Erin Emery-Dumas

Ukuleles are one of my favorite instruments, so I have LOVED having a full set in my classroom over the past two years. Last year I taught them to fourth and fifth grade students, but this year I’ve added it to my third grade lesson plans as well. I even had a fourth grade elective course specifically dedicated to ukuleles last quarter!

Last year with fourth and fifth grade, I used the ukulele lessons from MusicPlayOnline and the free trial of Quaver. Between the two, I preferred Quaver, but my district doesn’t have a full subscription to that like we do for MPO. Quaver just felt much more interactive. That’s not to say MPO’s ukulele curriculum is bad by any means — I used it at the beginning of this school year and had a lot of success!

That’s when I stumbled across my FAVORITE ukulele curriculum to date. Rainbow Ukulele Method by Pitch Publications on Teachers Pay Teachers has been an absolute game changer. This bundle comes with the teacher slideshow, a student packet, and a freebie starter kit (which you can get without the bundle as well). I love the way it breaks down every step of playing the ukulele, and my students have played much more efficiently since adding the different color fingering dots to their instruments. The songs are engaging and easy to play, and the accompaniment tracks are so much fun.

The first time I used this method was with my fourth grade elective ukulele class, and they had a lot of fun. I have since then added it to my regular fifth grade classes AND even my three sections of third grade! I never thought I’d be able to teach my third graders how to play ukulele, but the dots (as I’ve already mentioned) just make it so easy and it feels much more intuitive. They don’t have to spend time thinking about where their fingers go. They just see the color and press down without the hassle of fret or string numbers. (We will learn all of that, but students can focus on PLAYING rather than trying to figure out the specifics.) By the end of the first class, students can play real songs, and are proud of their own progress. That is something I LOVE about the Rainbow Ukulele Method!

If you have any questions about teaching ukulele OR using the Rainbow Ukulele Method, please do not hesitate to reach out! I can’t imagine teaching ukulele without it anymore, and it has permanently changed my pedagogy when it comes to string instruments.