How can music teachers prepare for back to school?
Start by mapping out your space, choosing your classroom decor, planning long-term goals for each grade, prepping those first day lessons, and organizing class lists. These simple steps will help you feel grounded, confident, and ready to welcome your students with joy.
Let’s break it all down so you can head into August feeling calm, creative, and in control!
#1: Create a Map of Your Classroom
Even if you’ve been in your room for several years, it’s helpful to take a moment to visualize how you want your space to function.
Ask yourself:
- Where will students enter and exit?
- How will they transition to and from the instrument area?
- Where will you keep supplies so they’re accessible but out of the way?
If you have been in the room before, think about issues that have arisen in the past which could be helped with a different set-up. For example, at one point, I had tubanos sitting by where students lined up…and you guessed it…students often played the drums while waiting! By switching where I put the drums, I was able to avoid that issue the following year.
Sketching a quick map can help you think through traffic flow, seating arrangements, and the placement of instruments. You can do this by hand, or in a program like Google Drawings.
#2: Choose Decor
Whether you simply choose a color scheme, or choose a theme, such as camping, travel, or boho rainbow, it’s helpful to think through the vibe of your music room
You don’t need to decorate every inch of wall space—just a few intentional touches can make your room feel warm and welcoming. Bonus points if your decor and/or bulletin boards also reinforce musical concepts (hello, solfege and rhythm posters!)
Here’s a picture of my music room, with a boho rainbow theme:
#3: Create Long-Range Plans for Each Grade Level
Planning the big picture now will save you tons of time and stress later. Here is a video about how to create a year plan for a grade level:
#4: Write Your First Day Lessons
The first music class can set the tone for your entire year. I find it helpful to have a balance of music-making and setting routines. Some activities to consider adding to your first day lessons include:
- Name game
- Review from the previous year
- Quick discussion of rules and routines
- New song
- Movement activity
For first grade, this might look like:
- A name game like “Rickity Rackity” (check out this blog post for more information)
- Introduce self, read students name off class list, checking pronunciations
- Quick discussion of rules and routines
- Icebreaker activity, like “Would you Rather” Music Class Edition
- Review of steady beat with a chant like “Bee Bee Bumblebee” (Students review and play game, then keep beat in different ways, then create their own ways to keep the beat)
- Teach “We are dancing” or another song
- “Follow me” beat activity to “Hurricane Season” by Trombone Shorty or another piece with a strong steady beat (students follow the teacher’s beat motions, then student leaders create their own and others follow!)
#5: Gather Class Lists for Seating Charts and Grouping
Once you have your rosters, it’s time to get organized. The first reason I like to have class lists is to create seating charts.
For Kindergarten and First Grade, I typically have them just come into the room in the order they are in line, and have them sit in a circle in that order. But for grades 2-5, I like to have them sit in rows, in the same spots each time. I get the seating charts ready prior to the first day, so that I can assign them seats on the first day.
You’ll also want to think through whether students are sitting on the ground (my preference) or in chairs. The tricky part about using chairs is that if you have a movement activity, it’s difficult to quickly move the chairs out of the way, so you’ll want to think about what works best for you and your students.
You can also think through whether you’ll use flexible seating, like the ones in this blog post.
Another good reason to have class lists is to think through class groupings, for centers, teams, and more. I love this file by Pink Cat Studio, to create class groups, randomly choose students, and more!
If you’re looking for a ready-made solution to kick off the year, check out my Back to School Music Lessons and Activities Bundle — it’s packed with engaging lessons, activities, and classroom tools that will save you time and help your students feel right at home in music class!
What’s one thing you always do to prepare for back to school? I’d love to hear your favorite tip or tradition!
Happy Teaching! 🎶
