There's No Place Like Music

Being from Kansas, I originally created this bulletin board set for Kansas Day. It's actually not a bulletin board at all, just the side of one of my file cabinets.

Most all of my kids have seen the Wizard of Oz and they loved these posters and I loved that they had a great music advocacy tie in. 

Find the posters here: 

Since then, I've had several other teachers send me pictures of the bulletin boards that they have come up with using this set and they are so creative!

How cool is the detail on this one: 

Below is a picture from my friend, Kendra, who used this set for a door decor contest! I love the rainbow and lyrics she added to the side! 

Then, I had a music teacher ask for student response sheets where they could explain in their own words why there is no place like music. So I came up with these:

You can talk about each character and what they were hoping to get from the wizard. Relate those things to the way that music makes us feel or how music improves our lives. Example – the lion wanted courage because he was always scared of everything. Music makes me feel brave/courageous when____________. I have included several different formats so that you can pick what will work best with your students. 

The first layout simply shows the character and shows the word of what they wanted. Younger students can draw on these pages to show how music makes them feel these ways or you can give your older kids a different prompt (Ex. This song makes me feel brave________ ) and they can write and draw.

On the second and third layouts, the prompt is given along with the character clip art and trait, ex. “Music makes me feel at home when…”. The second layout provides room to draw and/or write (unlined). The third layout provides room for them to write (lined) and a smaller drawing area.

Here are some of the student responses. They are backed with construction paper and hung up in the hallway for everyone to read!

If you have used these sets, I would love to see pictures of your displays! I hope this set has helped my own students to think about and realize all of the amazing benefits of music.

Celebrating Music In Our Schools Month

If you are looking for ideas to celebrate Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) with your kiddos, I pulled together some of the ideas that I am doing to share with you.

I finished hanging my "Wild About Music" bulletin board a couple of days ago. 

I used fabric as the background, die cut letters I already had on hand, posters from my "Wild About Music" bulletin board set, backed them with construction paper. The green animal print border trim was actually the reverse side of the trim I had used on my nautical set. Love that when you can get extra bang for your buck!

I made the poms by hand from tissue paper and the tree is made out of brown butcher paper that we had on hand in the supply closet. I had to have a kindergarten teacher show me how to do the tree like this, but basically you just tear off long strips, roll them to make a tube and then twist and crinkle. Let me know if you need more explanation or a tutorial on it!

It is right by where the students line up at the end of music, so they will get to read the posters as they are in line. I've already had students ask "How does music improve my math?" and then it opens us up to having conversations about it, which is really cool, especially for my upper elementary kids (I think the little kids just like looking at the animals) :)

Here are some pictures I have received from other teachers who have used this set on their bulletin boards! 

Love that big tiger! So cute! (From the classroom of Jena Hudson)

(From the classroom of Becky Arnett)

Out in the hallway, I just put up a "Who Am I?" display. I used Tracy King's (FREE!) staff survey to find out more about each of our staff members (what instruments they played, if they were ever in band/orchestra/choir, what kind of music they listen to, if they still enjoy going to performances, etc.) I learned a lot of new things reading through them. I typed up a paragraph for each teacher and had them printed on colorful paper. I cut construction paper to cover the teachers' names so that the kids will read the paragraph and try to guess who the teacher is, then lift the flap to see if they are right. 

I am excited for the kids to see it next week. Even the staff members have enjoyed learning more about each other's musical identities. I especially love how it shows my kids that even though these teachers didn't grow up and become professional musicians or music teachers that music was still a really important part of their high school/college career and that many still do regularly attend concerts, musicals, etc. It might be fun to try at YOUR school.

If you want to use my template for my typed up paragraph pages (this is not what the teacher filled out. For that I used Tracy King's free staff survey), click here. You will need to install the following fonts on your computer if you want it to look like mine, or just choose your own fonts. 

(All of these fonts are free for personal use. If you ever want to use them commercially, 

you need to purchase a license which is $5 per font)

What are you doing for MIOSM?