Why do we HAVE to learn music?

"Why do we HAVE to learn music?"

That was the question posed by one of my students, yesterday. I will admit to getting rather choked up, frustrated, and annoyed at this question. Not because I don't have a valid reason for teaching music, or because I don't think students HAVE to learn music, but because it frustrates me sometimes that this question has to be asked. However, upon some reflection, I have asked this question about other subjects I HAD to learn in school. I never asked my teachers, but I did complain about these subjects at home. Like geometry, biology, geology... none of them seemed to matter.

So, why do elementary students HAVE to learn music. Many of you reading my blog already know the answer, but how do you explain its significance to a child who dislikes the subject? Are you going to actually convince them that it is important and that it does have benefits? I don't know, but I think it is our job to try. So, here is what I have come up with as an answer to this rather broad question:

MUSIC is the link between all subject areas:


MUSIC is about self-expression, creativity, and innovation. It teaches us about beauty.

MUSIC exercises the WHOLE BRAIN and allows children to do multiple things at a time.

MUSIC connects us to the world, reminds us of our history, helps us to communicate with others.

MUSIC expresses ideas and emotions that cannot be expressed any other way.

In conclusion, there is no question that MUSIC needs to be taught and everyone should HAVE to learn it. However, like many other things that are good for us, it does not mean we will always like them. I LOVE MUSIC and always have, but there are other things that are good for me that I don't enjoy like exercise, lima beans, and science, but it doesn't mean I don't HAVE to do them or HAVE to learn about them. It just means I don't enjoy them as much as I enjoy other things.

What are your thoughts? How would you explain the importance of music to a young child?

For more links to great articles about Music Advocacy check out my school website by clicking HERE.

Outdoor Instruments

As I talked about in my previous post, all my classes at Fairview went outside last week for music class. We had many different activities outside and the students learned a lot!

The Kindergarten and 1st graders were given a task of finding an object in nature that could be used as an instrument. After finding their make shift instruments the Kindergarten students got to share the instrument and play it for the class. I was impressed with the amount of creativity shown. A couple Kindergarteners used pinecones, leaves, sticks, rocks, or a combination of items.

1st grade students filled out a short worksheet to go along with finding their object. This gave them a chance to continue practicing reading and writing skills, as well as, show me what they are learning.

The first part of the worksheet was telling me what their instrument was and drawing a picture of it. After that we figured out how the instrument could make music. I had several ways and each one students tried. As they tried them they would x out the ways that didn't work and circle the ways that did work. (We went one by one as a class so the ones that had more difficulty reading always knew the task.) My 1st graders loved trying to find out the ways their instrument made music. They enjoyed hitting, shaking, scratching, etc. their instrument to try to make noise. I really enjoyed watching them try all the different ways and was SO happy to see them only using their instruments as instruments and not as weapons. (We did talk about that before hand JUST in case.)

At the bottom of the worksheet 1st graders had to come up with a rhythm using quarter notes and eighth notes. I created four boxes and explained that they had to choose either a quarter note or a pair of eighth notes for each box. They could not put BOTH in any of the boxes. All the kids followed the directions! YAY! Finally, each 1st grader got to play their instrument for the class sharing both their rhythm and instrument. It was so much fun!

Here are some of the finished worksheets:





Interested in seeing the worksheet I created. Find it -->here!<---

To finish the day, I always like to share a songtale or story with my Kindergarten - 2nd grade classes. This is part of the routine of my classes and students have come to expect it and know that story time means the end of music class. To go with the theme of being outside in nature I sang the story There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves.

The kids chuckled at the silliness of an old lady swallowing a pumpkin. They also liked guessing what the old lady sneezes out after swallowing all the things she does. What a great way to end the lesson!

Make some musical memories today!

Tweet for Education

I decided to write a blog post about tweeting, since last week we had a mini-in-service about the significance of tweeting as a professional practice. Now I know what some of you are thinking: How can you use Twitter as a professional practice? How will it better your work? What should you tweet about? What does it mean to follow someone or be followed? These are all questions I will try to answer in this post.

I myself am of the 'younger' generation. I'm what some refer to as a millennial or generation Y. The millennial generation are typically people born anywhere from the late 1970's through 2000. Millennial kids are generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies. This means I have no qualms with using new technology and am constantly finding ways to use new technology in my music room. (I already have a smartboard at both schools and recently was given an iPad to use in one of my classrooms. I'm sure you will see more about this technology later in the year as I find ways to use it.)

Though I am excited about using technology in my classroom, I will admit I was a bit skeptical of twitter at first. How can you really learn anything just from 140 characters or less? However, I have found that many do not just post random things like "Today my job was super great!", but instead, they post things like "Today I played an awesome #music game with my students! Check it out (URL here)! #musiced #musedchat" They then link their post to a blog they wrote or read somewhere. These types of tweets can be really helpful.

How do you find relevant posts? By using the search bar. You can put in words or hashtags into the search bar. Hashtags are made up tags that connect people that are talking about the same thing. Some important hashtags to know, if you are a music teacher: #musiced, #musedchat, #music, and #musedmot. By searching for these hashtags you will see ALL of the posts related to that topic. You can then read different posts people made and eventually decide to follow them. To follow someone just use the simple steps highlighted below:

1) Find someone interesting and click on the post:


2) That will open this mini-menu:


3) Click the FOLLOW button:


As you follow more people you will get more tweets here in your tweet feed:


If you are being followed they are getting your posts!

Now, you are making links with interesting people and hearing what they find to be interesting through retweets.

What is a retweet? Well, when you find something super interesting (which believe me you will!) just click the retweet button as shown below:


After you retweet it, all YOUR followers will see it, too! You will also see things that your followers retweeted, which eventually can connect you to more professional music teachers! (Isn't social networking fun?)

After spending just ONE week on Twitter, I have read MANY articles about music advocacy. I have found tips for parents to use music at home. I have found ways to network with other teachers. I have found teaching tips. All of that in just ONE week. (And I only am following 12 people and followed by 2). Start small and just keep building. The more people you start following the more people that will start following you.

What should you tweet about? Anything you want to share! Wrote a recent blog post? Tweet about it! Did something awesome in your classroom? Tweet about it! Looking for helpful tips? Tweet about it! Just make sure you add hashtags so other people can find your posts! It is also okay to not tweet anything and just follow people. However, I am guessing once you start tweeting you won't be able to stop.

One more thing, while following tweets this last week. I stumbled upon something AWESOME! Apparently, there is a music education motivation day planned for September 29th. I don't know a whole lot about it, but you can learn more here. You can also look up #musedmot on twitter to find it!

Have you used twitter as a professional tool? If so, who do you follow and what have you learned or found? Have you ever considered using twitter as a way to grow professionally? Feel free to follow me @bndelaruelle and I may follow you back.