Music and Learning: Integrating

Music in the Classroom

Nashwa Rashed
MUST
Why use songs !?
Theyre fun!
 Songs can be selected to suit the needs and
interests of the learners.
A variety of new vocabulary can be introduced
using song.
Grammar and cultural aspects can be introduced
through songs.
Students can experience a wide range of
accents.
Natural, authentic
language
 Time length is easily controlled

Prof. Larry M. Lynch

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/10/28/madonna-booed-obama proflmlynch@gmail.com
"Music is the universal language of mankind.
 What kind of activities?
Scrambled Lyrics

An popular activity is to cut up all lyrics. Divide

the class into teams and give each team a set of
lyrics. Play the song and have them try to put all
the lines in the correct order.
Act out the verb

If the song you are playing uses a lot of verbs,

play the song for them once without any lyrics.
Every time the students recognize a verb, they
have to act it out.
Cant Stop
Bethany Hamilton, American Surfer
Bethany Hamilton was born on February 8, 1990, in Kauai,
Hawaii. She entered (and won!) her first surfing competition at
age eight and dreamed of becoming a professional surfer. But in
October 2003, this dream was threatened. Hamilton was attacked
by a shark while surfing and lost her left arm. Although many
might have been afraid to get back in the water, Hamilton was
determined to return to competitive surfing and was surfing
again within a month of the shark attack! One year later,
Hamilton had won first place at a major competition and is now a
professional surfer. She wrote about her experiences in an
autobiography, which was later made into a movie called Soul
Surfer. Her story has been an inspiration to many, and a lesson in
pursuing your dreams regardless of the challenges that life
brings.
 Writing Music
I will introduce this lesson by singing for them some lyrics that I
created and show them how creating music can be fun and help us
to learn. Then I will have them work in their groups brainstorming
what their song will be about. They must create some kind of plan
for their song (web, rough draft, outline etc) and have it approved
by me before writing. As a group they will then create the lyrics to
their song (this may be done over several days). When they think
they are finished they will trade lyrics with another group and that
group will edit their lyrics and give them ideas. They will then trade
back and make the necessary revisions. Finally, they will record
their song onto the computer with their music and I will create a
class CD of all of the songs. The students must present their song
using a presentation style of their choice (power point, poster
board, and projector). They will be given a rubric for what I expect
from their song and their presentation. Students will then take the
written test on the vocabulary learned in the unit.
 Gap it

You can prepare a

gapped version of
the lyrics and let
students complete
them before
listening and then
check afterwards.
 Learning Theories and Music
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Includes eight (though there may be more) forms of intelligence: visual-

spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, musical, naturalistic, and most recently existential.
 Useful Websites
http://lyricstraining.com/

http://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/sing-
out-loud-traditional-songs

http://www.englishexercises.org/buscador/busca
r.asp?nivel=any&contents=song
http://www.musicalenglishlessons.org/index-
ex.htm
"When the music changes so,

so does the dance.

Any Questions ?

Thank you