Schools and Instruction Books

I first read this book when I was a young teacher and have read it several times since. I had checked it out from my local university library, and tried to buy a copy of it, only to find it is out of print. Books like these need to be reprinted and should be required reading for elementary music teachers.

Today, almost anything goes in the music classroom. Songs are sung about the 100th day of school, naming the planets of the solar system, or "character counts". Music teachers are asked to use songs to teach safety, math facts, consonants and vowels. All the artistry is being sucked out of the curriculum. Luckily, there are still teachers who want to teach music (not math and reading) and who want to teach children the culturally-rich, artistic folk music of our country and other countries around the world. They want to teach children to be able to read music, understand music, perform music, and create their own music. They want children to experience music that doesn't have a "Broadway"-style soundtrack or dopey cartoon characters altering the words of it to make it politically correct or saccharinely sweet.

The book focuses on several topics of interest to music teachers: early childhood music, using movement in the music class, teaching the older beginner, working with the elementary school chorus, and developing a Kodaly curriculum. It also contains a song collection with many of the materials used throughout the book. There is much common-sense to be found in its pages.

Although one can still find plenty of information in the author's updated "Kodaly Method I and II", this book is still worth reading and keeping on hand. I wish the author the best in her well-deserved retirement. She has made more than a significant contribution to the music education world!

The author discusses how to apply the Hungarian curriculum to the United States. She goes over the many questions involved in sequencing the curriculum, teaching notation, planning each lesson, and helping the students to appreciate good music.

I got somewhat lost in her chapter on directing a choir. I have always had trouble understanding instructions given by voice teachers and choir directors. (Voice teachers have told me to "imagine yourself wearing a mask." "Imagine the sound spinning out of the top of your head." What the heck does THAT mean!)

I take issue with Choksy's blanket rejection of popular music. It seems inconsistent. Kodaly said that the children's own folk music is familiar to the children, and therefore should be the starting point of the children's music education. Should not the children's own popular music be incorporated for the same reason? Choksy might be speaking more from her own musical tastes than from her training and experience. I discuss this question in my review of 0139491732.

Last I heard, Choksy had retired from music education and gone into the bed-and-breakfast business. I hope the bed-and-breakfast business gained as much as the music education profession lost.

Thank you! I received it quickly and it is in good condition.

After reading this book I feel ready to take on demands of teaching a course in the language arts. This book provides many excellent sample lesson plans that really will be helpful to me as I enter into the fast paced world of education. Every teacher and future educator should have a copy of this text.

Leadership for Differentiating Schools & Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Susan Demirsky Allan offers an interesting and invigorating view of the way classrooms could and maybe should be. Written for school leaders, this work is even more meaningful for teachers. Students come to school in all stages of readiness, and with all levels of skills and talents, and the usual approach has been to treat them the same, as a group, and bring achievement levels up en masse. However, the authors point out that the old approach of taking "gifted" students out of the mainstream classroom has worked out well for those students to an extent, but there is a better way. That way is differentiating instruction within the classroom.

Tomlinson and Allan's book offers an overview of differentiating instruction, that is, of challenging students regardless of their abilities, at their own levels, in their own classrooms. Because no single approach works with all children, a variety of approaches are examined, as well as suggestions for leaders who wish to pursue this direction. This book will open the minds of teachers, administrators, and parents, alike.

With Leadership For Differentiating Schools & Classrooms, Carol Tomlinson and Susan Allan effectively collaborate to explore how school leaders can develop responsive, personalized, and differentiated classrooms. Differentiation is simply a teacher attending to the learning needs of a particular student or small group of students, rather than teaching a class as though all individuals in it were basically alike. A timely and important contribution to today's reinvigorated national discussion on educational policies and classroom practices at the national, state and local levels, Leadership For Differentiating Schools & Classrooms reveals how school leaders can encourage and support growth in our classrooms.

My wife got this book for my kid at the library. When she brought it home and I looked at it, I had to get it. I've been playing for about 3-4 years, but this book goes from simple to advanced with lots of diagrams and pictures. It also suggests which artists to listen to if you want to play a certain type of music.

This is a Great Beginner smorgasboard that touches on everything!, gives you a great overview of every kind of guitar playing, if your looking for an in depth book to walk you through step by step to learn to play this is not the book you are looking for, but if you are looking for a really fun book with nice color pictures with a wealth of imformation on a wide range of everything then this is the book for you, a great addition to your beginner library, not a stand alone teaching book, but for $8 you can't pass up this fun informational book! (make sure you check out the "Search inside this book" and "Surprise Me!" links, I'm sure there are some people that are not aware of these great features at Amazon.com)

A wonderful book for anyone who enjoys learning snare. This book has a lot to offer both the new and experienced snare drummer.

Best concert snare drum method book around. I learned from this book 35 years ago, and am teaching from it now. It includes an excellent section on how to play triangle, cymbals, tambourine, etc., including orchestral excerpts for these instruments.

It's a shame that this is no longer in print. Worth the price and lots of fun. Lots of hands on application.

I found the material useful to give demonstrations to my students. It makes learning perspective simple and fun and takes the mystery and complications out of a drawing class.

This book was send quickly and was in excellent condition as stated in the listing.

Thank you.

Phyllis Wilmott

I bought this book just after it came out and still use it over 15 years later. Suitable for the beginner (step-by-step) or advanced (technique refresher/ideas).

Great book!

My kids have followed the Suzuki curriculum for several instruments. I think the Harp progression is probably the best organized in terms of cleanly adding skills one at a time for each song. I would recommend it to anyone learning harp -- child or adult, "Suzuki" or "traditional".

It can be a lot easier to learn songs when you know the words. Here is one set:


Twinkle A
- Taka, Taka, Jump, Jump
- Mississippi Hot Dog
- Cinderella Princess

Twinkle B
- I love you
- Ice cream cone

Twinkle C
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I wonder what you are

Lavender's Blue
Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, Lavender's green
When I am king, dilly dilly, You shall be queen

Lightly Row
Lightly Row, Lightly Row (measures 1-2)
O'er the glassy sea we go (measures 3-4)
Singing floating, Singing floating (measures 5-6)
In our tiny little boat (measures 7-8)
Let the winds and waters be (measures 9-10)
Mingle with our melody (measures 11-12)
Singing floating, Singing floating (measures 13-14)
In our tiny little boat (measures 15-16)

Honeybee
Honeybee, (measures 1-2)
Don't you dare sting me (measures 3-4)
Buzzing, buzzing (measures 5-6)
Buzzing, buzzing (measures 7-8)
Honeybee, (measures 9-10)
Don't you dare sting me (measures 11-12)

Mary had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb (measures 1-2)
Little lamb, little lamb (measures 3-4)
Mary had a little lamb (measures 5-6)
Fleece was as white as snow (measures 7-8)

Cricket
Sunset fading, the evening is near (line 1)
Crickets calling, their voices so clear (line 2)
Cricket, cricket, Cricket, cricket, (line 3)
Night is falling, the stars now appear (line 4)

London Bridge
London Bridge is falling down (measures 1-2)
Falling down, falling down (measures 3-4)
London bridge is falling down (measures 5-6)
My fair lady (measures 7-8)

Go tell Aunt Rhody
Go tell aunt rhody (measure 1)
Go tell rhody (measure 2)
Go tell aunt rhody (measure 3)
Old grey goose is dead (measure 4)
Goslings are crying (measure 5)
Goslings crying (measure 6)
Goslings are crying (measure 7)
Coz mom's dead (measure 8)
Go tell aunt rhody (measure 9)
Go tell rhody (measure 10)
Go tell aunt rhody (measure 11)
Old grey goose is dead (measure 12)

Silent Night
Silent Night (measure 1)
Holy Night (measure 2)
All is calm (measure 3)
All is bright (measure 4)
Round yon virgin (measure 5)
Mother and child (measure 6)
Holy infant so (measure 7)
Tender and mild (measure 8)
Sleep in heavenly (measure 9)
Peace (measure 10)
Sleep in heavenly (measure 11)
Peace (measure 12)

Long, Long Ago
Tell me the tales that to me were so dear (measure 1-2)
Long, long ago, Long, long ago, (measure 3-4)
Sing me the songs I delighted to hear (measure 5-6)
Long, long ago, Long, long ago, (measure 7-8)
Long, long ago, it was long, long ago, (measure 9-10)
Long, long ago, it was long, long ago, (measure 11-12)
Tell me the tales that to me were so dear (measure 13-14)
Long, long ago, Long, long ago. (measure 15-16)

Little Playmates
See the little playmates (measure 1)
Playing on the playground (measure 2)
Hop scotch freeze tag a-nd (measure 3)
running rou-nd (measure 4)
See the little playmates (measure 5)
Playing on the playground (measure 6)
Swinging kick ball jumping (measure 7)
rope and tag (measure 8)
When it is raining they will (measure 9)
play inside (measure 10)
They like to colour (measure 11)
and to read books too (measure 12)
See the little playmates (measure 13)
Playing on the playground (measure 14)
Swinging kick ball jumping (measure 15)
rope and tag (measure 16)

Chante Arabe
I'm so hot, I'm so tired (measure 1-2)
Riding on camel's back (measure 3-4)
I'm so hot, I can't think (measure 5-6)
I would like a cold drink (measure 7-8)
But there's no water anywhere (measure 9-10)
When I look out, all I see is sand. (measure 11-12)
No there's no water anywhere (measure 13-14)
When I look out, all I see is sand and desert. (measure 15-16)

Goodbye to Winter
Goodbye to snow (measure 1-2)
Goodbye to cold (measure 3-4)
Goodbye to al the grey days (measure 5-6)
Hello to spring on its way (measure 7-8)
Hello to flowers (measure 9-10)
Goodbye to cold, Good (measure 11-12)
bye, good bye, spring is (measure 13-14)
here (measure 15-16)

The Good Little King of Yvetot
The little king of Yvetot
The little king of Yvetot
His subjects were so very glad
Best king they've ever had
Bouncing along, singing a song
He likes to ride on donkey's back
Donkey and king, are the same size
The king gets off, and donkey sighs.

Christmas-Day Secrets
Secrets, can you keep a secret (measure 1-2)
Wrapping special gifts that no-one can see (measure 3-4)
Shake it, careful not to break it (measure 5-6)
Hurry and replace underneath the tree. (measure 7-8)
Decorating, stockings all in place now (measure 9-10)
Snow is falling, car'lers calling (measure 11-12)
Children sleeping, all the gifts in place now (measure 13-14)
Mom's relaxing, Dad is snacking (measure 15-16)
Secrets, can you keep a secret (measure 17-18)
Wrapping special gifts that no-one can see (measure 19-20)
Shake it, careful not to break it (measure 21-22)
Hurry and replace underneath the tree. (measure 23-24)

Allegro
Head, head, eyes, eyes, nose and mouth and shoulders (measure 1-2)
Waist, waist, knees, knees, ankles ankles toes (measure 3-4)
Fingers, wrists and two elbows (measure 5-6)
Ears that listen, hair that grows (measure 7-8)
Head, head, eyes, eyes, nose and mouth and shoulders (measure 9-10)
Waist, waist, knees, knees, ankles ankles toes (measure 11-12)

I noticed that you said this method book was written by "Mary King Waddington". Well, that's incorrect. It should say "Mary KAY Waddington". It's Kay, not King. Please fix it!

Contrary to the writer of the only other review on this site, this book offers excellent detail and ideas on how to put Spanko's ideas into practice. The ideas are fresh, practical, and help push the limits of our often underestimated students' minds! Great Job!

This book was *highly* recommended to me by someone on the Internet, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

One of the best things about it is the author's conversational and humorous writing style. Also, I've been using one of the "extra credit" ideas for a required project that I think is a good one.

My main disappointment with this book is that it feels too much like what it is - a bunch of things that have been basically "pulled together" over the years by someone scrambling to get by. The activities are not as well thought-out as I would have liked. I guess I like teaching materials with a well thought-out, well-explained philosophy, where everything ties into that philosophy, and to some extent that is missing. I also would have liked some more specifics on how these ideas could be paced, put together into units, etc.

This book had many great ideas for making science more meaningful. I am looking forward to using the ideas presented here. This will be especially helpful with my diverse language population.

This is one of the best I've read on integrating writing. The author gives beautiful strategies for ELL and Special Ed students, as well as challenging your brightest students. Great examples, easy to apply in your classroom, links to quality science kits. I am giving this book to all of my colleagues!