Together in Harmony: Combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory

When it comes to reading material, I am always drawn to non-fiction, especially as it applies to music education. The value of learning from master teachers is a great benefit, and this book by Diane Lange is no exception! Allow me to share the noteworthy content from these pages:
* Lange combines elements of theoretical knowledge with classroom ready materials. We certainly can appreciate both as busy classroom teachers!
*All elements of music are explored simultaneously, but emphasized with intentionality. So even if the song calls for Micro/Macro beat, the focus could be on movement instead of labeling values.
*For teachers with little exposure to Music Learning Theory or Orff Schulwerk, there is a glossary of terms as a helpful resource. I have not been trained in either approach, yet I know what these look like in practice from the descriptive definitions provided.
My opinion of the book is that it is a handy supplemental text for when you need perspective on reaching your student learning targets. If that sounds like you, than stick around and I will expand on how I will be using it this Fall. Currently I am teaching private piano lessons, as well as General Music for K-5. Although I plan on adding 6-12 choir this Fall, I wanted to take notice of the skills and ideas I've developed over the past few years with younger students.
I have had the task of creating and implementing original curriculum for my General Music classroom, and one area that I have a passion for is Scope and Sequence. Although I have received resources to use both online and from the district, there is never a comprehensive scope and sequence for each of the grades in an elementary school. Plenty of content is available online and in previous books that have been looked at once and forgotten. This challenge encourages me to refine my existing structures every summer in hopes of a rock-star school-year.
After reading through, I would agree that regardless of whether you use the lesson suggestions, we as teachers can always promote independent musicianship as our general goal for students. I will continue using materials from Feierabend, Kodaly and Dalcroze, because I know that music engagement manifests through all elements of sound. The difference now is for me to take the best from a broad spectrum and layer them to serve students of different ages and stages.
In the end, we are expecting students to reach standards set to indicate authentic expression of music. So, if we want them singing ,moving, reading, playing more, than we need to do the intellectual "lifting" ahead of time by reading and organizing data based instruction. Even if we don't use any pedagogy with "fideltity" we can still serve our music students intentionally!