Resource Books and Magazines
Note: K-8 Magazine and Rap Builders are available through Plank Road Publishing. Books with "hot" links are available through Amazon.com, or through companies listed in the music education business directory. If you would like to recommend a book, please submit it.**

K-8 Magazine-I love this all-round, always new resource. This publication comes out bi-monthly, with your choice of tapes or CD's. The recordings are super because they contain both performance tracks and accompaniment alone tracks. Besides the songs, there are lesson plan ideas, teacher exchanges, and other great resources.
Rap Builders-By the same great people that bring you K-8. These rap kits come with a variety of different background "shells" that kids can build on. You can get as simple or as elaborate as you want.
Pathways: A Guide for Energizing & Enriching Band, Orchestra, & Choral Programs "Anyone searching for that positive influencial attitude in affecting their students should read this and apply the techniques." From an Amazon.com review
Winning Over Your Toughest Music Class K-6: Great resource to help with disciplining and exciting that tough class!
Discovering Orff: A Curriculum for Music Teachers
Conducting Technique for Beginners and Professionals
Lives of the Musicians-Love the illustrations, and the kids will love the sometimes obscure facts about 20 musicians, making
them more human to your students. Buy an extra, and use the illustrations for bulletin boards!
The Singing Sack-I use this with younger kids in my multi-cultural lessons. The book contains several short stories from a variety of cultures. The accompanying tape has the songs included in the stories. What's nice about the tape is the fact that songs repeated in the story are also repeated on the tape, so you don't have to keep rewinding. (And it saves the worry of mispronouncing the words!). I've read the stories to my students, then have them act them out. It's fun!
Teaching the Elementary School Chorus. Great resource for those of you thinking about organizing, well, you-know-what. Includes great ideas on recruiting, teaching vocal skills, organizing performances, and more.
Myth, Music, and Dance of the American Indian. I like this resource because of the stories and games. Tape is included.
Hot Marimba!: Zimbabwean Style Music for Orff Instruments
John Jacobson's Riser Choreography You can do amazing things with just a few kids and the limited spacing of choreography. And speaking of John Jacobson....
His wonderful song collections for kids, including Conga in the Kitchen, Hop til You Drop, and Holiday Hop til You Drop are so super, and so much fun! Keep your little munchkins hopping with these great action songs. Although I don't usually try to teach the words, after we go through the motions, the kids can sing them anyway! I like to use these as a warm-up for my primary classes to get the twitchies out.
It's Your Turn and It's Your Turn Again by Cheryl Lavender. Good, short activities, including the popular Birthday Calypso.
For multicultural units, a great place to check is Phyllis Weikert's Rhythmically Moving series. The series includes CD's and detailed instructions on various dances of different cultures.
Musical Games, Fingerplays, and Rhythmic Activities for Early Childhood, by Wirth, Shotwell, Stemmler, and Stassevitch. (Rita Shotwell is a member of the St. Louis AOSA). These are fingerplays, games, and activities that correspond with 132 popular children's songs and song games.
Jelly Beans and Things-Orff, percussion, and movement activities for the primary ages.
A Galaxy of Games for the Music Class-You'll never run out of things to do!
Moving within the Circle: Contemporary Native American Music and Dance
Teaching American History with Favorite Folksongs 
American Folk Songs for Children
African-American lullabies and schoolyard games resources
Shake It to the One You Love the Best
Slice the Ice
Step It Down

Children Literature
Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock-Use sound effects with percussion for the spinning head. What am I talking about? You have to read the book!
Traveling to Tondo-Another great children's book that lends itself wonderfully to the use of sound effects.
Willie Was Different-a bird with a song of his own!
Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything-great for Halloween. Use percussion to imitate the sound of the ???
Hoots and Toots and Hairy Brutes-Squib tries to learn to hoot the right way.
Mortimer-Use Mortimer's noises and his family's telling him to be quiet to help primaries in vocal expression!
I Wonder Why Flutes Have Holes and Other Questions about Music-neat, easy-to-read book to keep at your reading
center or on your library's wish list.
Love You Forever-A mommy's love for her boy as he grows up is a lump-in-your-throat treat for the younger kids. Teach
them the lullaby the mommy sings to her son for a touching kindergarten program!
Baby Rattlesnake-This story about a baby rattlesnake wishing too soon for a rattle is super for percussion sound effects,
as well as teaching a lesson in getting things before you're ready to handle them!
Caps for Sale-Use your glock or bell tree to imitate the monkeys scrambling up the tree, the hats falling down, whatever!
How many of us still remember hearing Captain Kangaroo reading this?
The Flute Player-Use this Apache folktale with your beginning recorder students. I've had my beginners perform the story for primary ages, and they got a kick out of it!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom-Alphabet reinforcement, rhythmic reading, funny pictures....It's a hit!
The Lady with the Alligator Purse-Colorful illustrations, popular tune..great for teaching dramatics
Take Me Out of the Bathtub-Songwriter and television comedy writer Alan Katz provides ludicrous lyrics to 14 traditional tunes, offering playful parodies on some familiar routines.
Runny Babbit: The terrific last book by Shel Silverstein. Great for rhythm and descrambling (because the first letters of words are switched around)
I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello-Take off of the popular song about the lady with the funny appetite, except this time it's a man with a taste for music!
The Terrific Books of John Lithgow
I'm a Manatee (includes CD): A child's wonderful imagination takes him under the sea as one of the strangest creatures on earth!
The Remarkable Farkle McBride: Farkle the prodigy leads the kids through different instruments in the families of the orchestra before he finds his true calling
Marsupial Sue: (with CD) A smartly dressed young 'roo who can't abide by all the bouncing
Carnival of the Animals-A rhyming narration of Saint-Saëns's composition
Up, Up, Down-by the terrific Robert Munsch. Use it to teach, well.......up and down!

The Buzz and Ollie Series
Buzz and Ollie's Loud/Soft Adventure
Buzz and Ollie's High/Low Adventure
Buzz and Ollie's Steady Beat Adventure

Other kid's books that relate to music, recommended by other teachers...........
Train Song
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Hip Cat
Ben's Trumpet
Charlie Parker Played BeBop
Rap a Tap Tap: About Mr. Bojangles

Contributions by Linda Barnhart
Moses Goes to a Concert
Sing Sophie (great songs in the story to make up melodies to)
The Hippoputomus Song (based on an old song)

Videos
Sony Composer Video Series. Although these are fictional stories, there is enough fact in them on the composers to make them worthwhile. My kids really enjoy them, and have fun discussing life and instruments of 1-2 centuries ago. The costuming and props make these an excellent historic source, and the music ain't bad, either! These tapes include:
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Bach's Fight for Freedom
Rossini's Ghost
Strauss, the King of 3/4 Time
Bizet's Dream
Handel's Last Chance

People- Cute video for your really younger set, about a young girl visiting her grandfather after her parents' divorce. She learns about customs from others and how we're all the same. Wonderful music!
The Ugly Duckling-Part of the Hallmark series of timeless tales, this animation by Hanna-Barbera has sing-along songs for your really younger set, and a great chance for them to develop empathy for the underduck, er..dog!
Charlie Brown: Music and Heroes of America-Schroeder's report shows how tunes almost every school kid knows are linked to our history. For a worksheet to go with this video, click here.
Stomp-That fantastic Broadway show that shows us that even trash can have benefits!
Blast-Fantastic drum and bugle presentations!
Lumpkin the Pumpkin-just adorable for your primary kids for Halloween
Make Mine Music-from Disney. Includes Peter and the Wolf and the Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met
Musicals for that American musical theater unit:
Oliver
Music Man
West Side Story
Annie -(thank you, Disney, for this version!)
Newsies
American in Paris-great for that Gershwin coverage, too!
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (you might consider "blacking out" the picture during the Mrs. Potiphar scene, though, while letting them listen to the audio).
Fiddler on the Roof
Peter Pan-the fantastic Cathy Rigby version!

There are a many more resources, of course , so this page will be updated frequently. If you have any books you'd like to recommend, just let us know. You will get credit on this page, and a link to your site.

Resources on Vocal Production
The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults: A Manual for Teachers of Singing and for Choir Directors-written with common sense and easily understood terminology
The Complete Handbook of Voice Training-Development of breathing, resonation, vowel sounds, and more
The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique
On the Art of Singing
International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers
The Contemporary Singer: Elements in Vocal Technique
Teaching Kids to Sing-"The first research-based textbook to present a systematic approach to vocal techniques for singers in grades 1–12."—Music Educator’s Journal
Beyond the Downbeat: Choral Rehearsal Skills and Techniques

*Please see the forms page for credit on your contributions to this page.