5 Resources for Integrating Music Across the Curriculum

Why Should I Use Music in My Classroom?

"We know an age more vividly through its music than through its historians."

~ Rosanne Ambrose-Brown

I have never met anyone whose life has not been influenced by music in some way. Music sets the stage for our lives; it has the ability to trigger memories and manipulate moods. Music can stimulate our creativity and increase the connections in our neural network.

Those of us who grew up with School House Rock can attest to the power of music to infiltrate the memory whether you want it to or not. I dare you not to finish this: “Conjunction Junction . . .” How about this one: “I’m just a Bill. . .”

If for some reason you have never heard of School House Rock or if you just want to take a trip down memory lane, here is a video for your viewing pleasure.

The truth is, using music in the classroom can impact student learning in a number of ways. Music can be used to:



• create a positive learning environment
• establish the necessary mood or atmosphere
• re-energize tedious learning activities (like review, vocabulary, and drills)
• focus attention and improve memory retention
• facilitate multi-sensory learning and address multiple intelligences
• provide inspiration, motivation, and creative fuel for imagination
•  build rapport between students and teachers and among the students themselves

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." - Growing up Complete, the report of the National Commision on Music Education, 1990

 

 

Five Resources for Music Integration

1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - currently houses 52 lesson plans using rock and roll to teach History, English Language and Literature, Economics,Social Science, Psychology, and Government.
2. Science in School - "Using music in the science classroom" by Caroline Molyneux - extremely interesting article from science teacher Caroline Molyneux outlining her strategy of using music in her classroom to begin class and to facilitate memory retention in her students. 
3. Flocabulary - Educational Hip-Hop - subscription resource with videos covering English (both literature and vocabulary), math, science, social studies, and current events. Individual teacher rate is $5-7/month (depending on whether or not you want the current event videos each week) or $63/year (get 3 months free). They also offer free videos on their site and on YouTube as well, including this one for Macbeth that I used with my sophomores.

4.  "Interactive Music Strategies for the Academic Curriculum" by Michelle Lazar - Practical ideas for integrating music into the curriculum.

5. EdApps.ca - "14 Ways to Use GarageBand in the Classroom" - Uses include ways to increase technology in music classes, as well as physical education and across the humanities.