I’m so excited to be starting my fourth year of teaching! It has flown by.
This year writing across the curriculum has become a major topic at my school. Here are a few ways I have decided to integrate writing in a meaningful way!
The younger students will use this form for listening. I have seen many varieties of this on line and used the ideas to develop my own. It is a simple way to get them thinking about the music we are listening to and doing a simple pre-writing assignment. What do you hear
As students begin to write more in their classes they will begin using a simple large line paper with a box for them to draw a picture. During the writing portion of the lesson we will listen to music and write together at first. Later in the year the students will be expected to write on their own.
Last, my oldest students will be keeping a journal of instruments. When I came across the blog color in my piano I was very impressed! She has great ideas and a lot of great printable resources.
If you have any other suggestions on integrating writing in meaningful ways please post them below!
Start the Music! 
We have to do a lot with literacy at my school too, so I have had student (3-5) start to assess themselves on different skills. So if we were doing 6/8 time I would have students give themselves a 1-4 rating and then explain why they graded themselves that way based on a rubric. We’ve also done lessons (5th) grade where I play something (usually programmatic music) and the kids have to tell their own story.