Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrument class, directs the FH Philharmonic, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory after being the director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on how to integrate tech into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), published by Oxford University Press (OUP) is available from OUP and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

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Countdown to 2026: 10 short activities that you can use when you return from break - #6 Word Search

December 27, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

This post is an extension of an earlier post about quick and easy substitute plans that do not require the substitute to use technology. However, this can also be a great activity to ease everyone back into a full day of school after a long break.

https://youtube.com/shorts/w2l2v39gSGA?feature=share

✏️Want to ease back into teaching and also want the students to be engaged? 🖨️ Try Word Search Labs!

Word searches are a great activity to ease everyone back into the music classroom setting. It can also work well for when you want to work with a group of students, but you want to make that the other group of students are engaging in musical work but will not need much of your assistance. Let’s look at Word Search Labs!


  • Place "music" or "musical instruments" or "music dynamics".

  • You will find a word search ready to use.

  • Click on it, then select "Print," and print out as many copies as you need for your classes.

  • Leave the word search with the substitute and have them all work on it together, individually, or in small groups.

Want to make your own?

  • Click on “Make a Word Search”

  • Create a title.

  • Add your list of words.

  • Choose the word placements and layout.

  • Print out the amount you need and leave it for the substitute.

The best part is that this is free! There is a membership service that will provide you with access to the answer key, allow you to privatize your word searches so that they can be accessed via a link and not made available on a search engine, and offer a dashboard to keep track of all your word searches.

Can the Word Search Be Used Online?

Yes, if your students have access to technology, you can embed the word search on your own site or provide them with a link (I prefer the focus link option, which displays your word search with a minimal interface).

💡 Final Thoughts

These quick, flexible activities keep your students thinking like musicians. They’re easy to prep, fun to play, and best of all, they help your substitute teacher feel confident walking into the music room. 🎶

We're halfway there! Come back tomorrow for #5 as we are getting closer to 2026.

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