Resources
Ready to empower your students? Here are some resources that can help!
Looking to empower your students and boost engagement? Explore our resources to create a student-driven music classroom, fostering ownership and igniting a passion for learning!
Rhythm Activity e-Book
Transform a teacher-led rhythm assessment into a student-centered activity book using this Rhythm Activity e-Book template. Give students a stronger purpose and a larger audience!
Makerspace Challenge
Giving the students the opportunity to create in the music room is an important part of their empowerment journey! With a Makerspace Challenge, students can apply what they have learned about instruments and sound to create something new.
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 the most fun using pencil and paper, it’s a versatile activity that will also work digitally.
Dynamics Menu Template
Give students choice when learning new 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.
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 growth, and then decide their next steps for learning. An exit ticket is a great tool for starting the reflection process.
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 during class.
Concert Song Introductions
A great way to give students ownership when preparing for a concert is to have them write the concert song introductions! Students can research the piece and add their own thoughts to share with the audience.
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.
Social Media Sharing Form
Many music teachers have created social media accounts for their classrooms. Using the social media sharing form, teachers can empower their students and have them create the content shared.
Lesson Planning Templates
Planning templates are a great way to stay organized when preparing your weekly lessons. Use these templates together when planning so you can look for places to pass the baton and begin empowering your students!
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 ownership when learning a new piece of music.
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!
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 young musicians.
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.
National Core Arts Standards Audit
The National Core Art Standards Audit is designed to help music educators integrate and assess the NCAS in their classrooms. The audit is structured so teachers can customize it for their classes to track engagement with different artistic processes and standards over time.
Using Memojis to Practice Rhythmic Dictation
Memojis can be fun and engaging when practicing dictation. A Memoji is a customizable animated emoji you can create to look like yourself or a variety of characters.
Creating a Classroom Recording Studio – Checklist
A recording studio can be a powerful tool for student learning and fostering creativity. Not only do students find the recording studio fun to use, it also provides opportunities for listening and editing in a distraction-free environment.
Let Students Decide
Are your students actively making decisions in music class, or are they just following directions? Giving students ownership over their learning fosters engagement, creativity, and deeper understanding.
Looking for more help? Join the Pass the Baton Coffee Club!
Coffee Club members gain access to a treasure trove of downloadable lesson plans, resources, a private podcast aligned with Pass the Baton principles, and more.
Explore these engaging activities to find ways to integrate music composition into your music classes, enriching the learning experience for all students.
In this fun lesson, students will step into the shoes of art curators and explore the powerful connection between art and music.
In this lesson, students will explore the relationship between music and visual art through a variety of activities.
This comprehensive bundle equips you with engaging activities to transform your ensemble into a student-centered learning environment.
This purposeful project allows students to make music, have fun, and share their creativity with others.
This project challenges students to explore the sounds that define their community.
In this project, students will explore classical and contemporary music by creating their own mashups.
Exclusive conversations and behind-the-scenes insights for Coffee Club members.
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!