ELIZABETH PLEMMONS

Middle School Choir Director | Permanent Substitute

Stanton Middle School - Fox Lake District 114

Fox Lake, IL

​2024 - 2025

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In my position at Stanton, I revived their dormant choral music program, teaching music literacy and technique through choral music.  This included: basic concepts of music theory and ear-training using the Kodaly Solfege sequence as a basis for sight singing and ear-training; teaching proper vocal technique through age-appropriate vocal warm-ups and singing games; curating repertoire for various performances throughout the school year; arrangement of songs to make them more accessible for growing voices; and collaboration with music teachers in the district and surrounding districts to connect grade-level learning targets and Illinois State Music Standards through Choral Performance.  Additionally, I maintained the band and choir calendars to assist with school event planning and room availability, and oversaw the maintenance of pianos and other musical equipment as needed.  I also served as a floating substitute teacher, filling in for classes and paraprofessional duties as needed, as well as lunchroom and recess supervision.

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K-4 General Music Teacher

Community Consolidated School District #46 Grayslake, IL

​2023 - 2024

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In my role as General Music Teacher at CCSD #46, I've been able to take what I've learned teaching at iForward and apply it to in-person learning for 660+ students across two schools.  Through various standards-based, Orff-inspired lessons and activities, K-4 students have learned everything from basic note-reading, beginning vocal technique, expressive movement, harmonization, and rhythm composition, to music history and culturally responsive listening activities and discussions.  I've been able to put my language skills to good use by teaching music to Spanish bilingual classes. I've continued to instruct students in basic conversational American Sign Language (ASL) as a way of connecting two very different cultures through musical expression.  Through their studies in this area, 3rd and 4th grade students were able to expressively perform an entire song in ASL for their annual music showcases.

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K-12 General Music Teacher

iForward Wisconsin Online Charter School - Grantsburg, WI

​2021 - 2023

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Teaching general music to all grades online has been a wonderful opportunity to explore creative teaching strategies for a medium that is generally experienced best when in-person.  I designed and implemented music curriculum for new iForward's new online Elementary School offering, which included:

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• Instruction and performance of songs in sign language, as well as basic conversational skills in ASL and a study of Deaf culture

• Nose flute performances 

• Coding Boomwhackers for performance

 

Instruction also included supplemental use of such curricula as First Steps in Music, Recorder Karate, and Quaver’s Wondrous World of Music.

 

I also worked with music team to design and curate curriculum for middle school and high school general music offerings, bringing them up to date and making them more relevant to students needs and experiences.  Classes included:

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• Songwriting

• Music Production

• World Music

• Beginning and Intermediate Piano performance.

 

Additionally, I served as faculty advisor to the Middle School Student Council, helping to guide students in creating activities that helped to cultivate a sense of community and pride of place within the iForward middle school community.  I also served as middle school homeroom advisor, overseeing agendas, announcements, and activities as part of weekly middle school homeroom meetings.

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Piano and Voice Teacher

Plemmons Music Studio - Zion, IL

​1994 - present

 

As a self-employed teacher, I develop high-quality, individualized lesson plans based on my students' ages, skill levels, and abilities.  I am always researching new music and teaching strategies for my students.  This allows me to use a variety of teaching methods and tools, including integration of various available technologies (apps for smartphones and tablets, online music platforms, etc.) to supplement and enrich students' understanding and realization of their individualized curriculum.  I routinely communicate with parents regarding each week's lesson, outlining expectations and implementation strategies at home.  As a small-business owner, I am responsible for keeping clear and organized records of student/parent information and payment history, and I operate within established budget guidelines, allowing my studio to continually operate below cost.  

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Veritas Music and Learning Center

Gurnee, IL

2019 - Present

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Working at Veritas allows me to take away the administrative aspects of business owning and simply concentrate on teaching.  I apply the same teaching standards and practices to my student at Veritas that I do in my personal studio, and my students participate in 2 recital programs a year.  

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Student Teaching

Gifford K-8, Walden III

Racine, WI

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Milwaukee High School of the Arts

Milwaukee, WI

2020-2021​

 

During my student teaching experiences, I re-wrote and created technology-based curriculum in general music and choral classrooms to accommodate virtual learning, and I aligned my instructional approaches with development levels of students to enhance individual learning.  I took over general music classes, group piano classes, and choir rehearsals for 2 months, managing all classroom assignments, student needs and record keeping.  I worked with my classroom teachers to learn about current standards and best practices, and I supported my classroom teachers with curriculum development, assignment grading, and evaluated student progress through analysis of class participation and homework completion.  I met with parents to discuss student behaviors and needs, and kept records of student progress for teachers and parents, including details such as behavior, grades, comprehension and personal growth.  I had one-on-one sessions with struggling students to increase content understanding and individual student success, and offered free piano and voice lessons to supplement classroom and rehearsal content and techniques.

 

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