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Subject: Re: [MK8]MIddle School Curriculum

From: Rita Oglesby

Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 20:25:29 -0500

Get some drums and the World Music Drumming Curriculum by Will Schmid.
He is offering classes all over the country this summer that I highly
recommend. I took one two years ago and my school is loving drumming.
We just had our spring concert and the middle school drumming class
knocked the socks off everyone.

I use a combination of the WMD and things like Artie's Mallet Madness
and my own bits of madness to boot! Drumming class is an elective for
MS and I had 38 kids sign up for it out of 55 total. The rest took
choir or intro to guitar.

Guitar class is another sure-fire winner. When I first introduced it
to MS we had no school-owned guitars. Kids either rented them or used
some from home. We offered it two times that first year and again
last year. This year most of the kids had taken it so not as many
signed up. So I offered it to 6th grade this year and they loved it,
too.

Next year I am going to do one quarter of musical theatre with an
academic study of theatre and then present a performance of a simple
musical.

I taught K-6 for 30 years and only in the past five years have I
discovered that I love working with 7th and 8th grade just as much so
I work with Pre-K through 8th grades now in a private school.

Rita

On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 4:32 PM, Angie Timmons wro=
te:
> I need some MAJOR advice! I am a second year General Music teacher in =
a K-8 school. I have middle school twice a day, 5 days a week. They a=
re my worst hours of the day. For two years I have pulled my hair out tr=
ying to come up with a curriculum for them. We have watched musicals and=
had tests. I tried the Bach to Rock, I have tried Rock History and they=
SURE DONT want to sing! They do like playing Singstar once a week and we h=
ave compeitions which they love.
>
> Im almost at the point that I just want to do busy paper work with them b=
ecause they complain about eveything else.
>
> Does anyone out there have a successful 8-10 week curriculum or any ideas=
for 6-8th grade? I want to get everything organized for next year with =
this group so there is NO dead time with them.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Angie
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------=
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>

>
>

-- Rita K. Oglesby
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