Jazz Is Elementary: Creativity Development Through Music Activities, Movement Games, and Dances for K-5

This stunning commemorative album celebrates ten years of Eric Whitacre's  global phenomenon, the Virtual Choir. Use jazz to develop children's creativity! This book is a collection of 60 jazz-based teaching strategies designed to foster music making, creative movement, and improvisation in the K-5 music classroom. The innovative strategies are grounded in the best practices in elementary music education and partner with a curated playlist of jazz music that is available via streaming audio platforms. These strategies represent the music of nearly 80 iconic jazz artists of yesterday and today (e.g. Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Sarah Vaughan). All teaching strategy concepts were extensively field-tested with children in the elementary music classroom and with teachers around the world. Designed with music teachers, parents/caregivers, traditional school, home-school, and arts-based community organizations in mind, the strategies in this book can be used to engage children and prompt their creative and original expressions. Strategies include singing, instrument play, body percussion, games, chants, and dances that support both individual and group assessment. Companion materials are offered online to support the strategies including instructional videos for dances; printable resources such as visual aids, notation cards, movement directives, and color sheets; and artist profiles that provide brief biographies and put each musician in historical and musical context. Foreword by bassist Victor Wooten!