Welcome to the Music ConstructED Noteworthy Contributor blog! This space highlights perspectives from our experienced community of educators across the globe on topics you encounter every day.

Celebrate Earth Day Through Music

Looking for creative ways to honor Earth Day with your students? Music class is the perfect place to inspire environmental awareness through song, sound, and self-expression. From recycled instrument-making to nature soundscapes and original Earth-themed songs, explore fun and meaningful activities that help students connect with the planet—one beat at a time.

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Teaching Guitar as a Non-Guitarist

Are you a non-guitarist who is struggling to teach guitar in your elementary or middle school setting? You’re not alone! Here I share my journey (as a non-guitarist) and the steps I took to set myself up for success with my students.

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Using Minecraft as a Tool

Engaging students in the artistic processes and music standards can be as simple as connecting these processes to something that they are already familiar with—Minecraft! Here are some strategies for using this popular video game as a springboard for student creativity and connection.

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How to Use Integrated Arts in Your General Music Classroom

Ready to jump on board the integrated arts movement but not sure where to start? While you are likely doing a lot of things that support integrated arts, here are five strategies that can help you go a little deeper with this teaching skillset that can authentically connect music to other content areas in a…
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How to Give Action-Oriented Feedback

If you ever feel like you are going through the motions when it comes to assessment, with little to show for it, you are not alone. Here are some strategies that you can use to help your students improve faster, learn for application and transfer, and become more independent musicians (so that you are not…
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Promoting Joy in the Classroom

Joy isn’t just a happy accident in the classroom—it’s now a core part of inclusive learning design, thanks to the latest update to the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines. In this blog post, we explore how music educators can intentionally design for joy in general music settings. From student choice to silly songs, discover…
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How to Teach Folk Dance Authentically in General Music Class

General music teachers around the world embrace folk dancing as a tool to foster community and teach musical concepts through movement. But how do we embrace folk dance in a way that honors authenticity and the culture from which it comes from? This blog provides some strategies that can help music teachers continue to include…
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Five Ways to Add Depth to Your General Music Lesson Plans

Tired of your music lessons feeling like a checklist? What if you could deepen your lessons without adding more content just by enriching what you’re already doing? In this post, I’m sharing five simple strategies to bring more creativity, connection, and student ownership into your general music classroom. From collaborative body percussion to student-composed melodies…
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Symbol Words

Looking for a word wall your kids will actually use? Learn from my mistakes! Get resources that will have your students answering their own questions!

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Getting started with equity-centered pedagogy 

equity pedagogy

Learn some beginning recommendations on how to make your general music class more equitable. Recommendations include making space for anti-bias music education, flexible performance assessments, and community engagement and collaboration.

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How to Avoid the Tokenism Trap

tokenism

This post is all about how to dig a little bit deeper into music that reflects our student’s cultures without falling victim to tokenizing the very music we’re trying to showcase.

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