I once heard a teenager confess that the first thing he does in the morning is to turn on music, and he could not function without music. For many young people, music generates energy. Teachers can harness the energy that music creates to build motivation and enhance learning. Outlined below are the various ways that the power of music can be used effectively in the classroom.

Song writing

Songs have long been used as a teaching tool. Many people find it difficult to recite the letters of alphabet without singing the alphabet song. Songs could be used to memorize a long list of related information such as the names of capital cities, chemical elements in the Periodic Table, mathematical formulas, or the spellings of difficult words. Song writing can also lead to higher levels of thinking. My students have written songs that describe how a character may feel after an important event in a story. This same activity could relate to a historical figure after a significant event in history. For students to write such a song, it requires that they synthesize and evaluate information, the highest levels of thinking. Often it is helpful to give students a structure to create their songs. For example, a teacher can have students write songs in groups and have each group create a song in a different musical genre such as blues, rock, gospel, reggae, rap, salsa, etc. Most musical genres have specialized formats and beats that can provide students with structure for writing a song.

Song dedication

Instead of students writing their own songs, they could research existing songs to represent a character, group of people, time period, or discovery. Students could write an essay that explains why the song they selected matches what they have studied. Students could even create a whole album to reveal various aspects of what they are studying.

Writing Prompt

Music can be used as a muse for creative writing pieces. To teach setting, a teacher could play music from different parts of the world or the sounds from a specific location such as the ocean. After hearing the selection, students could write a paragraph describing the locale and what may been happening at that locale. Students could use what they have written to start a short story or a poem.

Time keeping

Music could be used as a means to keep time that adds enthusiasm to a lesson. When I have students debate, I use the Jeopardy Song during the time when students are preparing their arguments. When the song finishes, that means the preparation period is over. Music has also been a time keeper in my classroom for writing games. When the music is playing, students are required to freewrite. When I stop the music, that indicates that students should stop freewriting and switch papers with another student who will continue writing where they stopped.

Positive background noise

Music has a way of changing the atmosphere of a room. With the right tune, you can help influence the tone of the class. For a rowdy middle school class, I have seen teachers play classical music to calm the tension in the room. For a lethargic high school class, I have played theme songs from Broadway plays such as The Lion King to enliven the class and generate enthusiasm while students are working on group projects or interactive activities. A teacher must use wisdom when deciding when, which class, and what type of music would be effective to use as a positive background noise.

Music is a part of life that most young people love. Used effectively, music is another tool that teachers can use in their bag of tricks to benefit their students in the classroom.

By Tonia Lee author of Romeo & Juliet in Urban Slang and Macbeth in Urban Slang, sparking student interest in Shakespearean classics. Visit http://shakespeareinslang.com/