Musicplay Kindergarten Teacher's Guide + Digital Resources

Musicplay Kindergarten is a comprehensive program that offers a diverse range of songs and activities, providing you with options to teach concepts and skills your way. The sequencing of reading songs aligns with both Orff and Kodaly processes, so you know you’re getting a well-rounded program.

At the core of the Musicplay Kindergarten Teacher Guide, you'll find a suggested lesson plan, but here's the beauty: it's a menu. You know your students and community best. Customize your curriculum by choosing the songs and activities that align with your state or province requirements. You choose the songs and activities that hold the most appeal for you and your students.

Let Musicplay be your guiding framework while empowering you to make the choices that best suit your unique teaching style and the needs of your students.

Quick Summary

• 40 Weekly Detailed Lessons
• A Year Plan
• Month Outlines (August – June)
• Song Notation + Teaching Suggestions (175 songs)
• Curriculum Connections (language arts, math, social studies, science, basic skills, health, social skills)
• Assessment Rubrics and Checklists (beat, singing in tune, voice quality, types of voices)
• Classified Indexes (theme, multicultural music, holiday, seasonal, patriotic, song type, and genre)
• Performance / Vocal / Accompaniment mp3s (175 songs)
• Primary Dances and Singing Games (27 composed and traditional dances and singing games)

Scope and Sequence & the Year Plan

Musicplay Kindergarten prepares, presents, and practices new concepts in a reinforcing way to ensure that the students are always having fun and being supported.

The skills in the scope and sequence include moving, speaking, singing, playing, listening, reading notation, and creating. The general concepts are beat and rhythm, melody, harmony, form, expression, and culture. The year plan includes beat/rhythm, expression, melody, harmony, listening, creating, form, culture, and movement. It also includes three different types of songs: teaching songs, action/game songs, and theme/repertoire songs.

Month Outlines

Month outlines have three categories: song lists, lesson modules, and additional options. The month outline will give you the entire Musicplay song list with key concepts for each song. The list includes accompanying listening selections for each week. Many teachers highlight the songs that they want to use and loosely follow the monthly outlines. 

Week at a Glance

The week at a glance is a summarized look at the song list and where there are opportunities to sing, move, listen, read, write, create, and assess. It also includes the songs and activities that are used in the pre-built lesson on MusicplayOnline.

175 Songs

The concepts, I can statements, and core arts standards for every song are clearly labeled at the top of the song’s page. Below the song’s notation, you will find game directions, teaching purpose, and teaching suggestions. In addition, every song has suggested activities under headings such as playing and creating, music reading and writing, assessment, and curriculum connections. Each song comes with a vocal/performance mp3 and an accompaniment mp3.

Most of these songs have additional printables, interactives, videos, arrangements, and more that can be accessed on MusicplayOnline with a valid subscription.

Recordings

Download the vocal/performance mp3s to save your voice or help support a performance. Accompaniment mp3s are also available for performances.

Primary Dances and Singing Games – Bonus Resource!

The Musicplay Kindergarten teacher’s guide also comes with Primary Dances and Singing Games. In this bonus resource, you get 27 composed and traditional dances and singing games. Students love singing the songs and playing the games in this collection! Along with dance and game directions, this book includes suggestions for teaching-related curriculum and musical concepts. 11 dances and singing games from this resource cannot be found on MusicplayOnline such as Dinosaur Rock and Roll and Ants Go Marching.

I have MusicplayOnline – what’s the difference?

The printed materials included in this teacher guide are accessible across MusicplayOnline, but they are spread across the website rather than in one single location. Having the printed teacher’s guide saves you assembly time and the printing costs of assembling your own teacher's guide.

On MusicplayOnline you do have access to download the song accompaniment mp3s. However, MusicplayOnline does not allow you to download song vocal mp3s. Gain instant access to downloadable song vocal mp3s and classical listening excerpt mp3s with this teacher’s guide, perfect for offline situations such as gym performances or unexpected internet disruptions.

Finally, the world has moved to the internet but that doesn’t mean you have to. If you prefer using a printed program with audio mp3s or don’t have the internet signal to support teaching from a website, this printed teacher’s guide is for you.

Musicplay Kindergarten Digital Resources

The digital resource package includes all the digital content that compliments the Musicplay curriculum. If you’ve ever had the WiFi in your school let you down, having access to the song videos, PowerPoints or mp3s is very helpful!

Quick Summary

• Song PowerPoints
• PDF of PowerPoints
• Lyrics and Notation Videos
• Note Highlight Videos
• Teacher and/or Kids Demos
• Audio mp3s
• Searchable Excel Index

Each Song PowerPoint Includes

• Musical notation
• Song lyrics with colorful illustrations - great for shared reading!
• One slide lyrics: All lyrics for each song are given on one slide for times that the teacher doesn’t want to click through a PowerPoint.
• Color-coded Boomwhacker® melodies for simple reading and scale songs
• Slides to teach students melody, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, form, and expression.
• Orff arrangements or Bordun suggestions for many songs.
• Links to related websites for many songs.

Resource Index