by Melissa Stouffer | May 12, 2026 | All, General Music Lessons
Time fillers are necessary and important. Sometimes a lesson takes less time than we think. Other times, it’s necessary to have a time filler if students are struggling with behavior on a game. Sometimes the classroom teacher is late even when they dropped their...
by Melissa Stouffer | May 5, 2026 | All, Music History, Musical Cultures
Listening activities are underrated. I said what I said. They are a wonderful way to engage students, highlight a variety of cultures, and introduce the wide world of instruments. Heritage months tend to bring out our desire to share different cultures (which we...
by Melissa Stouffer | Apr 28, 2026 | AAPI, All, Literature, Music History, Musical Cultures
May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I have been doing a book a day for AAPI Heritage Month for a few years. Here all of the books now here so you can reference them easily throughout the year...
by Melissa Stouffer | Apr 21, 2026 | All, Literature, Musical Cultures
Music biographies are one of the best books to add to your musical collection. They are perfect to highlight musicians, let early finishers browse, and are a wonderful way to showcase the wide world of music. Miles Davis is an icon of jazz and bebop (and all its...
by Melissa Stouffer | Apr 14, 2026 | All, Literature, Musical Cultures
I love books that use song lyrics to create the story. This particular book, Sing Don’t Cry, is a great pair with a well known Mexican song as well as a story to remind students to look for joy even when things are hard. Full disclosure: Some affiliate links....
by Melissa Stouffer | Apr 7, 2026 | All, Literature, Musical Cultures
With all the book posts I have, I thought I’d start a new series. Musical Books will take one awesome book and look at it, break it down to use in the classroom, and give you some teaching ideas. The first book in my Musical Books Series is Pan de Sal Saves the...
