The Portable Classroom,

1. The Portable Classroom, Or is it The Portable Teacher . . . On a Cartor At Multiple Schools

2. About me: • I am a graduate of Catawba Valley Community College and Lenoir-Rhyne University (I went back as an adult, married with 2 extremely active daughters in middle and high school!) • I have taught in 3 schools at one time with 2800 students, all of whom were named Fred. (I never saw most of them long enough to learn their names, however, they always knew which students I meant when I called out Fred.) • I have taught in a theater, stairwell, moved from classroom to classroom without a cart, taught in a basement, hallway and almost anywhere there has been space. • Now, I am a general music teacher, Pre-K through 5 at George Hildebrand Elementary School and Mull Elementary. Both are socio-economically similar, and are both full Title 1 schools. • I am also now a widow with 2 amazing and beautiful daughters who are both grown and married both who moved far, far away from home to wonderful young men that I love! My oldest now has the most beautiful son you have ever seen that is the most blessed thing in my life.

3. My Schools • My main school, George Hildebrand, I have been at for 11 years and I have built up the program as much as I can with little money. • This is my first year at my other school, I share with another music specialist, Mrs. Wendy Cooper. She is an amazing musician and specialist. We see different children. She is there one day a week, while I am there 2 days. • I have a mobile at my main school and I have a nice large room at my other school. However, I must set up and completely tear down each week. • Both schools are very rural and have little cultural opportunities for the students.

4. Itinerant Teachers • Keep communication open with your administration. Know that you are the only music teacher they have so they often view you as a full-time faculty member. • Keep a master calendar of events and make arrangements with your administrators when conflicts arise. • Make sure you find out what they expect of you. • Communicate concerns with them ASAP. • Pick your battles. Get a feel for your circumstances and go with your instinct. Not all battles are worth fighting. • Ask questions, ask for equipment, money for your programs-the worst they can say is no. If you don’t ask and promote your programs, then no one will do it for you! • Become a member of a group of others, being alone is not good, join other music teachers, in fact, join our wiki!!!

5. My Salvation – Organization!! • I have created notebooks for each month including holidays, season, special lessons, composers, general music theory, etc., all of which are still a work in order. Each notebook has playlists, cds, overheads in transparencies, lists of books and videos for the themes, lesson plans both current and previous years that I liked, sub plans with instructions and cds, worksheets. • All overheads go into notebooks into sheet protectors with the name of the song and where it comes from. My entire collection of MK8 Magazines have transparencies of each song in notebooks. Again, they are in sheet protectors with the name of the song & the volume they come from. I just pull out the ones I need for a lesson and attach them to the lesson plan materials. I know exactly where to return them when I am finished.

6. I have everything color-coded with different paper and colors for each school. • I organize my iPod the way my notebooks are organized. • I have lists of everything including lists of lists and keep records of what is where and which school or my car! I put them in the monthly notebooks so I can find them easily. I do have a general music notebook. • I have my room organized by crates, so I can just grab and go with them. • Label everything!!!!! I use return address labels and run several sheets of them. I keep them on my clipboard to keep them handy! • Now that technology is available, I am having to switch things from my transparencies to pdf files. This is a daunting task. • I always have a plan B!!!

7. Day to Day Organization • My lesson plans, cds in sleeves, playlists, transparencies, worksheet copies to show students, etc are in sheet protectors and I use “o” rings to hook them together for that lesson plan. • I have lots of stackable baskets that I organize my lesson materials in by grade levels or group by grade ranges. • Accordion pleated file folders are great for day to day organization. I have them color-coded for each day with the schedule taped to the front and the teacher’s names on the file labels inside. I put all student work in them. I just grab the day I need and everything is in there for each class. • Seating charts, color-coded of course, are a must with places for learning names, keeping attendance, whether they have their recorder and any other notes and any information about the students, such as emergency action plans; if you go into the classrooms, keep info like where outlets are, whether they have overheads; teachers info such as preferences about their rooms, etc.

8. Teach Procedures & Rules!! • BE CONSISTENT & PERSISTENT!! You have the children at the school for the length from Pre-K to 5th or whatever grade levels you teach. You will make your life easier for each year you teach them if you set the standards early. Plus you will only have to teach your new students each year. • Teach them how you want anything distributed, picked up or put up like books, papers, lapboards, crayons, instruments, etc. • Teach them how to move desks, chairs, etc. and put them back. You might even make up a song or play music that gives them about the proper time. • Play an instrument, sing a little jig or have sound cues for when to do certain things. • Entering, exiting and emergency drill procedures are a must!! • Practice making a circle, moving to the right and to the left as well as clockwise & counter-clockwise for the older ones. I promise you can teach so many more dances quickly and enjoy them more!

9. Keep It Simple!!! • Utilize whatever resources you need for 1 grade level in as many other grade levels as possible. If you are using any instrument for any lesson, then utilize it in as many others as possible!! • Give yourself permission to do only lessons you think are fun. It is ok if you have fun and enjoy your lesson!!! If not, you will definitely burn out quickly. • Keep simple things with you for lesson extensions if you need them at your reach. I use Denise Gagne’s Singing Games often. I have rhythm charts bound for them to use to play, clap, chant or dictate. • Composing and notating can be done on cut-outs. I make a bunch up at the beginning of the year so I don’t have to rush to make anything. If I do the wrong amount, I only have a few to make quickly! • Make copies during the workdays that you know you will use during the year. It will save time in the long run!! • Don’t ever be afraid to revisit a lesson!!! You can assess your students abilities easily! And you can give yourself a break!

10. Be kind to yourself!! • You really don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do this. I tried and there is NOT one better that can be made, at least by me. • Dress comfortably for your day. It’s never good to be in a dress when you are in the floor with Pre-K! • Keep extra water with you and a snack or 2. You need to stay hydrated!!! And a sweater for those changing temperatures between schools or rooms. • Have something the students can do without formal direction for the opening of your lesson. Listen to classical music, a new song, echo songs, or body percussion routine for example. This gives you a chance to change gears between grade levels, finish preparation, take roll or assess if you need to alter your lesson plans if you have unexpected changes in your environment, new seating arrangement, etc. • Give yourself permission to make your lessons easy every now and again so you can recharge or catch up.

11. Be flexible. If you can’t change the circumstances and you have no choice, your attitude and how you deal with it may be the only things in your control. Believe me, sometimes it isn’t worth it to make yourself miserable!! I don’t want to have bad days, so I try not to!! • Have fun and never forget your reason for teaching music. Your students will benefit from a positive attitude and you will be able to enjoy your job. • I also keep a few small pictures of things that make me happy like my precious grandson, me and my daughters, me and my fella and the beach. When I am not feeling the best, they always make me smile and provide me a moment of solitude that can sometimes give me enough reprieve to get my focus back! • I also have my own iPod with my own music on it. I can escape between classes with my headphones and my choice of music!!!

12. Your Bag of Tricks • I always have several books to either read or sing. The younger students I sing to while the older students, I read composer biographies like the young musician series. I only read part of them each lesson, review and listen to the music of the composer. (I also use Themes to Remember books and cd’s to reinforce the classical music.) • I have different rhythm charts for them to read, play, echo, chant or clap as rounds. • I keep a tackle box of items like paper clips close at hand. • I also have Get Kids Singing Old Favorites and More Old Favorites on transparencies as well as patriotic songs children should know for fillers as well. Let’s face it, we can never sing “The Star Spangled Banner” or I Met A Bear too many times! • I pick a song each year that every grade level learns. • Last but not least pick anything you love to sing, play or do that will make your lessons enjoyable for you and life easier!

13. Know you are notalone!!!!! • Sign up with an email group. I love the MK8 list. There is always wonderful ideas from amazing teachers who inspire me and do often make me jealous of what I could have. They also provide help with questions and problems that we have. • Reach out to other teachers who are in similar circumstances. We may be the only ones in our schools who have a schedule like ours. But there are other music teachers in our area that have a will gladly listen and help any way we can so contact us! • I have created a wiki for the Portable Classroom. It is a place to share and communicate with others in this situation. http://portableteacher.wikispaces.com And please note that all the information from this presentation will be available, so join us there.

14. Books to Sing or Read: • Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Kikola-Lisa • There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a . . . By Lucille Colandro • Marsupial Sue by John Litghow • The Lost Music Published by Child’s Play • The Musical Life of Gustav Mole Published by Child’s Play • The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow • The Bat Boy & His Violin by Gavin Curtis • Berlioz The Bear by Jan Brett • How Sweet The Sound: African American Songs For Children by Selected by Wade And Cheryl Hudson • Ella Sets The Stage by Carmela & Steven D’Amico • The Berenstain Bears Get Stage Fright by Stan Berenstain • I See A Song by Eric Carle • The Wheels on The Bus by Iza Trapani • The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Iza Trapani • There Was An Old Monster by Adrian Rebecca and Ed Emberley • Moses Goes To A Concert by Isaac Millman • Animal Boogie by Debbie Harter • Cows In the Kitchen by Jane Crebbin • If You're Happy And You Know It (Jungle Edition) by James Warnola • Any composer biographies like the Young Musician Series that can be read to older students.

15. Wonderful Web Resources • http://www.musick8.com • http://www.musicbulletinboards.net • http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/ • http://www.lessonplanspage.com/Music.htm • http://teachers.net/cgi-bin/lessons/sort.cgi?searchterm=Music • http://www.instructorweb.com/music.asp • http://www.theteacherscorner.net/lesson-plans/music/index.htm • http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/music.html • http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/eledMusic.html • http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edmusic.htm • http://www.dsokids.com/

16. http://www.musicplay.ca • http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ • http://mrskingrocks.blogspot.com/ • http://www.classicsforkids.com/activitysheets/October2009.pdf

17. My Contact Information:Dee YoderGeorge Hildebrand Elementary School 828-879-9595, ext 217Monday, Thursday & FridayMull Elementary School828-437-5785, Tuesday & Wednesdaydyoder@burke.k12.nc.usdee.yoder@yahoo.com Good Luck Where ever You Teach!