The Anacrusic Podcast

In this episode, Anne discusses Self Determination Theory & Singing Games in the Elementary Music Classroom. This episode was inspired by some light research for improving students motivation and participation, particularly as students reach those upper elementary grades. By considering the three pillars of SDT: autonomy, competence, and relatedness, we can better promote student engagement in our classrooms. ⭐️ Full Show Notes for this Episode Here 👉 https://annemileski.com/podcast/141/ ⭐️ Get the Ultimate Sequencing Roadmap here 👉 https://annemileski.com/sequencing/ Watch "How to Play Doggie Doggie" here 👉 https://youtu.be/holjgz-iNkM Connect with Anne on Instagram here 👉 https://www.instagram.com/annemileski/ ============================= 📒 References from Today's Episode 📒 ============================= Countryman, J. (2014). Missteps, flaws and morphings in children’s musical play: Snapshots from school playgrounds. Research Studies in Music Education, 36(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X14528456 Harwood E., Marsh K. (2012). Children’s ways of learning inside and outside the classroom. In McPherson G. E., Welch G. F. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music education (Vol. 1) (pp. 322–340). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199730810.013.0020 Mizener, C. P. (1993). Attitudes of children toward singing and choir participation and assessed singing skill. Journal of Research in Music Education, 41(3), 233-245. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345327 Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318 Renwick, J. M., & Reeve, J. (2012). Supporting motivation in music education. In G. E. McPherson & G. F. Welch (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music education (Vol. 1) (pp. 143–162). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199730810.013.0009 Roberts, J. C. (2018). Self-determination theory and children’s singing games in and out of the classroom: A literature review. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 36(3), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123317741488 Ryan R. M., Deci E. L. (2002). An overview of self-determination theory: An organismic- dialectical perspective. In Ryan R. M., Deci E. L. (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3–36). University of Rochester Press. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860

"I know this could be better." I know we've all had that thought. It's easy to go down that whole rigamarole of feeling like you're not living up to your potential in the music classroom, and to spiral down the different ways you could be doing things better. First things first: you're a caring, thoughtful teacher. You wouldn't be here if you weren't, am I right? But when we get in these cycles of criticizing our practice, it's important to find a place to start. It's important to find that ONE thing. Here's a few things that I talk about on today's episode: Here are a few links mentioned in today's episode: Teaching Music Tomorrow - TransitionsThe Anacrusic Podcast - 7 Ways to Teach a SongIf you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag @annemileski on instagram! If you’re looking for more information on lesson planning, and exactly what to teach when, CLICK HERE for your FREE download.

Ostinato is not just a concept on your curriculum map to check off... in fact, it's much like all of the other things listed on that curriculum, it comes back again and again! But ostinati are special. They are not only a pathway to partwork, they are also opportunities for student choice, creativity, and independent musicianship. Today I'm sharing 4 ways that I use ostinato in my classroom, including: Click here to check out the new podcast, Teaching Music Tomorrow, with myself and my good friend Victoria Boler. If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag @annemileski on instagram! If you’re looking for more information on lesson planning, and exactly what to teach when, CLICK HERE for your FREE download.

Something that I consistently hear from both practicing teachers and student teachers alike is "what is the best way to break down activities over multiple lessons?" It feels a little like you should be able to just sing the song and play the game. And yes, absolutely that is the goal for our students! But what if it's something a little more advanced, or we simply want to stretch the good stuff over multiple lessons? Today I'm sharing how to find natural stopping points and build lesson segments from one big activity with many layers. Here are a few of the things we talk about on today's podcast: isFind the notation to Tideo here via the Holy Names Song Collection. Click here to check out the new podcast, Teaching Music Tomorrow, with myself and my good friend Victoria Boler. If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag @annemileski on instagram! If you’re looking for more information on lesson planning, and exactly what to teach when, CLICK HERE for your FREE download.

I recently received a piece of feedback that "scripting wasn't working for them." they felt like trying to create exactly what they would say in front of a group of students without actually being in front of that group felt really in authentic and not right. My response was, "well of course not." You would never want to read a prescribed script to your students in your classroom. That would not allow for the opportunity to change things on the fly, take feedback from your students, and change things accordingly... But also, that's not really on the point of scripting. It's not about giving you your lines for Tuesday at 9:00. It's something a bit more nuanced. Today on the podcast, I'm talking about what scripting is and isn't, and why you might want to give it a try. Here are some things we talk about on the podcast: moreIf you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag @annemileski on instagram! If you’re looking for more information on lesson planning, and exactly what to teach when, CLICK HERE for your FREE download.

Creativity is a BIG word. But getting started doesn't have to feel quite so hairy scary. Why? Because it really comes down to one thing: student choice. Today I'm talking about how to implement a few strategies to begin offering your students choice and facilitate creativity in your elementary music classroom today. Here are some of the things we talk about: Convergent vs. Divergent thinking and why both have a place in the classroom.How to start giving students choice and using creativity without it feeling scary (to you OR them!)The first steps you need to get your students improvising.Links mentioned in today’s episode: TAP 089: Why You Should Improvise Earlier than You ThinkTAP 090: Improvisation: The Path to Musical FluencyIf you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag @annemileski on instagram! If you’re looking for more information on lesson planning, and exactly what to teach when, CLICK HERE for your FREE download.

Having an opening routine in your music class is a surefire way to get students primed and ready to go when they first walk into your classroom. It's no secret that I think having an intentional beginning sequence to your lessons is important--we've talked about it on a couple of podcasts so far (and are linked down below) I've even gone so far as to share what I do with my younger students, think Kindergarten through 2nd grade, to have a fairly established routine that they come to expect, and stays the same week to week. But what about those older students? What about the upper elementary or even middle school students who might find a "hello" song or echo singing to be a bit too baby-ish? (even though it's not, but that's a topic for another day). Today on the podcast, I'm going to give you 3 surefire ways to jumpstart your music class. Here are some of the things we talk about: literallyLinks mentioned in today’s episode: TAP 131: All About Opening RoutinesTAP 126: How to Create an Opening RoutineIf you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag @annemileski on instagram! If you’re looking for more information on lesson planning, and exactly what to teach when, CLICK HERE for your FREE download. For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Aside from the ordering of concepts and skills we teach in our music classrooms, there’s this whole other side of “stuff” that we need to figure out in order to teach our children music effectively. How children learn music best is one of those big, “can of worms” types of questions that can easily leave you wondering even more than that first original question. Today on the podcast, my friend Victoria Boler is back to chat about music teacher philosophy and how we both have discovered that children learn best. Here’s a little bit about what we talk about in this week’s conversation: Links mentioned in today’s episode: TAP 103: What is Active Music Making?TAP 022: Kodály Inspired Teaching with Brent GaultIf you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram! Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Kindergarten is one of those very very polarizing topics. It’s either that it’s completely your jam (raise your hand if you’re with me there!) or something that you completely dread. Odds are, the reason it feels either anxiety inducing or the most fun ever is because honestly? Kindergarten music is 100% it’s own animal. Today on the podcast, I’m back with my friend Victoria Boler to chat about all things Kindergarten. Here’s a little bit about what we talk about in this week’s conversation: If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram! Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

The first week of school is tricky. Alongside opening routines, we’re also trying to figure out, quite literally, what to do with our kids for the rest of the year. What do they know? What can they demonstrate? And how are we going to continue to make music for the rest of the year? Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our another "Tea with V" episode with Victoria Boler, where you get to listen in on a conversation we had all about pre-assessment Here's a little bit about what we talk about on this week's episode: If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram! Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Back to school season is in FULL swing. Whether you've gone back to your classroom or are just prepping to do so, I'm willing to bet that you've been thinking a LOT about rules, procedures, and routines that you'd like to get rocking and rolling this year. Especially when it comes to opening routines. Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our very first "Tea with V" episode with Victoria Boler, where you get to listen in on a conversation we had all about opening routines. Here's a little bit about what we talk about on this week's episode: If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram! Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop Riddle me this: have you ever had a conversation with another teacher and tried to explain what you really do in your music classroom day in or day out? Or have you ever tried to really use words to describe the types of experiences that you facilitate in your classroom? It's not easy to put into words. It's something that is almost exclusively indescribable, unless you've experienced it yourself. There's so much that goes into what we do as teacher musicians, and not a whole lot of it is easy. I've been thinking about this a lot. So in this week's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast, we're talking about the 4 hardest things about being a music teacher Here's some things we're talking about in today's episode: whyFor today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

We’ve already talked about the benefits to using transitions in your music classroom: how it keeps things flowing, provides opportunities for quick assessments, and genuinely just makes everything about your music classroom more intentional and purposeful. But what about the actual stuff, the actual things that you do to make transitions happen in your classroom? There’s really three big categories of transitions that will help you get your foot in the door when it comes to making transitions happen in your music lesson plans. Today on the podcast, I’m sharing specific examples about how to start using these types of transitions in your classroom today. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Transitions are one of those things that (1) seems awfully intimidating at the beginning, and (2) turns into an absolutely essential part of your music teaching once you see the magic they can create. So if you’ve ever wanted to know more about transitions in your music lesson plan and why you should make them a part of your planning process, today’s podcast episode is 100% for you. We aren’t just talking about what transitions are, but how they can help your lesson truly flow. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

In this episode, we’re going to piggyback off of TAP 126 and talk about all things closing routines.. Now admittedly, this will be a little bit more freeform than our opening routines and rely completely on how your lesson went and what your kids need from you. But just like the opening routine, we have two big overarching goals that we want to focus on in a closing routine. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

An opening routine is one of those game changers in your music teacher life. It’s one of those not so little things that make a huge difference for both you and your kids and the ultimate flow of your music lesson. If you’ve never thought about how to incorporate a fluid and flexible opening routine, this is the episode for you. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Way back in the day, I made a pretty embarrassing life choice. I took a picture (2 actually) with literal labels stuck to my head with different pedagogical approaches on them. The second picture just said “music teacher.” The pictures… definitely not the best choice, but I DO still stand behind the point. Rather than being focused on having the absolute perfect picture of “fill in the bank” style of teaching, I’m much more interested in having and using the tools in my toolbox to teach my children how to be fluent music makers. That’s what today’s episode is all about. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

I was having a conversation with my good friend, Victoria Boler about the conversations we have with other music teachers we’re working with in our programs or chatting to on instagram. And THIS is the one that comes back again and again. I’m sure you’ve asked yourself the same, because I know I definitely have! It’s not a bad question. The intention behind the question is to figure out what certain songs, games, and activities are appropriate for which students. But instead of focusing on grade level, there are better questions we can ask that get to the root of the issue. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… To listen to last week’s episode, How to Teach a Singing Game Part I, click here For the New England Dance Masters’ Website, click here. Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: anacrusic.com/planningplaybook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

Today on the podcast, we’re taking the next step towards the best way to teach a singing game in your classroom. Last week was all about the things you think about before kids ever come into your classroom: the planning, their experience, and how you can build off of it. And today is all about what to do with kids actually in the room. In this episode, I’m walking you through how I teach three of my favorite singing games in my music classroom. The big takeaway? It’s so important to have a sequence for everything. Do you have to do things exactly the way that I’ve outlined here today? Absolutely not. But you do need to think about what will make your students feel most successful and most like independent musicians as you walk them through a new music making experience. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… To listen to last week’s episode, How to Teach a Singing Game Part I, click here For the New England Dance Masters’ Website, click here. Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: anacrusic.com/planningplaybook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

You don’t really think about it until you’re in it. It’s like teaching a song to your students. Since you know how it goes, and can sing, say and play upside down with your eyes closed… it seems almost inherent. But just like teaching a song, teaching your students a new singing game requires a very specific sequence. And there are a lot of things you have to think about before you start teaching kids, and honestly? Before you even put your teaching sequence together. That’s what today’s podcast is all about. We’re diving into exactly how to teach a singing game. Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode… To listen to the episode on 7 ways to teach a song, click here. Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: anacrusic.com/planningplaybook For today's full episode notes, click here. To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community