Book excerpt: Create a viable, meaningful program that will motivate your students and have them participating with enthusiasm with Middle School General Music: The Best Part of Your Day. A welcome guidebook for music teachers trying to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of middle school general music, it offers strategies and lessons that have been created in the real world of general music by a practicing teacher. Revised and expanded to align with the National Core Arts Standards, each section of this second edition is full of tips and lessons to help middle schoolers develop a life-long love of music. From instructional units to composition projects, rhythm games to listening lessons, you’ll find plenty of ideas for working with young adolescents. An appendix of suggested resources steers you to materials appropriate for middle-level students. Bolster your program with the discussion about why general music is so vital in middle school. If your music classes feel like the perfect storm, let McAnally make them the best part of your day.