IN Music THE Classroom

A USER’S GUIDE FOR [EVERY TEACHER ] By Jennifer O. Prescott n the popular film School of Rock, Jack Black, as substitute teacher Dewey Finn, leaps to the front of the classroom, whips out an electric guitar, and plays an original Led-Zeppelin-esque tune for his stunned fifth graders. Most teachers’ experiences withI music in the classroom are a far cry from Black’s maniacal rock-and-roll antics—they find themselves on easier terms with a paper- towel-tube maraca than with a flaming red electric guitar. But any teacher—even those who discreetly mouth the words to “Happy Birthday”—can find ways to access the enormous educational benefits of music. Sustained and rich school music programs A D L O S

: are the ideal, and many teachers, parents, O T O H P

SCHOLASTIC INSTRUCTOR | 29 Music in theClassroom

activity: The Sounds in the Word ave children sing the following song to the familiar tune of “The Wheels Hon the Bus.” For each stanza, segment a three-phoneme word such as sun, rug, duck, bug, cup, fun, nut, run, or luck. Invite children to orally blend the sounds and shout the whole word when the stanza is complete. and community members—armed with The sounds in the word are /s/ /u/ /n/; /s/ /u/ /n/; /s/ /u/ /n/. a wealth of research—have taken action The sounds in the word are /s/ /u/ /n/; shout the word out loud! to protect them. (See “Parents Demand —Phonemic Awareness Songs and Rhymes, by Wiley Blevins (Scholastic, 1999) More Music,” page 34.) But even if your school’s marching band, musical theater program, and after-school ukulele club eventually fall under the budgetary ax, teacher tip: music does not have to be banished from your school. Integrating music Live Music! with other academic subjects is one way hildren are desperate for authentic musical experiences. They are to salvage some of its strengths and to “Cdrawn to music videos, but that doesn’t impress them as much as some- enrich the entire curriculum. one sitting next to them, playing an instrument. Teachers can put up a notice at music stores, asking people to come and play. Folk, bluegrass, rap—many Math Set to Music musicians would be thrilled to visit.” —Samuel Southworth, Durham, NH “Kids come to school knowing ‘Mary (musician and former middle-school teacher) Had a Little Lamb’ and ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,’” says Kay Smitherman, a retired math teacher from Angleton, Texas. “Wouldn’t it MUSIC hile the arts have been deemed be nice if children came to school UNDER W a core subject by NCLB, there is already knowing math formulas by SEIGE no standardized test in place to measure heart?” Smitherman, whose “Math [ ] how skillfully one strums a guitar chord. Songs” appear on page 66 of this As a result, music programs in many schools are issue, has made a second career thought to be expendable. According to the of setting math-themed lyrics to Music Education Coalition, the current popular tunes to help kids mem- round of budget cuts will deprive orize essential formulas and skills. 60 percent of K–12 students of an “With music, the steps are education that includes music. “To already implanted in your have music education stricken from the brain,” she explains. “Stu- school system is devastating,” says T dents can hum while a test is O composer Bruce Adolphe, music and P

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being taken—it’s right there F T

education advisor to the Lincoln : P H

in their heads.” Once, she O

Center’s Chamber Music Society. T O D

recalls, a student walked up I “Education should help create a S C

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whole human being, and it’s not U E / G

fessed that a group of children E

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had cheated. “What?” she I on English and math tests and excel M A G

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munity that's a model for humanity.” : S L O

mean, median, range, D A

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CDsTHATROCK Way Out, by Justin Roberts (Carpet Square, 2004). Lively songs about trips to the doctor, best friends, and a camel named Samuel who dreams of the ocean. and mode, we hummed until we got to that part, then wrote it down.” Getting students to participate in First Grade Rocks! the music-making can add another (Curriculum Rocks!, 2003). Developed by teachers, this level of engagement. Math educator excellent series (www.cur Robyn Silbey, from Gaithersberg, riculumrocks.com) puts Maryland, encourages the teachers academics to catchy tunes. she trains to “use music to help stu- dents recall basic multiplication facts, The Putumayo Kids: for example. The teachers challenge Sing Along With Putumayo The Best of (Putumayo, 2004). A compi- Schoolhouse Rock kids to reinforce these facts by making lation of kid-friendly classics, (Rhino Records, 1998). up new words to a well-known song. including the most jamming The impossible-to-forget “This strategy is an effective way to “Old MacDonald” rendition lyrics to “Conjunction have students embed anything they you’ve ever heard. Junction” and more are as timeless as ever. need to learn for mastery or to memo- rize,” says Silbey. “I like it because all the kids are involved in teaching and Philadelphia Chickens (Rounder Records, learning, it’s less work for the teacher, 2004). Children’s author Sandra Boynton con- P

cocts an imaginary musical soundtrack with H and it’s fun and gets the job done.” O T

the help of famous friends. Dinosaurs, pigs, O S : S

and snuggle puppies take to the stage! O D Lyrics and Language A As the self-styled Ms. Music, Beth Butler spent years visiting preschools throughout her home state of Florida, using songs to teach little ones the TEST days of the week, parts of the body, [HIGHER SCORES ?] and more. Then she made a discovery: he reduction in school music programs is not only “Using music is exactly the way to damaging from an aesthetic standpoint, it also flies in the teach a new language,” she says. T face of research that suggests kids who study music perform A fluent Spanish speaker, Butler better on tests. Numerous studies reveal that kids who partici- started Boca Beth (www.bocabeth. pate in music programs show improved spatial-temporal skills, com), a Spanish-English language enhanced academic performance, and better social skills. program that uses songs, movements, According to a 2001 College Entrance Examination Board and puppets to teach Spanish vocabu- study, students with coursework or experience in music perfor- lary and phrases. The familiar songs mance scored 57 points higher on the verbal section of the on Butler’s DVDs and CDs—such as SAT and 41 points higher on the math; those who participated “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the in music appreciation scored 63 and 44 points higher, respec- Bed”—alternate between English and tively, than those students with no arts participation. A 1999 study Spanish stanzas. from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information “Children are such sponges,” says Studies showed that gains from music were just as great or greater Butler. “They pick it up quickly, and for students of low socioeconomic status as for privileged students. music makes it so much easier for L

32 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 Music in theClassroom

them.” Just 10 minutes a day can put activity: kids on the road to building a decent bilingual vocabulary—with no effort The Hour Is One at all. Kids can just relax and listen. While music can help kids retain a his activity familiarizes young children with time-telling in a memorable new language, it also helps them with Tway. First, set a large clock with movable hands at 12:00. Tell the children basic skills in their native language. that together you’ll create a rhyming chant to correlate with the movement Christina Ledbetter, who has taught of the hands. Write the chant on chart paper as you go. Begin with a story first grade for three years at Plumb line such as, “Now it’s twelve o’clock. The bees are near the rock.” Adjust Elementary in Clearwater, Florida, the clock hands. Then chant, “Now it’s 12:05. The bees are in the hive.” explains that “in the beginning of Adjust the hands once more and chant, “Now it’s 12:10. The bees fly first grade, it is important for children out again!” Go back to 12:00 and review, then invite the children to suggest to know that we read from left to their own rhymes for 12:15, 12:20, 12:32, and so on. Finish the lesson right and then back down to the next with something like, “Now the hour is 1:00. Wasn’t chanting fun?” row.” To get kids to understand this, —Elaine McWilliams, Maurice Hawk Elementary, Princeton Junction, NJ Ledbetter uses a tune by songwriter Jack Hartmann called “The Way We Read” (www.jackhartmann.com), teacher tip: which kids act out with their hands and bodies as they sing along. Children with language difficulties Call–and–Response use call-and-response tunes to call my students to sharing time in particular can benefit from music, “I or class meetings—this is also a quick way to get their attention. I will says Susan Stackhouse, a support clap out a rhythm that they must repeat. This instantly focuses everyone. Some- teacher for second through fifth grade times I will select a student to create a rhythm for the day to call the class to and a regular seventh- and eighth- attention.” —Dawn Flowers Thompson, Clara Barton School # 2, Rochester, NY grade classroom teacher at McDonald Elementary School in Warminster, Pennsylvania. To accommodate some of her students’ disabilities, Stackhouse PARENTS makes up her own lyrics to popular “ inety-five percent of parents say tunes. For example, her version of DEMAND N that music is a key component “Hokey Pokey” starts with a word like MORE in a child’s education,” says Laura train. She sings: You take the “t” out and MUSIC Johnson, associate executive director [ ] of the American Music Conference, a put a “g” in, you take the “r” out, and look at what you have.You put the sounds nonprofit organization that promotes the benefits together and you try to sound it out. of music-making. People sense intuitively that (Kids clap.) What is the new word? “kids who study music do better in school and in Kids: Gain! life,” she says, “and that’s backed up by a great “I have children self-talk deal of research.” The community at large supports through a difficult word by music education; according to a 2003 Gallup poll, singing a song and apply- 97 percent of respondents believe that playing ing it to their reading,” music is “a good hobby” and “a good means says Stackhouse. “It’s of expression” that “provides a sense of very effective.” accomplishment.” For advice on how to assemble a campaign to save music in Musical Intelligence your school, visit www.support music.com. On the site, you’ll find an

When Diane Connell taught a P H

arsenal of facts about music education O T

lesson on honeybees to third O S

and a step-by-step action plan. : S

(Continued on page 67) O D A

34 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM (Continued from page 34) graders—including children with spe- inal song pertaining to that day’s art cial needs—she looked for a way to lesson. For example, his song “Van make the subject come alive. A quick Gogh (No Stereo)” appeals to kids browse through the local music store because they remember one gruesome turned up Rimski-Korsakov’s “Flight fact about the Dutch master: that he of the Bumblebee.” Back in class, the cut off his ear—and, as the song goes, children got out of their seats and couldn’t hear “in stereo.” The songs “buzzed” around the room to the fast, ignite the kids’ interest and help them jerky rhythm of the composition. remember important facts and “The music helped them feel exactly elements of art history. what I was talking about in the “The kids are learning, but they lesson,” says Connell, now an associ- don’t know they’re learning,” says ate professor at Rivier College in Percy. “That’s the best situation.” Nashua, New Hampshire. Teaching the students in this fashion engages Culture and Music the emotions. “If students really care The students that Teri Tibbett meets about something, they’ll remember it,” are often isolated—with sometimes as asserts Connell. few as six children and one teacher to As one of Howard Gardner’s major a rural schoolhouse—and starved for 1/3 intelligence areas, music is valuable artistic experiences. Tibbett, an for its own sake as well as for what it itinerant music teacher based in can add to a lesson. Linda DiPasquale- Juneau, Alaska, brings the only musi- Morello, a teacher at John C. Milanesi cal exposure that these students have. Vertical Elementary in Buena, New Jersey, feels With younger children, Tibbett that music is “just as or even more emphasizes movement: clapping, important than reading, writing, and bouncing, and finger play. Older kids Right math.” She says, “Many children who in fifth through eighth grade learn do not show academic awareness or about the music’s “background, where excellence have the ability to show it came from, and the sociology of the their forte in the arts—either musical music style.” In the summertime, or visual art. That’s why I am so Tibbett works with native youth— against using just standardized testing mostly of the Tlingit and Haida for knowledge and understanding. We tribes—in a juvenile detention center. need all kinds of people with all kinds She starts with a Native American of talents!” unit from her book Listen to Learn: As Greg Percy, a teacher of art for Using American Music to Teach Lan- 20 years in Madison, Wisconsin, has guage Arts and Social Studies (Jossey- discovered, a musical intelligence can Bass, 2004). “They get excited,” she even help kids with—what else?— says, “because that’s who they are. other types of art. Percy’s greatest hits They realize this isn’t the typical (www.songsinthekeyofart.com) music appreciation class. Then they’re include the “Picasso Polka,” “From hooked on it.” Matisse to You,” “Michaelangelo Mad,” The older kids also get to see and and “The Red and Yellow Blues”—the handle instruments from various cul- latter a catchy ditty on primary colors. tures. Tibbett asks questions that get In his art classes, Percy will show them to analyze and compare: “Here’s some samples of an artist’s work, talk a rattle. Touch it, look at it. Why does about the artist, and then play an orig- (Continued on page 76) Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation of INSTRUCTOR (as required by MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM Title 39, United States Code). (Continued from page 67)

Date of Filing: October 1, 2004 Title of Publication: INSTRUCTOR this instrument belong in the idio- Music Promotes Wonder Frequency of Issue: 8 times phone family? How is this like sticks Beyond the research, teachers know annually. Monthly: August, September, October, March, April; banging together, or two goat hooves from the expressions on their students’ bimonthly: November/December, clacking together?” faces that music’s benefits go far January/February, May/June. Tibbett links her music lessons with beyond what can be assessed. Put Location of Known Office of history, such as the Ghost Dance that simply, students enjoy, gain nourish- Publication: 2931 East McCarty Street, Cole County, P.O. Box 3710, took place before the Massacre at ment from, and build their confidence Jefferson City, MO 65101-4464. Wounded Knee in the late 1800s. through participation in the arts. Location of the Headquarters of The dancers performed the dance as a Writes Norman Weinberger, Ph.D., a the Publishers: 557 Broadway, New healing ritual, but “the military per- professor in the department of York, NY 10012-3999. Publisher: Michele Robinson (557 Broadway, ceived it as a war dance,” she says. “It Psychobiology at the University of New York, NY 10012-3999); made them nervous—and the mas- California, Irvine, “Arts education Editor in Chief: Bernadette Grey (557 sacre followed.” Playing music that appears to really bring out the best in Broadway, New York, NY 10012- accompanied the Ghost Dance can students, capitalizing on their natural 3999); Managing Editor: Jennifer Prescott (557 Broadway, New York, bring history alive for students. By curiosity and allowing it to flourish in a NY 10012-3999). Owners: analyzing their own gut reactions to varied, stimulating environment.” Scholastic Corp., M. Richard the music, students can gain a better For the student who has given up on Robinson, Trust under will of Maurice understanding of how the military school or has never found his or her R. Robinson, Trust under will of Florence L. Robinson, all of might have interpreted the Ghost strength, music is sometimes the incen- 557 Broadway, New York, NY Dance and the dancers’ intentions. tive needed to show up every day. 10012-3999. Jennifer Rodin, who trains elemen- “Everyone has a gift to explore and Average Number of Copies Each tary-level teachers at the Oglala develop,” says Jackie Buckner, a third- Issue During Preceding 12 Months: Total Number of Copies (Net Press Lakota College in Kyle, South grade teacher at Frank Kohn Elemen- Run), 225,493; Paid or Requested Dakota, develops social studies lessons tary School, in Tulare, California. “Part Mail Subscriptions (Includes based upon various types of music— of my job as a teacher is to assist in Advertisers’ Proof and Exchange percussion, hip-hop, and call-and- locating and developing those gifts.” Copies), 195,725; Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, response. A teacher can link music Take away the opportunity for chil- Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPS and social studies, suggests Rodin, by dren to find these strengths, and you Paid Distribution, 5,131; Total Paid sending students to the Internet to do are doing a disservice to society, says and/or Requested Circulation, a guided search. For example, a search Ann Fennell, a third- through eighth- 200,856; Free Distribution by Mail, 2,750; Free Distribution Outside of “music + instruments + Ancient grade music teacher at the Vista the Mail, 2,268; Total Free Egypt” turns up images and descrip- Academy of Visual and Performing Distribution, 5,018; Total Distribution, tions of lyres, flutes, and cymbals. A Arts in San Diego. Fennell is director 205,874; Copies Not Distributed teacher can encourage kids to discuss of Music Ventures, a program that (Office Use, Leftovers, Spoiled), 19,619; Total, 225,493. Actual why these instruments might have trains teachers how to integrate music Number of Copies of Single Issue been developed, what materials they into the curriculum. “It’s imperative Published Nearest to Filing Date: were made of, and what tools were to teach all of the arts,” she says, Total Number of Copies (Net Press used to construct them. Using easy-to- “because we don’t know whom we are Run), 219,387; Paid or Requested Mail Subscriptions (Includes find materials such as pie pans, beads, denying. Take Louis Armstrong. Had Advertisers’ Proof and Exchange spoons, duct tape, and plastic eggs, he never held a trumpet, what would Copies), 207,438; Sales Through kids can measure and build their own the world have lost? Many kids do not Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, versions of these instruments. Lastly, get these chances at home. As a Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPS Paid Distribution, 8,511; Total Paid “if you’re lucky enough to find record- teacher, you have to open up every and/or Requested Circulation, ings of the actual music,” says Rodin, door, to every child, to let them 215,949; Free Distribution by Mail, “then you can make math connections discover their infinite possibilities.” I 1,062; Free Distribution Outside the by talking about the music’s counting Jennifer O. Prescott is the managing editor of Instructor. Mail, 2,376; Total Free Distribution, and rhythm patterns.” She plays the guitar sporadically, but when she tries to sing, 3,438; Total Distribution, 219,387; someone always unplugs the microphone. Copies Not Distributed (Office Use, Leftovers, Spoiled), 0; Total 219,387.