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I have been a music teacher for over ten years. I have helped numerous teachers throughout the years teach various concepts through song. I have taught the alphabet too Kindergarteners. I have taught phonetic sounds too younger grade levels. I have taught science lessons, and math lessons through songs. The classroom teacher was not comfortable singing in front of them, so they asked me to teach them. Songs due to the repetition or the rhyming mannerisms of the song help students to remember important facts easier. Music is a universal language, and due to the rise and fall effects, and feeling the music students can understand the concept of the songs. Songs can be used to learn vocabulary. An example would be the song Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. Here the students are learning different parts of the body and because there is a rhythm, flow, and actions the students are able to remember where those parts are located on the body. There are the different styles of learning. Some students are auditory learners, while others are visual, kinesthetic. Many mix a couple of the styles together. Songs in the classroom, can actually provide all three of the styles. The words could be on the board, while others listen to the song being sung, while there could be actions included to provide the kinesthetic portion. I am a firm believer to do various activities to apply these three styles of learning. This I can do through song. I can see where songs can be very helpful in retaining vocabulary words, or learning grammar rules. Song lyrics are easy to follow, which makes it easier to retain words faster. It’s also a fun way to introduce new topics. You could use classical music to teach rise and fall. I use classical music listening maps to teach feeling, form, dynamics. All of these techniques can actually be applied to teaching English. A discussion I have with classes typically involves what would movies be like without music? Almost everyone will say it would be boring. What would learning be like without music? Somebody is going to miss out. Sometimes music is the only thing that students can correlate with when making the connection in a lesson. As a student, I struggled understanding fractions. Nobody could figure out how to help me understand them. Finally, one day in college, I was sitting in a Music Theory class when I made the connection. It took a music class for the connection to take place. Not everyone will enjoy singing because it can make you feel vulnerable, but if the teacher can make it fun it will work out. The teacher needs to let them know that you don’t have to be a great singer to do it. Make the student feel safe, and most will participate, because it’s fun. This is an important aspect to the building of rapport with the students. If they feel safe and comfortable, knowing that mistakes are ok, then they will be much more comfortable singing songs in the classroom.
