John: Singing Lessons

One of my favorite lessons is coming up next week. I love using music in the classroom. The vast majority of my students are major fans of this genre. When I can, I like to incorporate the strong interest my students have for music into my lessons.

I went to a workshop last year on using music in the classroom and decided I wanted to use music to reinforce the material I was teaching. I was surprised by how many songs reference job skills in some way (strong work ethic, staying in school, supporting a family, being responsible, paying bills, etc.). While listening to my students talk about favorite songs, I found one that incorporates many of the skills we talk about regularly.

You may have heard the song I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T by Webbie featuring Lil Boosie and Lil Phat. If you haven't, the song is describing the kind of girl the singer is looking for. By the title, you would be right in assuming he is looking for an independent person. In an occupational diploma setting that focuses on preparing students to be independent, the things we cover daily are the things the singer describes.

Some of the topics covered are paying the bills on time, not smelling like onion rings (hygiene), cooking, cleaning, staying in school, dressing appropriately, and making money. My students loved the lesson last year, and I am excited to teach the lesson again this year.

The lesson was also effective in reinforcing the skills I had been teaching in class. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, rappers are cooler than teachers. If a teacher tells you that washing your hands is important, he is just being lame, but if a rapper says that hygiene is important, maybe the teacher is on to something.

One important note is that I do not use the unedited version of any song. But for this song especially, I use a highly edited version. Actually, this song contains many offensive words and phrases. The finished edited product I use is only phrases and excerpts from the song. Students who know the song will recognize that certain parts are missing, which can easily begin a discussion on appropriate work conversation topics.

My next musical project is a parody entitled, "I like big money, and I cannot lie." We'll see...

What innovative ways have you used music in your class? Do you have a favorite song to use with students?

Comments

[Rashed Alqahtani]

Hi
I think using music is a smart way to teach students. No one hate music, so they will learn and have fun at the same time. I would like to know how this would work with you, and how would they response to the lesson. I will be waiting for you next post.

Best regards

[John Arthur]

I LOVE incorporating music into lessons! When I taught 5th graders about figurative language (similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, and personification), I asked them for a list of their favorite songs and artists, found lyrics that were fantastic examples of figurative language in action, and then played a game with them where I would read the lyrics stoically and they would try to identify the artist and song. When I taught those same 5th graders about the Great Depression, I wrote a song that included all of the key vocabulary and concepts and taught it to them. I taught a class full of 3rd graders about adjectives by writing the skeleton of a song with blanks where adjectives were needed and had them work together to fill them in, thereby including them in the songwriting process. There are as many ways of using music to promote learning as there are songs in the world, so please keep the ideas coming!

[Jo]

John ~
Your idea is really a great way to teach a number of lessons. And in a refreshing way for the students to learn about social skills, and other important life lessons. There are so many ways to teach things, without having to always be using textbooks. Thanks for a great idea!

[Nick]

John- I really like this blog post! Implementing music into the classroom is not something I have thought too much about, but is now something I'm very excited to do once I'm a teacher. Being able to take something your students love (music) and connect it to learning, is a great lesson and I can see why your students enjoyed it so much. Thank you for sharing this idea.

[Kayla]

It is great to hear that you are using music with your students! In a music education course I am currently taking, we have discussed the many benefits of music in a student’s education. Music has been proven to enhance the ability to make associations between sounds patterns and their meanings, reduces stress, involves the musical intelligence in learning, interests and engages students, and allows students to be creative and express themselves. It still amazes me how much music can benefit students in their education. I have experienced music in the curriculum in my own education and I have observed music being used in the classroom. In each experience, I have seen success in the classroom when music is incorporated. Music that teaches a concept or sends a message to the audience is a great tool to use during instruction. Students will be interested and excited for a new and unique way of learning. Like you said, rappers are cooler than teachers!

[Stephanie C]

John,

I love the idea of relating songs to lessons! I am currently student teaching in a high school setting. I have a cooking class first hour and many of my students are either really tired or really energetic. I have a few students who will randomly hum or sing when they are making a recipe and I had never thought of incorporating songs to go along with our cookies experiences. Sometimes if the students are really energetic we will all break out into songs which has made for some really fun and memorable times. Music is something that most everyone is interested in so it makes perfect sense to incorporate it into learning experiences!

I can't wait to have my own classroom so I can integrate music more because it is so beneficial. Many memories I have from learning experiences in my own schooling included music. I still remember every word from the song in sixth grade french class about cooking and food. Not only can music help students learn and have fun while learning, but it is also a way for students to relax and calm down.

Thanks again for another amazing post!!

[Alison]

Music is such a fun thing for students to have in the classroom. I took a music class over the summer and it really made me think of the impact that music can have on students. Students can really relate to music and would much rather listen to the lesson of a singer than a teacher. When I was in middle school we learned the preamble from the School House Rock song and I can still remember the song today almost 10 years later. Students are more likely to remember things they learn by song and the information can still with them for a long period of time. Sounds like you have a very fun classroom. Keep up the great work!

[Brooke]

This is a great subject to blog about! Music can be incorporated into every subject just by changing the words in the songs. Your next song “I like big money, and I cannot lie” sounds hilarious and I think students would enjoy it very much! I am currently taking a music class and we are learning about the different ways to incorporate music such as during transition times, changing the words in songs to fit certain subjects, doing fun chants for math, etc. I also agree that students are more likely to listen if it is someone else telling them about the importance of hygiene because students look up to them, and are more likely to listen.

[Kristine]

Thanks for all those who posted ideas of where to find music for students. I feel like kids are much more particular and sophisticated in their musical tastes than I was in elementary school (school house rock and Sesame Street days), and many math songs out there are perhaps a bit too immature for a savvy sixth grader. We educators should implore more rock stars and recording companies to record more and cooler educational tunes:)

[Alley Chai]

I also love using music in the classroom. This semester I am doing my student teaching in a special education classroom at one our local elementary schools. My mentor teacher is a big fan of using music and the classroom and the students LOVE it. One of the things that she has taught me is how useful classical music can be while the students are doing independent work. It helps keep the classroom atmosphere calming while also giving the students something to listen to and focus on. The students are always asking her to put music on. Another thing she has taught me about music is the use of music as a reinforcer to teach a concept. My students are in first and second grade and we were recently talking about the bones in our body that make up our skeletons (a fun Halloween lesson). The students made skeletons then we listened to the song, "Dry Bones", and pointed to the bones in our body as we sang. My students remembered way more from that one song then they would have if I just kept repeating the bones to them. Music can be such a wonderful thing to stimulate learning as well as get the students moving in the classroom. I plan on using it a lot in my own classroom.

[Avery]

I have a student with Autism who has a really good ear for music. I would love to find songs to help her learn math and reading concepts. Addressing the mutiple intellegences ,including music, can help instruction become more effective.

[John]

@Nina thanks for the comment. I haven't used either of those resources. I'll have to check them out! They sound great!

[Nina M.]

A really affordable multiplication music program (DVDs or Cds available) is "Kids Multiplication Motivation" by Mrs. Jones. The program is from UrbanEdutainmentOnline.com. It uses hip hop multiplication and skip-counting songs using beats my students love! It is great for older students who are struggling and has been a great resource for my of my students.

[Nina M.]

John- I really like the idea of this lesson for my Life Skills course! I also love using music. The website watchknowlearn.org provides access to thousands of educational videos, many of which incorporate music. If you don't already use it, I highly reccomend it! I like to use short videos from the site to introduce and close lessons. Another teacher at my school does English lessons during summer school called "Lyrical Expression." The students disect the meanings of lyrics. It is a wonderful way to look at figurative language and other elements of literare in a very motivating way. I must say that my students also love changing the lyrics to a favorite song to represent knewly acquired knowledge.

[John]

@Mary Beth I love your comment about using School House Rock to do multiplication tables now. I still use a song to remember how to spell "Mississippi." We use music in nearly every content area in elementary and early childhood classes, but for some reason we stop once students get to upper grades.

[John]

@Jill that's a great song to use. Good idea!

[John]

@Gerryanne that's a great goal! I think your students will enjoy music. Try to use it as more than just background noise and actually incorporate it into lessons. Good luck with student teaching!

[John]

@Jamie thanks so much for that website! I will definitely be using some of those songs. That is awesome.

[John]

@Laura For the lesson my students get a copy of the lyrics, and we go through it together looking at the different skills the song talks about. The handout was something I had to make myself. Listening to the song isn't really part of the lesson. I normally have it playing before class starts and might listen to it at the end of the class. I can't remember where I found the version I use to listen to, but it wasn't easy to find! :)

[Brenna]

Great ideas John - thanks for sharing. I have found that you really must incorporate your students' interests into the classroom, or they will lose motivation very quickly. In this case, music is the common interest among your students. While I personally haven't used music in my classroom (I'm still student teaching right now) I look forward to eventually finding ways to incorporate it into my lessons. Sometimes when my students have study hall or work time I like to play some quiet, relaxing music. This is just a simple way for them to relax and feel more comfortable in the classroom. The added music makes the classroom seem not so bad all the time!

[Mary Beth Diehl]

p.s. I still sing the Multiplication Rocks songs from the old SchoolHouse Rock to recall my times tables--remember watching them on Saturday mornings with cartoons :)

[Mary Beth Diehl]

John--the song you are going to parody in yr next lesson is hee-larious, and also VERY appreciative of women, especially those who do not look a certain way. It will take a lot of editing, though--can't wait for the finished product :) MB

[Nicole]

John! I couldn't agree more about how great it is incorporating music into the classroom. While I am currently student teaching my co-operating teach loves finding songs to use to relate to lessons. For kindergarteners who are learning their letters we have a website that has songs and videos to go along with the letter sounds and examples of words with that letter. They all sit in their chairs singing and dancing along with it. While we also find things for our third grade student on grammar. Today in fact we played one about nouns and they were all up dancing to it. Its a great way to start a lesson and get the students moving around before getting to work. Your lesson with that song sounds like something a lot of students would enjoy and relate to and that is what some of these students may just need to remember!

[Kari]

I think this is a great idea, especially for maybe older students because they may not want t listen to what a teacher has to say about these types of things. For older students, music can be a very important part of their life especially in today's society, so incorporating that is beneficial. It's great that you were able to find a song that they like and that is talks about great job skills. This is just another way to reach out and engage the students! I love this idea and hope to use it in my future teaching. I am still in college to become a teacher but in a few experiences, I have seen teachers use singing in parts of their lessons. One teacher used it when learning the alphabet, but it was different than the one everyone knows and they would point and dance to the letters hanging up. This also engaged the students and they enjoyed it!

[Natalie]

It is unreal how music and instruments get students to be motivated for something. The children I work with are constantly singing songs they hear on the radio, making guitar and drum motions with their hands. I think if music helps get information through to children, why dont we use it more. As you stated, anything can be turned into a kid friendly version and maybe it will start making sense and having a little fun! I think it helps teach the kids that they can be a little care free at times, if the teacher acts that way by just singing or dancing but making it educational at the same time, the children will begin to do that as well.

[Jill]

I used "We're Not Gonna Take It!" by Twisted Sisiter to reinforce the lessons we studied about the Revolutionary War....it was a hit!

[Gerryanne]

It's so wonderful that you're using music in the classroom. I am currently student teaching in 5th grade, and the only time I've incorporated music so far is a rap about punctuation. I am a very musical person, so I sort of can't believe that I haven't incorporated it more. Maybe I'm too worried that my cooperating teacher won't like it, or maybe I'm nervous that my 5th graders won't think it's "cool" if we sing. After reading this though, and seeing that I could be doing so much more with music, my goal for the rest of the semester is to incorporate music more!

[Jamie]

Hey John,

I love that you are using music in your classroom. And I agree, rappers are way cooler than teachers :). During a class presentation on using technology in the classroom, I was introduced to a website called flocabulary.com. On it, you can find rap songs and videos on subjects such as; math, science, social studies, and language arts. Some of the content requires a membership, but some is free. You should check it out and see if there is anything you can use. You can also find lesson plans which go with the videos and songs. For example, here is one about Civil Rights: flocabulary.com/civil-rights/

Here is a fun one on adding and subtracting 10: flocabulary.com/know-about-10s/

[Laura]

John,

I strongly agree with your thoughts in this blog post. Music can open a whole new avenue for learning in a different light that somehow has the ability to reach students in a different manner. It is something that is fairly easy to incorporate. However, like you said, it is very important to find appropriate music without inappropriate language. Where did you find the edited version of the song: Independent? I think it would be something fun I could use with the high school students in the school that I am currently student teaching in. I downloaded music from iTunes. It is pop piano music. For example, there is some Taylor Swift songs, One Republic songs, and many more famous songs that are remade into piano music. It helps me to concentrate, so I talked to my co-operating teacher about incorporating it into the classroom while the students work. She loved it. We use it when we give student work time in the classroom. A lot of the students recognize the songs, even without the words, and can ‘jam’ along to it, while still being productive in their homework. It is a great, easy way to incorporate music into the classroom.