For my music pedagogy goal I developed a playlist of a variety of songs from different Genres and I have written the educational meaning concerning each of the pieces and how they can be used in the classroom and their relation to today’s society. The songs I have chosen have significant meaning to the BC elementary curriculum. The songs will be used for educational purposes to help with lesson plans in other subjects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U
Walking on sunshine: Katrina & the Waves
Music is a powerful tool that can be used to help manage a classroom. Students can be trained to have a conditioned response to music. The first song I have chosen is Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves. I would play this song 5 minutes before the first bell is run. It will bring the energy needed for kids and for myself who are tired and it will help kids conquer the day with a good mindset. As a teacher, I believe that it is very important to make school fun for students, when students are happy, engaged and look forward to class, this can help manage misbehaviours. Singing is also an aerobic exercise that helps improve cardiovascular muscles in the body and increases the amount of blood flowing through your body and improves alertness. It is linked to stress reduction, longevity and general health, it also can help improve children bonding and they can express their feelings of joy or excitement. Using music to teach helps students learn more effectively and helps foster cooperation. It can help students feel more positive about themselves, enhance a sense of safety and improve the overall mood of the classroom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWb4KlM2vts
Water Cycle Song (Learn the Water cycle for kids) by Have Fun teaching
This song described the water cycle for kids and this has a clear cross over to the subject of science. The water cycle song is a fun way to teach the water cycle and introduces terms such as evaporation, condensation and precipitation. It has an uplifting beat that students can dance too, and is a fun way to introduce the new concept that engages students aurally and visually. Children will also have a chance to sing the song along and learn/memorize the lyrics while also learning new facts! Repeating this multiple times the children will be able to sing along and use rhythm, rhyme and melody to aid memorization. As a teacher, we want to challenge the student by encouraging higher-thinking in the classroom. This song is a tool to engage students and provide a path for connections and deeper understanding to the content. If students have questions, this can create an environment where students will want to ask questions and understand what the singer is referring to in the lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxYaUXcH-Uo
Dance (Etre) Remix – Learn the French Verb Etre by Monsieur Mouton
In the BC curriculum, the content for the grade 5 and 6 education is language elements. Kids need to know the adverbs and their grammatical function, sequence of tenses, and strategies studied when writing, reading and communicating and socializing! This song has created a clear cross over to learning the grammar of french in this song. Studying french with songs, helps remember vocabulary and the jingle of the song can stick in the students head after class. Learning another language is not just in written form but also verbal and auditory and students can learn from hearing other people speak french. Rhythm, rhyme and melody help with memorization. Music and language processing take place in the same area of the brain. When students learn music it strengthens the area used for processing language, making it better able to handle language processing tasks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVE3OsR5W-0
Who does What
In the BC curriculum, the grade 5 social studies content they must know the levels of government, their main functions and the participation and representation in Canada’s system of government. This song takes a closer look at the responsibilities of the federal, provincial and municipal governments.This is a rap, a different genre of music and it explains the facts of the government and contains many lyrics that rhyme. There are also pictures that follow along with the rap that show each word she says in picture form. This was a great way for students to learn visually and aurally. The pictures give a clear picture of what each government level does. This song also uses the skills of memorization to learn all of the different roles of the government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV5VY76Pf5U
Converting Fractions To Decimals Song by Number Rock
This song gives a instructional way of delivering the concept of converting fractions to decimals. Math can be challenging for students to understand because the concepts are abstract. It has a catchy beat and follows a story line of a boy trying to figure out his homework. This song has visuals and manipulative, and is perfect to show when first teaching a concept. It has terms need to know in the content section of the BC curriculum for the grade 5 math. It repeats the chorus multiple times in the song, which is a great way to learn repetition and have kids have the basic facts of how to convert fractions to decimals The visuals of this is also a perfect way for students to learn in a different style of learning. This video is great verbally, aurally and visually. Students will also have the beat and lyrics stuck in their head and that can help them memorize the formula to convert fractions to decimals. A concept I know I had a hard time learning by just watching my teacher teach it on the whiteboard!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8
Roar By Katy Perry
Song lyrics can help teach a theme and become a mentor text for students to use. Students may not feel connected to a book or article in class, but may be more interested in understand a popular song they are familiar with. An activity students can do is pick their own song that they really like or that they have a personal connection to and change the lyrics of the song to become a poem. To monitor the students choice in song I will ask them the day before the activity, to think of a song and I will remind students to choose a song that is appropriate for school. I will also ask the students to share with me the song titles so I can check the appropriateness of these songs, and that they share it with their parents so they also approve of the song choice. After they have chosen there song they will use the lyrics as a mentor text for their own poems, they will use a short phrase in the song that they believe is most meaningful. The students will then change the words into original statements, this poem can then be reflected deeper and become their own unique poem/song. This activity sparks and inspires student’s creativity and gives a different opportunity for them to become creative writers. The song, Roar by Katy Perry is perfect for changing the lyrics into a personal poem. These are the lyrics that are perfect for adjusting:
I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
You held me down, but I got up (hey!)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, your hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready ’cause I had enough
I see it all, I see it now
Lauren Lam 