Category Archives: Class Teaching

Go Slow

  I have had four reminders recently of the importance of teaching and learning s-l-o-w-l-y. On Saturday I had a gap between students at the Music Centre, and filled it with some long-overdue piano practice. First I checked out a couple … Continue reading

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Non-identical twin classes

I shouldn’t be that surprised that the two classes in the same year group with the same sort of mixture of children and lovely, experienced class teachers should be so different. But I am having to think hard about these … Continue reading

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Post from https://bennewmark.wordpress.com

I follow this blog (among many others!) and was struck by this post: https://bennewmark.wordpress.com/2018/10/25/things-that-havent-worked-for-me-and-the-things-that-have/ Ben Newmark is a Humanities teaching in a secondary school, and that will give a certain direction how is has arranged his lists. Maybe some things … Continue reading

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Subdividing the Pulse – Movement

One of my piano teachers, the one that taught me through to my Teaching Diploma, was fanatical in demanding accuracy in subdividing the pulse. So much so, that when I heard a subway busker playing Bach on her flute, it … Continue reading

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The First Guitar Lesson

I did it! I survived! We all did it and survived – it was a magnificent piece of planning and cooperation and teamwork. I’m talking about the first Whole Class Ensemble Session of the year with a cast of the … Continue reading

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42/60 A Surfeit of Christmas Concerts

The joy of working in several different schools is that you experience different school cultures, environments, collect new ideas, meet so many lovely people. But at this time of year I take a rather different view; Tomorrow (Saturday) is the … Continue reading

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37/60 Finger Puppets and Recorders

My finger puppets have been working hard. I was able to teach a class of thirty year 3 children how to play the note “C” in just a few minutes. This was in the seventh of a series of ten … Continue reading

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36/60 Getting the children in and out

Most of my “transitions” with a class of primary school children happen in quite an orderly fashion, but I have one class of year 3s who chitter like a a cage of agitated monkeys as they move from classroom to … Continue reading

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