An Elementary Music Classroom Must Have
If you want to transform your teaching and elevate the classroom experience for your students then you need to think about incorporating center activities into your repertoire.
Adding music centers (sometimes called stations) into my lessons has made a significant and positive impact in my classes. First, my students love them, which, in turn, automatically increases engagement. Second, it’s an outstanding way for me to assess each child (without their awareness—automatically removing any pressure or anxiety).
What are centers?
Centers are work-stations where students spend a few minutes focusing on a skill or content area before moving on to another one.
Why are they so awesome?
Activities in centers can be varied and therefore be helpful for differentiation
Some kids benefit from smaller, group work to solidify understanding
Some kids learn better visually (you can incorporate activities to support this)
Some kids need more opportunities for practice and repetition than what can be accomplished in whole-class instruction (you can structure the activities to support varying levels of skill and comfort)
Some kids can display their understanding through a game, but not a written activity (and vice versa)
They increase engagement
Unlike with whole-class instruction, kids can’t hide; the nature of small group work requires everyone’s participation
They’re usually pretty fun—this is the perfect time to break out the games!
Centers create a change in class routines and can get you through harder moments of the year or during a performance lull where you want to emphasize concepts you can’t always focus on
They can be a great reward to work towards as a whole class goal
Centers can help with classroom management (students are busy the whole time)
Centers teach you, the teacher, about your students:
Who is more resilient?
Who needs more encouragement when faced with a challenge?
Who stands out as a leader or a problem solver?
Who did you think really understood something, but was actually blending in and needs more support?
What do your students need to focus on and practice?
I could go on, but I think that’s a good start as to why and how centers are beneficial to your students and can make your teaching more impactful.
I’m sold on centers! What are center activities I can use and where can I find them?
I’m so glad you asked! Center activities can vary depending on what skill you want to emphasize and how loud/quiet you want the day to be!
I like to have a blend: noisy/quiet, game/writing, composing/playing, small-group/individual work.
If you’re ready to bring the joy of centers into your classroom and see the magic unfold before your eyes, I’ve got lots of options for you! These are all bundled resources (lots of activities included) which is the best bang for your buck, but you can purchase any product individually.
