Resources

Looking to Pass the Baton and empower your music students? Here are some resources to get you started!

RHYTHM ACTIVITY EBOOK

Transform a teacher-led rhythm assessment into a student-centered activity book using this Rhythm Activity eBook template. Give students a stronger purpose and larger audience!

Rhythm Activity e-Book

MAKERSPACE CHALLENGE

Get students creating with this fun Makerspace activity! Challenge students to use what they know about musical instruments and sound to create their own instrument using household materials.

Makerspace Challenge

SNOWBALL FIGHT TEMPLATE

A snowball fight is a fun way for students to work together, brainstorm, and create in music class. While the snowball fight is most fun using paper and pencil, it’s a versatile activity that will work digitally as well.

Snowball Fight

DYNAMICS MENU TEMPLATE

Give students choice when learning now content by having them “order” tasks from a menu! This Dynamics Menu template allows students to choose how they interact with content, demonstrate mastery, and extend their learning.

Dynamics Menu Template

EXIT TICKET: SELF-REFLECTION

When students reflect on their work, they begin to take ownership of their learning. Students articulate their strengths and opportunities for grown, and then decide their next steps for learning. An exit ticket is a great tool for starting the reflection process while offering us valuable information as well.

Exit Ticket Self-Reflection

STUDENT JOBS: BADGE TEMPLATE

Adding student jobs is an easy way for them to take ownership in any music classroom! Use this template to create and print job “badges” for students to wear on a lanyard in class. The extra step of printing badges helps students have even more pride and ownership of these important roles.

Student Jobs: Badge Template

CONCERT SONG INTROS

A great way to give students ownership when preparing for a concert is to have them write the song introductions! Students can research the piece and add their own thoughts to share with the audience.

Concert Song Intros

INFORMANCE TEMPLATE

Empower your students to create an Informance for an authentic audience. Add additional slides and personalize the presentation with music and images from your classroom.

Informance Template

SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING FORM

Many music teachers have created social media accounts for their classrooms, using Twitter, Instagram, TicTok, and more. These accounts are a great way to share what happens in the classroom with families, the school, and the community. By using this Social Media Sharing Form, teachers can empower their students and have them create the content shared.

Social Media Sharing Form

LESSON PLANNER TEMPLATES

Planning templates are great way to stay organized when preparing your weekly lessons. Use these templates together while planning so you can look for places to pass the baton and begin empowering your students!

Lesson Planner Template

STUDENT-LED SCORE STUDY

Empower the students in your ensembles with a student-led score study experience! Students can dive deep into their own parts or the conductor’s score to learn more about the music. Give students this ownership when learning a new piece of music.

Student-Led Score Study

CREATING A STUDENT CENTER

One way for students to have more ownership in the music classroom is for them to feel the space is just as much theirs as it is yours. You can accomplish this by creating a student center!

Creating a Student Center

BRINGING A CHILDREN’S BOOK TO LIFE

Invite your students to create a presentation based on a book and its accompanying music to share with an audience. By empowering students in this decision-making process, they will take initiative, gain independence, and confidence as a young musicians.

Children’s Book Template

GET KIDS TALKING ABOUT MUSIC

While often the goal is for students to actively make music, there is also value in having students think and talk about music!Thinking and talking about music provides a variety of educational, cognitive, and social benefits.

Talking About Music

Interested in learning more about empowering the students in your music classroom? Check out Pass the Baton: Empowering All Music Students by Kathryn Finch and Theresa Hoover!

Free Preview of Pass the Baton