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Don't forget to register for Smithsonian Teachers' Night
October 23!
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Find new classroom-ready resources, meet Smithsonian educators, and
attend demonstrations of school programs and materials at the
Smithsonian's annual education expo. Be among the first three thousand
educators to enter the event and receive a free tote bag.
Register Online.
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Research
You Can Use
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Music Promotes Learning
A list of links to articles that make the point - several to choose from including those that tie music to brain development and those that provide strategies for using music to enhance content.
Music
and the Mind
This article focuses on the connection between music and academic achievement. It makes a case for the importance of the arts in education.
Growing Up Complete: The Imperative for Music Education (excerpt from the study)
In 1991 the National Commission on Music Education released this report which highlighted the tremendous loss of music education in schools and the importance of reintroducing music as a tool for academic, social, and emotional growth of students.
Why Music Education?
This brochure make the case for having music instruction (like band or orchestra) in your school. While that may not be relevant to your classroom (unless you are a music teacher) several of the finding included in this document support integrating music into your curriculum. For example, check out these statistics on the relationship between learning to play or sing music and academic achievement!
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INSPIRED TEACHER BLOG
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Watching my son grow into a love of music
makes it clear to me why my students always seemed so engaged when the CD
player was on in our classroom. I think music must be in us because the joy it
brings us even as infants - seems to be innate.
There is plenty of research out there to
suggest that my observation is not unique - and (contrary to my own
belief) my son is not some musical genius because he can make a statement on
the dance floor at less than 2-years-old...
Read More.
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BECOME A FAN OF INSPIRED TEACHING
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Check out our Facebook page and become a fan of the organization.
Inspired Teaching is now on Twitter as InspireTeach. Follow us to get regular updates! These are new ways you can stay connected to Inspired Teaching and, even better, a way we can stay connected to you!
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Why should I have music in my classroom?
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"When a child learns by
experience that music forges direct links between self and world,
self-expression becomes more fluent; the music helps interpret "who I
am.""
Let's just start with the obvious: if you're
not using music in your classroom you're missing out. Of all the tools you use
to teach (paper, chalkboards, scissors, glue, etc...) a little CD player might
very well be the most useful.
Consider all the things that you can use
music to do:
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Dance and Sing
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Write and Read
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Transition between activities
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Open or close a lesson
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Share
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Relax and Jump-start
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Exercise
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Demonstrate a concept
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Create a memory / experience
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Connect ideas
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Give context to a topic
This list is by no means complete - but it
easily suggests a dozen ways you could incorporate music into your day-to-day
teaching.
The resources below include methods for integrating
music into content areas. And in case you're worried that a little dancing and
singing will take you too far from "meeting the standards" - check out the
special "research you can use" section that makes a solid case for the benefits
of music in brain development, memory, classroom engagement, motivation, and
more!
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Music and English / Language Arts
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"Music
expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."
Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
Here are some ideas for integrating music
into teaching reading and writing:
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Use different kinds of music as writing
prompts. Have students listen to the music and either write while they are
listening or write after they have heard the piece.
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To demonstrate the potential for multiple
interpretations of a text, play a few versions of the same piece of music and
have students discuss the differences.
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Examine the lyrics of a song as you would the
lyrics of a poem.
- Look for songs that help to teach grammar concepts.
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Explore songs that are biographical, tell
stories (ballads) or offer musical interpretations of texts (for example: Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, etc.)
Use these musical experiences as part of your exploration of different genres.
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Music and Math
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"There is geometry in the humming of the
strings. There is music in the spacing of the spheres."
- Pythagoras
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Explore the mathematical properties underlying basic musical structures like the relationship between octaves and
their corresponding frequencies, Pythagorean tuning, and Just Intonation.
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Use math to make music as this site suggests
assigning different tones to specific numbers and creating number patterns that
you can sing.
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Use note values in music to teach about fractions.
(This is a really cool site that connects rhythms to fractions and pi - you
need a computer to use it in school, but it would be a neat station if you have
a computer available in your classroom.)
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There's no substitute for teaching students
the real math behind a formula, but a song that helps them remember the math
(and the formula) can be quite helpful. You can find lots of these online, but
an even better plan would be to have your students create their own. Here are lyrics from some math songs.
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Music and Social Studies
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"We know an
age more vividly through its music than through its historians."
Rosanne Ambrose-Brown
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When studying different cultures or time
periods, find music from those cultures or time periods to play during class.
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Collect instruments from different countries
or time periods and look at the ways in which these objects speak of a culture
or an era.
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Explore the lyrics of songs from the areas you
are studying and look at how this "text" tells the story of the people living
in this place or time.
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If it is important for students to learn the
facts behind a particular concept, try to find music that can help them learn
and remember the material. (A famous example is the School House Rock song/video
called "How a Bill Becomes a Law".
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Music and Science
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"It is only by introducing the young to great
literature, drama and music, and to the excitement of great science that we
open to them the possibilities that lie within the human spirit-enable them to
see visions and dream dreams."
- Sir
(William) Eric Kinloch Anderson
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Look for
instrumental music that celebrates scientific phenomena and use this as hook to start lessons or as background
music during projects.
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Songs with
lyrics that teach about science concepts can help students learn about and
remember complicated processes like photosynthesis or mitosis. This is a link
to a site that has an exhaustive list of online and orderable science and math tunes.
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The new album
by They Might Be Giants called "Here Comes Science" also includes video to go
along with the clever lyrics and catchy tunes that cover everything from
astronomy to physics.
- Music can be particularly helpful if you have students learning in
stations or labs when you use the music to either start, stop, or move action.
When students are very engaged in a lab or activity it can be challenging to
get their attention but using music as an auditory cue that it is time to wrap
up or change stations can work beautifully.
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Contests / Opportunites
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Win a brand New IPod Nano
Do you love what you do?
Record a two-minute video showing The Apple why you love what you do for a living, and upload it
to our "I Love What I Do" category. The 5 videos with the most
thumbs-up on October 24, 2009 at 11:59pm will be chosen as finalists.
Submission by finalists will be reviewed by editors, who will screen
each finalist's video before choosing a winner.
October 17 - Shop for a Cause
Inspired Teaching is participating in Shop for a Cause on October 17!
Macy's Downtown-Metro Center has partnered with Center for Inspired Teaching to
fundraise for quality teaching and high academic achievement in Washington, DC.
With a $5 donation to Inspired Teaching, you receive a shopping pass
for Shop for a Cause on Saturday, October 17, 2009. Your contribution will
support Inspired Teaching's programs and help ensure that schools make the most
of children's natural curiosity and desire to learn.
On October 17, use your shopping pass all day at Macy's Downtown-Metro
Center to save 10% on furniture and 20% on other merchandise. You will also receive 25% off a single
item with the Shop for a Cause pass.
In return, you
will support our high-quality programs that impact thousands of DC students'
achievement and success in school, year after year, with passionate and
effective teachers.
If you, a friend, or a family member, wants to participate or support
Inspired Teaching's Shop for a Cause, please call 202-462-1956 or e-mail development@inspiredteaching.org You can arrange to have your shopping pass mailed
to you or to meet an Inspired Teaching representative in front of
Macy's on October 17.
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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