Music in the Classroom ~ amanda beth online

I recently posted about the use of toys in the upper elementary classroom (Part One and Part Two), and in one of those posts, I mentioned the music I use for a review activity. I want to thank ATUE reader Julie L. for leaving a comment that inspired me to write a post about the music I use in my classroom! Julie, if you leave a comment here with your email address, I have a special surprise for you to thank you for your inspiration!

In my toy posts, I mentioned that when we do detective theme practice or review (when students are searching for something like adjectives in a sentence, etc.), I like to use The Pink Panther theme as our timer (as well as a Pink Panther for our mascot).

I have also used the Mission Impossible theme for other detective theme challenges (but I like to call it Mission POSSIBLE).

However, there are so many other songs I LOVE to use in the classroom. All of these songs are those that I have on CD or have purchased on iTunes for use within my classroom so I can save them and use them when needed. It's really worth it! Before iTunes, I would buy a whole CD for one or two songs. Now I can buy just those I want to use in my classroom!

Sometimes the music is the timer for the activity. Sometimes it is background music as we work. Sometimes it is chosen to suit the mood or theme. Sometimes it is used to rev up my students. I personally love music and can't imagine life without it, so it's only natural for me to infuse it into my lessons whenever possible! I usually like to pick songs with very few or no lyrics so it doesn't distract the students.

We have a popcorn theme when we practice pronouns, and when I try to have students identify the personal pronouns on a popcorn-themed sheet, I like to play "Popcorn" by Hot Butter as the timer.

Sometimes I even use the popcorn song when I am passing out my popcorn prompts. It is so much more fun to receive your prompt as the teacher hops around from desk to desk to the popcorn tune! Students can't wait for their turns to put their hands in the popcorn bag and pull out their prompts!

Aphex Twin covered the song "Popcorn," and I've used his version with my class once or twice. The kids seemed to love it! However, it made their old lady teacher a bit batty, so I stick to Hot Butter's older version!

I also do a race with the whole class to practice the pronouns (where the whole class competes as team against time), and I use music as our timer. I love the song "Busy Child" by The Crystal Method because it really motivates them to move quickly. Their toes are tapping and their eyes are wide with excitement as we do the race. The music DEFINITELY adds to the excitement. The song slows down and speeds up, and they always panic because they think the time is almost up in the slower parts. The part from 4:07 to about 4:55 is the most exciting every time I use it!

I also have created a review game called Long Train for my classroom. The review cards are on little train cars and it works like a Scoot game. I purposely put the questions on trains so I could use the song "Dark and Long" (Dark Train Mix) by Underworld. It's a trance track that was used in the movie Trainspotting. It's is definitely not distracting because of its repetitive melody with few lyrics ("Long train...Ride the train...") My students love it...and so do I! The beat picks up a little at around 3:05, but its "catchy monotony" is what makes it great background music.

When I use Carnival of the Animals by John Lithgow as a mentor text, I want students to hear the music that inspired this book. The always enjoy listening to "The Carnival of the Animals" (Le Carnaval des Animaux) by Camille Saint-Saens, especially if we are working independently on a project inspired by our mentor text.