Submitted by Julie Perham, Tucson, Arizona

Idea posted November 15, 2002

Question: Would anyone be able to share a typical music class routine, say for 3rd grade?

Answer: Here's my "routine," for what it's worth.

  1. Listening - We have a composer of the month, and at the beginning of each class, we listen to a short (3 minutes or so) piece.
  2. Patriotic song of the quarter. This quarter we're doing a partner song arrangement of Yankee Doodle Boy. We work just a few minutes per class period on it. Eventually we'll just sing it.
  3. A rhythm pattern. I put a pattern on the board and the kids number it. Then we clap and count it as a class.
  4. Singing and/or instruments. Sometimes we do movement, but I don't do a lot of it above grade 2.

My classes are 25 minutes, and if all goes well, I can get all of it in. Although right now, we are just working into our routine (it's our second full week).