Marvelous Music Makers for Music Ed: "The Hill Brothers"

As the first of my "Marvelous Music Makers", I'd like to introduce..."The Hill Brothers" (and Hill sister, Suzie)! At the beginning of each new school year, I use their "3R's: Respect, Responsibility, and Reading" CD for the first five weeks of school with my first graders. As one of our veteran paraprofessionals recently said to a new staff member, "You'll hear it until your ears bleed!"

The group is based out of upstate New York, but they have traveled down to our school in Western Pennsylvania twice in the past six years. The Hill Brothers give an excellent live show; they involve the audience, and leave behind infectious tunes remembered for months to come.

Great Expectations

As a student, I always hated "THE RULES". Of course, without rules life would be chaos, but there was always a part of me that resented being told what to do! Even as a teacher, I resist saying "Follow the rules". Instead, I ask my students to "Fulfill my expectations".

Music Questions for Games

My students love to play games in music, and they get quite competitive in the process! Having a set of music questions on index cards on hand is very useful; I can use them with any game (music football, music baseball, etc.) that I dream up to play in music. 

If you get these prepared early in the school year, then you will be ready for any game that you want to include in your classes for the entire school year! (Forethought=timesaving=good!)

I like to give the students two choices of answers to pick from; that way they have a 50/50 chance at success, which adds to the fun.  Here are some examples of questions I use for grades 5 and 6, taken straight from our music series and curriculum:

Kick the new school year off right...with Music Football!

I like to start the school year off with a review game for my older students (4th, 5th, and 6th grades)...and what better game for the fall season than (American) Football...although I've tweaked the rules to review musical vocabulary or instruments that the students can identify.

Making the football field by hand was a big time investment when I made the first one (about 10 years ago!), but today I think that I'd take a simpler route and use Google Image to find a simple view of a football field such as the one pictured here. I'd then blow it up using a color copier and laminate it for durability.  The game board that I use for my classroom is roughly 2 1/2 feet by 6 feet.

Fabric Maps

Check out these USA map and World map panels of fabric at JoAnn Fabrics!

Fabric for Bulletin Board Coverings



(This is a new one I bought for this school year!)

 A few years back, I started using fabric to cover my bulletin boards, and I've been so happy with the results.  Using fabric for bulletin boards beats paper by far because it is:

• Much easier to hang.
• Fades less than paper (but also depends on the fabric).
• Looks more appealing and interesting.
• More durable than paper (you won't be re-hanging it year after year).
• Widely available in many musical patterns.