Summer Reads

Hi everyone! It's Aileen from Mrs. Miracle's Music Room. I've been enjoying summer for a few weeks now. It's the first summer for several years that I haven't had to teach any levels programs. I LOVE to teach Kodaly levels, but I decided this summer to just take some time to spend with my family and relax! (Considering we moved the last day of school, I'm pretty happy with that decision!)

So besides spending time with my family and unpacking boxes, I've been doing a little bit of reading, which is something I haven't done in a LONG time! Although I love to read novels, the type of reading I'm talking about is school-related, to help reflect on my teaching and go into the new year with fresh ideas! Here are my summer reads...make sure to click on each picture to see more information!

"Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE teachers," 

by Michael Linsin

I read about this book in the Music Teachers Facebook group, and was immediately intrigued. The book was written by a former classroom teacher who now teaches PE, so he has some great perspectives on the difference between the two environments. He presents several ideas that I'm excited to try out with my students in the fall! It's also a great summer read, because the chapters are super short, so it's easy to put down and pick up later!

"First, We Sing! Kodaly-Inspired Teaching for the Music Classroom"

By Susan Brumfield

I've had this book for a while but have been too busy to read, so I'm excited to dig into it! Susan is an awesome pedagogue, so not surprisingly, this gem of a book has lots of wonderful ideas about teaching, lesson planning, curricular goals, and song literature. In paging through the book, I especially love how she laid out specific goals for each grade level; this will help as I create my year plans for the upcoming school year!

"Exploring Orff: A Teacher's Guide" by Arvida Steen

I bought this book several years ago and read it then, but I decided I need to get it back out and really read it in detail again. Although I haven't had any Orff training, I have had some Orff experiences, and know how much the Kodaly and Orff philosophies can work well together. This book is jammed pack with songs, instrumentations, curricular goals, and more! I'm hoping to read it before I do my song lists so I can make sure to plan for the activities I find!

What are the books on your summer reading list? Feel free to comment below!