Motivation with Music
When I began teaching language arts, I thought, how in the world I would motivate middle school kids to be interested in learning to read and write better? I even went so far in my thinking to wonder if I could even stir a passion within them for at least some of the elements of this class. I began looking within myself and thinking of the things I was passionate about at their age and the one thing that kept coming to mind was music. Even this initial thought moved my heart. I took this idea and began to work with it. No one in any of the schools where I have taught used music (and very few do today), so I had to start from scratch. I knew that in order for my administration to buy into my ideas, I needed to show educational …show more content…
The most obvious ones to me were in teaching types of literature and figures of speech. I decided to make this a Monday activity, to add energy and interest to my classes on a day that would benefit the most from it. I wanted to be sure to pick songs that fit my curriculum needs but I thought it was also important to use music of a variety of genres. I looked through my music collection initially and chose four songs. My plan was to use the first verse or two of each song, display the lyrics and play them while my students followed along. I made sure that I prepared my students to look for specific elements of literature and/or author’s purpose and after we listened to each song, I displayed the lyrics again and we discussed what they discovered. I thought it would be important to make sure to choose a song that was the first to play each week that would generate energy and enthusiasm and I made sure that genres of the four songs were varied. As this activity evolved, my students have submitted music to me ahead of time and, if appropriate, I often use them. Every Monday, there’s always at least one student that asks, “Are we doing Music Poetry today?” I have even had a handful of parents tell me that their kids have asked not to make appointments for them outside of school on Mondays so they will not miss this
When I began teaching language arts, I thought, how in the world I would motivate middle school kids to be interested in learning to read and write better? I even went so far in my thinking to wonder if I could even stir a passion within them for at least some of the elements of this class. I began looking within myself and thinking of the things I was passionate about at their age and the one thing that kept coming to mind was music. Even this initial thought moved my heart. I took this idea and began to work with it. No one in any of the schools where I have taught used music (and very few do today), so I had to start from scratch. I knew that in order for my administration to buy into my ideas, I needed to show educational …show more content…
The most obvious ones to me were in teaching types of literature and figures of speech. I decided to make this a Monday activity, to add energy and interest to my classes on a day that would benefit the most from it. I wanted to be sure to pick songs that fit my curriculum needs but I thought it was also important to use music of a variety of genres. I looked through my music collection initially and chose four songs. My plan was to use the first verse or two of each song, display the lyrics and play them while my students followed along. I made sure that I prepared my students to look for specific elements of literature and/or author’s purpose and after we listened to each song, I displayed the lyrics again and we discussed what they discovered. I thought it would be important to make sure to choose a song that was the first to play each week that would generate energy and enthusiasm and I made sure that genres of the four songs were varied. As this activity evolved, my students have submitted music to me ahead of time and, if appropriate, I often use them. Every Monday, there’s always at least one student that asks, “Are we doing Music Poetry today?” I have even had a handful of parents tell me that their kids have asked not to make appointments for them outside of school on Mondays so they will not miss this