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 instrumental class, directs the FH Modern Band, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory, having served as director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on integrating technology 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, the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year, and the 2026 NJMEA Distinguished Service Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), is available from Oxford University Press (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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Need a No-Prep Winter Movement Lesson for Elementary Music?

February 01, 2026  /  Amy M. Burns

A movement-rich listening activity for elementary music classrooms

I’m excited to share a new YouTube scarf play-along designed especially for elementary music teachers. This video pairs expressive movement with “Winter: I. Allegro non molto” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, performed by Anastasiya Petryshak.

▶️ Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/qbzFQlCaMmU

What students will experience

This play-along guides students through a clear, age-appropriate sequence of movement phrases while listening to Vivaldi’s dramatic winter soundscape. With scarves in hand, students explore:

  • Non-locomotor and locomotor movement

  • Short vs. long articulated motions

  • High and low levels

  • Circular and wavy pathways

  • A short freestyle section that encourages choice-making and musical expression

  • Personal space awareness throughout

To help students anticipate changes, a friendly penguin pops up to throw a snowball countdown before each new movement section—giving just enough time to reset, refocus, and get ready to move.

Learning objective (teacher-friendly)

Students will perform a short sequence of movement phrases to Vivaldi’s “Winter” using scarves, demonstrating varied movement types, levels, pathways, and articulation, while maintaining personal space and responding to musical cues.

How you can use this video

This scarf play-along is intentionally flexible and works well in many teaching situations:

  • ✔️ Whole-group activity for guided listening and movement

  • ✔️ Movement center during rotations

  • ✔️ Sub-friendly lesson with minimal setup

  • ✔️ Brain break with purpose that still reinforces musical concepts

Want to go deeper?

While the video works beautifully on its own, I’ve also created supporting lessons and manipulatives that help you explicitly teach, experience, and reinforce each movement concept before or after watching.

👉 Find the lesson materials here: https://buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech/extras

These resources are especially helpful if you want students to:

  • Name and identify movement types

  • Reflect on how the music influences motion

  • Build confidence before the freestyle section

Why Vivaldi’s Winter?

The Four Seasons remains one of the most accessible and vivid examples of programmatic music for children. “Winter” is full of contrast, drive, and imagery that naturally invites movement and listening focus.

If you’re looking for a musical, engaging, and low-prep movement activity that students genuinely enjoy, I hope this winter scarf play-along becomes a favorite in your classroom. ❄️

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