teaching a Partwork Piece on Barred Instruments

Episode 12 - Lesson Planning When You’re Burnt Out