Reverberations: Teachers Teaching Teachers is a weekly, online publication available to members that publishes models of best practice from Orff Schulwerk classrooms in the form of lesson ideas, student-tested teaching strategies, articles related to classroom applications, and more.
It is possible that some attachments in older articles did not migrate correctly to our new site. If you notice missing content (e.g., attachments, images), please alert us using this Google form and we will correct this as soon as possible.
Interested in writing for Reverberations? Check out how to get involved in the process:
List of Reverberations Articles
Chúc Mù’ng Nǎm Mó’i: Celebrating Vietnamese New Year
Lesson ideas celebrating Tết (Lunar New Year) and Vietnamese culture that can be adapted for any elementary grade. The article includes video models and Google slides.
Community Songs: Teach, Create, Perform
Songs can build community and become vehicles for creativity that culminates in performance for the community.
How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck?
This lesson idea – based on a fun tongue twister – uses speech play and body percussion to prepare students for composition and improvisation. It also includes interesting facts about woodchucks and may be a fun lesson to teach in celebration of Groundhog Day.
OPUS: Orff Programs in Urban Schools
From 2006 through 2010, “OPUS: Orff Programs in Urban Schools” was a regular column in Reverberations coordinated by Alice Pratt. This article shares a list of these columns with links to make it easy to locate them in the Resource Library.
Dancing a Canon
This article shares Tossi Aaron’s model for how to facilitate a simple, student-created dance for any canon.
What if? Yes, and… Learning to Collaborate
Learning to collaborate is a process. This article shares how the first rule of improvisation in theater (“Yes, and…” ) offers a model to help children learn to build upon ideas while working with peers on creative projects.
Yes and…. The Teacher as Improviser
A central pillar of improv theater is “Yes, and…” This article discusses how “Yes, and…” can be a model for the teacher as an improviser who is able to let go of lesson plans and respond to students ideas and needs in the moment.
Being a Multiracial Student in Music
The author interviews two multiracial music education students who share their past and current experiences in school as well as their hopes for themselves and others with multiracial identities.
Editorial: Fair Use of Picture Books in the Classroom
This article explains “fair use” as it relates to sharing copyright protected books in the music classroom, student performances, multi-media sharing, and professional development presentations.
¡VIVA! in Albuquerque, NM
Everything you need to know to be ready for the 2023
AOSA Professional Development in a few short weeks. See you in Albuquerque, NM. !VIVA!
Using Questions and Prompts to Deepen Learning and Build Relationships
The questions a teacher poses to students can help children dig deeper into the creative process. Strategic questions can also help students learn how to share their artistic journey while working collaboratively with others. This article offers a collection of model questions and prompts that are adaptable for learners of all ages.
Quilt Dances
Visual art can be a wonderful spark for creativity in the classroom. This lesson idea uses the Quilts of Gee’s Bend as inspiration for choreography.