Back to School Prep: Grade book...

Ugh...grading.  Not my favorite thing to do, especially because I feel a tad bit guilty giving a student a grade based on their class room performance.  Sometimes these grades are misunderstood by students (and parents) as me saying their child "can't sing well" or "can't play instruments well".  Nevertheless, it's a part of my job, and it must be done.

I combat the questioning by posting my rubrics on my class website every nine weeks, so that when students ask "Why did you give me a _______? My mom wants to know...", I can refer them to my website.

This year, I made posters with the different grades that students can earn, so that they can self-assess often.

This is my grade-level expectation.  Getting the + requires more effort, and if a student earns the -, it's because they are having a little difficulty, not because they "aren't good at music".  

In addition to these quarterly rubrics, I also have rubrics that I used to grade individual objectives.  Last year, rubrics were my best friend.  I use 4-point rubrics, with 3 being the expectation.    Over the course of the year, I developed rubrics for most of the performance based assessments that I include on the report card.  This year, I printed all of these in my new paper grade book :-/.

I used to only keep grades electronically, but that was such a hassle, and I spent too much time at the end of the nine weeks scrambling through seating charts to find the grades.  So, I decided to give a paper book a try this year, and I figure it can also serve as a physical record of student grades if they are ever challenged by a parent.

Just like the plan book, I spent quite a while developing a grade sheet that would work for me, and a book layout that would work.  I'm pretty happy with the finished result...for now.

Cover

Report Card Rubric

Grade Sheet; Two page spread
I can see the entire year at one glance!  

Recorder Rubric and Grade Sheet

Recorder Rubric

Back to School Prep: Anchor Charts

I was surfing pinterest a few months ago, and I came across some fabulous music anchor charts from CaraC at MiscellaneousMe.  They were fun and colorful, and my wheels immediately started turning!

She offers hers as a free download, but I wanted mine to have a uniform look that would blend easily into my classroom.  So, using hers as inspiration, I created my own anchor charts! I literally spent the past few months perfecting them, and now they are ready for printing!  I'll be getting them printed in full color on 11 x 17 cardstock, then laminated for durability!

Once I've posted them in my room, I'll add some pictures of the posters in action!

*UPDATE* 8/22/2013  These posters are now available in my TpT store.  

The rhythm syllable poster is free.

The other 7 charts can be purchased here as a set for $3.95.

Back to School Prep: Lesson Planner

Summer job is done, so it's time to start getting ready for the new school year!

Like most music teachers and/or specialists, it's really hard to use commercially made lesson planners, because they just aren't made for us.  I've always just typed my plans on the computer, in my own template, but last year, I decided to create my own plan book so that I could write things down for myself.  It was great, but after using it all year, I decided to make some changes to it.

I condensed my lesson plan space to one page per week; the original design was good at first, but it really just had more information than I needed for my personal plans.  For example, my objectives are already posted in my classroom, and my formal plans include them as well, so I really didn't use the space for that.  Also, it was spread over two pages for one week, and that just made for a lot of extra paper.

Original Design (one page of the two page design)

The new design is one page, and only includes the necessary info; Grade level, lesson topic, learning plan (procedure) and assessments at the bottom.  In addition to the lesson planning portion, my planner has sections for long range and quarterly planning, plus a section for planning my grade level performances!

I printed the interior pages at home, and had the cover printed at Staples.  When I went to pick it up, I had everything bound into one book, and added a clear plastic cover and a black backing.  

Cover

Long Range Planning

Program Planning

Quarter Calendar and Divider

Weekly plan and Notes page (at the end of the quarter)

A generic version of my planner is available for purchase through my TpT store here.

Be sure to download the preview file to see the pages up close.