Teaching a middle school music class is unique compared to other subject areas. As a “related field,” music – and especially instrumental music – is a subject that offers middle school students choices and opportunities to do things they wouldn't do in other classrooms. While it certainly isn't true for everyone, band is often many students' favorite class. The classroom setup is slightly different, with chairs and stands instead of tables or desks. Students are able to complete hands-on art work, rather than the paper-and-pencil assignments they often work on in math or social studies. Finally, students participate in intense individual work (no two flute players will progress at the same pace or play the same way) that leads to improvement as a large group. Because music lessons are so unique, and because middle school students are so diverse, middle school music teachers, like my cooperating teacher, face special challenges when planning what to teach, how to teach, and how to best manage their class. The band class in which I completed my clinical experience did not include an interdisciplinary curriculum. When students entered the classroom, they focused primarily on music, and topics they had worked on in other classes were not mentioned while they were in band. Typically, students simply played their instruments during the section period, although they sometimes played music-related games or learned lessons on other musical topics. For example, one day was nicknamed "Beethoven Day" and instead of working on band music, the student saw a presentation on the life and music of Ludwig Beethoven. Even though the band director did not teach topics related to what the student… .. middle of paper… For example, during “Beethoven Day,” the students became interested in Beethoven's financial situation and, although wasn't part of his original lesson, the teacher explained how Beethoven made money. This explanation kept students engaged because it was something they wanted to learn, not something they were forced to learn. Middle school teachers face many challenges with their students, and in the orchestra room many situations are more unique than elsewhere. The potential for interdisciplinary teaching, the way teaching techniques work within a music classroom, and the classroom management styles available offer many opportunities for middle school music teachers to thrive as educators, but also to not be effective. These teachers need to carefully consider how they want their classrooms to function to give the best to their students.