[Resource] 🎁 Need a "Friday Break" Lesson Plan?

👀 What’s Inside This Newsletter:

• 💡 The Friday Pivot: How to handle post-field trip burnout.
• 🤺 The Musketeer Composer: Why Joseph Bologne is the legend your students need to know.
• 💤 Front-Row Nappers: A "Tale from the Trenches" about concert etiquette.
• 🎁 The Resource Vault: Slides, interviews, and performances to share.

💡 Teaching Tip: The "Friday Pivot"

Greetings, fellow music makers!

We had a full week of field trips to various symphony concerts, and by Friday? The students were definitely not in the mood to get their instruments out and play.

Instead of fighting the low energy, I pulled up my Black Composer Google Slides and gave a brief introduction to each one. For some, I was able to share a bit more background; for others, I basically read directly from the slides.

My goal was simple: Introduce these composers and spark curiosity.

Although I didn’t have time to show videos in class, I’ve included several for you here!

And here is the best part: Even though the high school students didn’t seem engaged at the time, one of them stopped to thank me for spending time to celebrate Black History Month.

It reminded me that even when they look checked out, they are listening.

🤺 Featured Composer: Joseph Bologne

I enjoy creating Composer Celebrations to use as sub plans or Friday breaks, and here’s one featuring Joseph Bologne. 👇

He’s sometimes referred to as the “Black Mozart,” which isn’t quite accurate—he was actually older than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Mozart most likely learned from him!

One of my favorite facts? He was a literal Musketeer. Talk about a life well-lived!

📺 Resources for Your Classroom

I love sharing performances that bridge the gap between "classical" and "cool."

Here are a few to highlight:

• The Icon: There are wonderful videos of Aretha Franklin [Watch video here]—have you seen the funny one featuring Johanna? [Watch video here] What an awesome attitude!
• The Moderns: I try to highlight incredible performers like Billie Holiday [Watch video here], Black Violin [Watch video here], and The Temptations [Watch video here] (Smokey Robinson’s My Girl is always a hit).
• The Legend: If your district allows Facebook videos, check out this one on Leontyne Price [Watch video here].

😴 Tale from the Trenches: The "Symphony Nap"

Before we take our students to a professional concert, we run through the expectations—and I even wrote them down on these slides below. 👇

One problem I never thought I’d have to address? Sleeping! Apparently, the front row of a symphony is the perfect place for a power nap.

Do you see something in my slides that I missed? How do you handle the "snoozers"?

🛠️ Dive Deeper

Check out these interviews and resources:

• 👉 An amazing website filled with materials and historical information
• 👉 Louis Armstrong: Civil Unrest Interview​

To great teaching and great tunes!

- Lyda Osinga, MusicBox Education​

P.S. 📸 I’d love to see a photo of your classroom display on Instagram! Tag me @musicboxeducation so we all can see your creativity with these amazing composers.