Music on Wheels: The School is Your Classroom

As a teacher on a cart, it can be hard to do all of the folk dances, play parties, and movement activities that are crucial components of a music curriculum. I recently guest posted on the TpT Music Crew Blog about some fun, new ways to incorporate movement into the music room. But how can we manage to do all that when we don't have a nice open music classroom? I think the solution to this problem requires a slight change of perspective: instead of thinking that you don't have a classroom, think of the entire school as your classroom!

The School is Your Classroom

I am in the middle of preparing sixteenth notes with my third graders and we've been gradually learning more and more moves to the song "Old Brass Wagon." Today I wanted to teach them "promenade," which for this song would involve them crossing hands with a partner and then walking in a big circle.

I walked into their classroom and saw the teacher had rearranged all of their desks into rows for an upcoming math assessment. I sighed and momentarily considered ditching my plans to do that dance and considered teaching something else instead. However, after collecting my thoughts and thinking about how important it is that they get this movement experience, I got to work. The kids and their teacher were at lunch, so it was just me in the room. I moved all 20-something desks over to one side of the classroom so that we would have enough space. Was it a pain in the rear? Yes. Do I regret it? Not at all. 

Promenade, Vickers-Willis.com

Of course, with more advanced notice I could have recruited some student volunteers to move the desks over and help me adapt the space to suit my needs. However, I made a decision to do the dance today no matter what. 

It can be so easy to get discouraged when teaching on a cart situation because it feels like you have nowhere to go. Instead, I've learned to change my perspective and realize that I can go wherever I think will best meet my students' needs! When we are dancing in a longways set, we go make our two rows in the hallway! When we need to make a big circle, we do it wherever we will fit. A few Halloweens ago, I had a class of fifth graders learning the Thriller Dance in the middle of the library because it was the best space available at the time. 

Today, when one of the third graders walked into the room and saw that I had moved all of their desks to the side, she looked at me suspiciously. "Mrs. Tanenblatt," she asked, "did you get permission from our teacher to move the desks?" All I said to her was, "I'm a teacher at this school, too. I don't need permission." 

Of course, I have developed a good enough rapport with most of my colleagues at this school that I know I don't need to ask permission for that kind of thing. It's safe for me to just go ahead and do it and "beg forgiveness" later if I messed up where desks or chairs were supposed to go. I strongly recommend making sure you've had conversations with your colleagues about your intentions if you're going to start teaching in random places and rearranging furniture. I've found that a simple "heads up" email is usually more than enough to make it clear that you have a job to do and will need to make some adjustments to the space in order to do it.

What's the most "creative" place in the school you have taught? 

Music on Wheels: Making the Most out of Down Time

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I use down time in the classroom. As a teacher on wheels, I have come to embrace the fact that my classes are always going to need some transition time. I need time to get my cart in and out of the room, set up my files on the computer, and prepare any instruments or manipulatives that we are going to be using that day. That's what inspired me to write my next installment of Music on Wheels:

Making the Most
out of Down Time

When we teach music on a cart, there is inevitably going to be a lot of transition time, especially right at the beginning or end of class. We as teachers know that transitions can make or break a lesson. If given no direction, the classroom will devolve into a chaotic mess of screaming children and flying pencils.

... or will it?

This will probably sound controversial to some people, but I actually believe that in the right setting with the right classroom chemistry, down time can be very beneficial. It can give students a minute or two to mentally refocus and go from math/reading/whatever to music mode. They might choose to just put their heads down and tune the world out for a minute. It can be a time to rearrange their desks and books. It can give them time to socialize quietly with their peers. It's a good opportunity to take a water or bathroom break. If we give our students a chance to do these things before we start our lessons, then they are more likely to give us their full attention once we are ready to begin. 

As we add more and more rigor into every subject of the day, kids (and teachers) are under a lot of stress to fit everything in. So when I can offer my students a minute or two to relax and chat with their classmates, I embrace those opportunities.

However, you have to know your students and be aware of what they can and can't handle. 

Depending on the grade level or just the chemistry of the kids in a particular class, I might choose to give them a little more direction during this transition time. 

For instance, for PreK through 1st grade, I work to minimize down time. From the moment I enter the room, those classes know that we are getting started and that they need to be quiet. I usually pick a helper who goes around the room and high fives the students who are quiet with their "five things ready" (hands, eyes, feet, mouth, ears.) This fills the down time while I'm pulling up our songs on the computer.

With 2nd graders, I will often come into the room and give them a discussion prompt. I'll say, "talk quietly at your table to see what you all remember learning in music class last week" or something like that. It gives them time to have a focused, meaningful discussion while I'm setting things up. I might also have one or two students lead vocal warm-ups or a rhythm exercise.

Usually by 3rd grade, I find that the students are mature enough to handle down time. They have to be able to monitor their actions and do what's appropriate. In those classes, I have set the expectation that while I'm setting up for the lesson, they can use that time for bathroom, water, or just quietly sit and talk with their neighbors. So far, it has worked like a charm. I find that when I've given them this down time to relax, they are less likely to interrupt the lesson and therefore we get through just as much- if not more- material during the class period. We have also discussed the importance of quieting down and focusing once I am ready to get started.

It's all about trusting your students and knowing what they are capable of. If your standards are high, you might be surprised how they can rise to meet them.

Cart Tour 2015

This time of year, it seems like everyone is posting pictures of their new classroom decorations and beautiful instrument set-ups. (Since I have a portable at one of my schools, I actually just wrote one such post yesterday.) I know that this can be a difficult time for those of us who approach the new school year from a very different perspective. Yes, I'm talking about the brave souls who teach music on a cart.

Just over a year ago, I found out that due to increased enrollment at one of my schools, I would have to give up my teaching space and push-in to the gen. ed. classrooms. At first I was devastated. I had no idea how I would adapt my methods to make them work under such conditions. However, I've developed some routines and systems that work for me and make teaching on a cart a decent experience both for me and the kids. 

So I've decided to start a miniseries dedicated to the unsung heroes of music education. Those of us who have learned to make the best of a tough situation, for the sake of our students. Those who have learned to problem solve and think on our feet when resources may be limited. Those teachers who are responsible for "Music on Wheels."

Cart Tour 2015

I'm kicking off this miniseries with a back-to-school tour of my cart. I'm going to go through what I decided to put on it and how I keep it organized. When space is at a premium, decisions about what goes and what stays are super important. I also dressed my cart up a little bit to make it more interesting as I roll through the halls. 

  

This is a Luxor brand cart: it's all industrial strength plastic and has a built-in power strip. The plastic design makes it super lightweight and maneuverable, and it is the perfect height for me so that I don't have to hunch over at all when I'm pushing it. I totally lucked out because this cart was donated to me by another teacher at my school who wasn't using it. So I didn't have to spend any of my budget on it. However, a quick internet search brings up this A/V cart, which I'm pretty sure is the same exact one I'm using. For under $200, it is practically a steal compared to some of the "music carts" marketed by the big music school supply chains. 

You'll notice that I don't actually have any technology on this cart. I know that some teachers bring a boombox or speakers around with them. I guess I'm pretty fortunate in the tech department because every classroom in my school has a wall-mounted smartboard and wired-in sound system (because we are Title I.) So, rather than fumbling to try and plug in my own technology in each classroom, I just hop on the classroom computer. I have all of my electronic presentations and audio files on a flash drive. All I have to do is plug and play. 

The space that I saved by not having technology is chock full of instruments and teaching supplies. 

Hover over the spots on this ThingLink to see what I keep on my cart:

And here's a more detailed breakdown...

Bottom Shelf

• Class set of egg shakers
• Class set of rhythm sticks

I find it's important for my primary students to have enough of these instruments so that everybody is playing the same thing. Of course I also let them use the other instruments as well. But, from a management standpoint, I like everyone to be playing the same instrument when we're doing rhythm review exercises, etc. 

• Mini djembes and conga drums

I have about six of them all together and they are small enough to fit in the plastic storage bin. 

• One set of handbells
• Five glockenspiels built into yellow carrying cases

I specifically chose this set of glocks because they can be stacked and transported easily and the sound is not terrible. They have a full chromatic keyboard, too.

• Boomwhacker Xylotote

The xylotote is a brilliant invention!!! The cloth carrier keeps one diatonic set wrapped up nice and compactly. It can be opened up and played like a xylophone with rubber mallets, or each boomwhacker can be taken out and played the usual whacky ways.

• Class set of scarves for movement activities
• Medium djembe for teacher use and student performances

Middle Shelf

• Three bins holding various class percussion instruments, such as guiros, claves, wood blocks, triangles, finger cymbals, tambourines, and hand drums.
• Set of five remo stacking hand drums.

Top Shelf

• Work space where I keep my plan book open and ready
• Office supplies organizer (so I don't have to search through other teachers desks for basic stuff)
• Big basket for holding papers and Arpeggio the Cat
• Cannister to hold mallets and pointers
• Small baskets for manipulatives, books, anything else I need for that day

So there you have it... That's the breakdown of my cart. I know it doesn't hold everything that you'd find in a typical music room, but it holds enough to give my students a high quality musical experience. It served me well last year and I'm looking forward to using it again. Even though I don't have my own classroom, I still feel like I have my own little space when I'm with my cart. I'm also lucky enough to have an "office" of sorts... it's a work room in the back of a kindergarten classroom:

As you can see, lots of different teachers use this space. I get to keep my cart here and have a little desk area in the corner. I'm working on getting a laptop to use again this year so that I don't have to go to the computer lab to plan the digital parts of my lessons!

Thanks for reading! I hope this miniseries resonates with those of you who might be in a similar situation and teaching "music on wheels" this school year! You are doing good work for your students, no matter what obstacles you may face. Remember my motto: Just roll with it!