Libsyn Directory

Dark Nights and Mysterious Tunes: Songs that Embrace the Spirit of Halloween

Release Date: 10/31/2023

Drum Roll Please! Welcome Back to School with Rhythm and Speech

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

Want to get your students speaking, playing, and learning on day one? Here's the perfect piece to use with your older elementary students. Learn a new speech piece that allows students to review/learn class expectations and procedures while making music. Head to TpT to get the Welcome Back to School Resource ! Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

Annual Halfway Goals Review

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

We are just past the halfway point of 2024! It's a great time to review how you're goals are going. In today's episode, we'll look at three areas: Long term goals Short term goals Task oriented goals You'll hear how I'm doing on a few of mine and gain a few ideas for continuing to go after yours. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

AMLE Institute Insights: Educating Middle School Students

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

I recently attended the AMLE Institute in San Diego, CA and am excited to share some insights from my experience as well introduce you to AMLE, if you've never heard of it before! Hear an overview of the Institute and takeaways from homebase and different sessions I attended. Head to Instagram and follow me @howtoteachmusicwithjessica! I'd love to connect with you! LINKS Association of Middle Level Educators

Pirates of the Caribbean: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

We’re continuing the series for arrangements inspired by pop music for the classroom. The Pirates of the Caribbean Theme is a great piece in 12/8 that is so much fun to play and a great opportunity for students to explore intervals of thirds in the chorus! Get your free Google Slides and full arrangement of the piece ! You'll be prompted to make a copy. For other barred instrument arrangements, listen in to: E289-Paint It Black E290 - Look what you made me do E291 - Down Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica!

Down: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

Learn a fun xylophone arrangement to use with your students that focuses on a verse/chorus form and movement activity with the song Down performed by Marian Hill. Get the free Google Slides presentation at and click on the shop. Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website:

Look What You Made Me Do: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

The first single from Taylor Swift's Reputation album is a fantastic way to teach musical form and provide opportunities for students to compose original melodies. Particularly with aaab form! Listen in to hear how I have used this piece with my students to learn melodies on the xylophones and get your free resource at my shop at Website: Instagram:

Paint It Black: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

The first arrangement of our series: Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones! I share the inspiration behind this arrangement, steps for teaching the piece to students, ideas for form, and how to expand on the original theme with rhythmic variations. The arrangement is written for xylophones. Get the free arrangement Follow me on Instagram .

Five Tips for Finding and Creating Pop Song Arrangements to Use in Your Classroom

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

Using pop music in your music classroom can be so much fun! Students love learning something they know or have heard before, playing music that they listen to at home, and performing songs for an audience who also knows the music. For the next several episodes I’ll be sharing pop song arrangements that I’ve created and used with my students for xylophone ensembles, but before we get to the actual arrangements I thought I’d share some tips for how you can find and create pop song arrangements to use in your classroom. What to look for, how to determine if a song would be a good fit for an...

Feeling the Sunday Scaries...Again

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

Now that we're a few weeks into the new year, you might be feeling the Sunday Scaries…again. Here is how I’ve worked through - and continue to work through - my Sunday Scaries. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website:

Five Classroom Procedures to Review in the New Year

How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant

January is a great time for a reset of classroom procedures. Here are five procedures to review that will help re-establish expectations and set a positive start for 2024 in your classroom. Pay close attention to number five - it's likely the most important one that will make a difference. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica or head to my website at to access teacher materials and join my mailing list!

More Episodes

The songs I’ll be sharing today are perfect to use with your upper elementary classes or choir, especially if you’re working on helping students learn how to sing in 2-parts. The pieces be great for a fall concert, to sing in class around Halloween or to use within a specific program related to a theme such as animals (The Bat) or literature (Edgar Allen Poe and William Shakespeare). I’d love to know if you’ve used any of these pieces with your students or if there’s one that stands out that you want to do with your students!

I’ll talk about each piece and share musical elements that stand out as well as activities, warm-ups, and games you could incorporate. You can find the links to each piece in the show notes or on my website in the podcast section.

Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica

Website: www.jessicagrant.org

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