Macie Publishing Company is offering FREE, fun-filled, hands-on, virtual sessions during January/February. The workshops will be on Monday nights at 7:00 pm EST (the last one is on Tuesday) for an hour and a half.
We are pleased to be partnering with the United Educators Association in North Texas, who will be supplying CPE (Continuing Education) Credits - 1 ½ per session. The UEA is registered with the State Board of Texas and credit may be transferable to other states. Please check with your administration. Certificates of completion will be provided.
Registration is required - you can register for any or all of the sessions.
All sessions will be presented via Zoom. You will receive a reminder with the login information a few days before the workshop and again on that Monday. Please check your spam folder if you don't see it in your inbox.
Monday, January 3rd 7 p.m. - Teaching Rhythm, The First "R" with Dr. Ran Whitley - Music reading skills are a fundamental building block for young musicians. Most challenges may be traced to problems understanding and reading rhythms. Ran will present proven, classroom-tested techniques for getting your young students to become great rhythm readers, develop music reading skills and achieve rhythmic independence.
Monday, January 10th 7 p.m. - Top 10 Recorder Challenges with Anita Edwards – There are certain universal challenges that all recorder teachers face such as keeping the left hand on top, avoiding overblowing and finding affordable, effective curriculum materials and recorders. This session addresses these challenges in the form of a focused Top Ten list. Topics and solutions will be presented. Participants will be able to ask questions about their own challenges, share suggestions and exchange ideas.
Monday, January 17th 7 p.m. - Flipgrid: Easily Exchanging Videos with your Students with Rina Sklar – While fewer teachers are currently teaching remotely, many continue to be limited or in some cases even prohibited from singing or playing recorder in class. The importance of using the best, most effective online platforms to stay connected to our students remains at a premium. Rina will demonstrate the newest version of Flipgrid, a free platform that will enable you to easily create and exchange videos with your students.
Monday, January 24th 7 p.m. - Yoga as a Tool for Musicianship: Building Self-Confidence for your Young Recorder Stars with Roxana Han – Sport your best yoga outfit and join us for a session on how yoga connects with every aspect of recorder playing. Get tips and tricks that you can use in the classroom tomorrow to promote practice, posture, breath work, health, singing, confidence, and team building.
Monday, January 31st 7 p.m. - Boomwhacker Fun in the General Music Classroom with Dr. Ran Whitley – Boomwhackers are marvelous instruments that can be used to teach melody, rhythm, harmony, notation, form, expression and many other concepts. This session presents activities and ideas to teach these concepts in the general music classroom using fun games and children’s books (K-8). Boomwhackers can provide an especially valuable option if you are restricted from singing or playing in class.
Monday, February 7th 7 p.m. - Keys to a Piano Lab that Works - Putting your Keyboards to Work with Lenna Harris – The piano keyboard is a central learning experience for the development of young musicians and provides a wonderful foundation. Especially if singing and playing instruments in class being sometimes limited, it is important to look at other options. Lenna will discuss teaching techniques for the piano lab setting suitable for a variety of age ranges (grades 4-9) and will present Keys to Successful Piano Performance, an all-in-one piano method ideal for piano lab.
Tuesday, February 15th 7 p.m. - ESL in the Recorder Classroom with Dr. Ran Whitley – Music is a universal language meant to be enjoyed by all. Are you teaching students whose primary language is Spanish or teaching ESL or Dual Language classes? Are you looking for ways to make these students comfortable and smoothly integrate them into your music class? Using music to bridge the gap can be fun and helpful for all of your students. You don’t have to be fluent in Spanish to be effective, but you do need to be functional. Using the context of the recorder class, Ran will provide basic vocabulary and practical suggestions for lessons and exercises that are easy and fun. He will include ideas for incorporating parental support into the learning process.
*All times are Eastern Standard Time
