Sing With Your Students!

Yes, you read that correctly.

Sing with your students! 

Oh, there are so many reasons! 

Music, as well as most of the creative arts, activate both sides of the brain, enhancing learning! There are many, many studies that prove this, in many ways. Singing is a great way to "wake up" the brain and start the day!
 

There are many links between music instruction and academic achievement.  I'm not expecting you to take over the music teacher's job by any means, but including music in your classroom will help make that connection! (Of course, the music teacher is a great resource for including music in the classroom!)

 

Singing strengthens learning and memory. I'll bet there are certain commercials you've been known to sing along with, yet at no point did you make the effort to learn those words! My generation can sing the whole Brady Bunch theme song or the Gilligan's Island theme songs without even thinking about it! Imagine if those words were important learning concepts! (Remember Schoolhouse Rock?)

 

Music lowers stress and increases happiness! Music brings out feelings, doesn't it? Are there certain songs you hear that bring out those happy feelings, just by hearing them? As the happy feelings rise, the stressed feelings go away!

 

Humans connect with music! Think about some of those happy times in your life with other people. I'm willing to bet, there was music in the background! Parties just aren't fun without good music!

 

Singing as a group increases social interaction! I've actually read that when people sing together as a group, their hearts start to beat as one. I've sung with many choruses, (as well as many students) and I'm pretty sure that really happens! Music makes a connection!

Singing increases vocabulary! Don't be afraid to encourage children to sing certain songs because they won't understand the vocabulary. After a couple of times through, they'll figure it out, won't they? (Of course, monitor what they sing, as we all know there are some words we DON'T want in their vocabulary!)

 

Music Sources for the Classroom: What to sing with your students? Here are a few ideas:

• Songs for the Class Team For Morning Meeting, Team, and Community Building (I specifically created these songs to be sung at Morning Meetings while building community.)
• Youtube! There are plenty of child-friendly songs for whatever you might be teaching! (Yes, Schoolhouse Rock is there!) Just google what you're teaching!
• Feel Good Songs: Music for the Classroom Teacher's Playlist  This is a list of songs that will make them feel good just by walking into the classroom!
•  Your music teacher! They know their stuff!
• Your students! They know what appeals to them!

 

 

Let them make up their own songs! We all know they are more likely to want to sing it if it's theirs!  Some hints:

• Have them stick to a simple tune that everyone knows, such as Happy Birthday or Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
• Discuss the important information that needs to be in the song. 
• Encourage them to make up gestures to go with their song!

But I can't sing!  I have two suggestions:

• Use recorded music. (See Youtube!)
• Sing anyway! Seriously, it's not really about you or about the quality of the music. It's about the group experience. Let them see you having fun, and they'll have fun, too! (Plus, you might have some budding vocalists in your class, and you're giving them an opportunity to shine!) Seriously, it's not about you!

One last hint: children's voices are higher than most adults. You may want to sing in your range, but it's about the kids. Most children's voices land on the treble staff. (Between "middle C" and the second space from the top.) Stay out of the "basement" for the sake of the kids!

But My Students Don't Know This Stuff!

Sometimes I'll lead my students to some activities where they are expected to answer questions that still need to be taught the content. 

How can this be valuable?

I've been doing some reading, and I've found some research proving children learn from an activity that requires guessing. In fact, these challenges are good for them, and enhance learning! The key? Making sure they get immediate feedback.

 

 

If the children are doing an activity where they have to guess at something, it gets them thinking. Once they've thought about it, they'll take a guess. If they get immediate feedback, they'll learn!  

 

It's just like watching Jeopardy! Every time I watch, I learn more facts, even when I didn't know them before I watched! Guessing helps the brain learn! (Thanks, Alex!)

 

 

This sort of activity can be repeated over and over. Each time it's repeated, they'll remember more. As they repeat the activity, there will be less guessing and more remembering! 

 

This is a perfect type of activity for students to work on while you're working with individuals or small groups.

 

 

These are perfect for your "fast finishers" or children who need a little extra challenge after their daily work is complete.
 

Plus, reading random questions counts as reading practice. They do need to be reading every day, right?

They can work alone, but working with a friend brings valuable conversation! You know, the conversations that help them think through and remember information!

 

 

Did I mention how much the children love this stuff? Seriously, they love learning new material!

 

I know what you're thinking... but I'm having enough trouble fitting in everything I have to teach already! Yes, I know, but this isn't just "another thing to do." It's something to enhance what's already happening!

 

 

But what about the standards? Yeah, I thought you might be concerned about that one. I'll tell you a little secret:

Teaching isn't all about the standards. 

Teaching is about enriching the lives of the kids.

 

Shocking, I know. Can you imagine if administrators heard me say that? Well, I'll tell you another little secret:

I'm not here to impress the administrators. 

I'm here to make a difference in the lives of children.

 

Well, I'm not really that much of a rebel, but I really do want to make a difference in the lives of the children. (And yes, the standards DO matter, but there's so much more to kids!)

Now I suppose you're wondering where to find these activities that keep kids guessing!

Well, here's a freebie to get you started:

 

July Boom Learning Trivia and General Knowledge (Boom Cards)

Here's another fun Boom Learning resource for building vocabulary!

Country, Science Tool, or Sandwich? (Boom Cards)

 

Here are a few more:

Facts About Space (Boom Cards)

Black Americans Quotes "Who Said This" (Boom Cards)

Digital Social Studies Topics Practice and Review Bundle (Boom Cards)

Digital Science Topics Practice and Review Bundle (Boom Cards)

Science Review Task Cards

Hurricanes: Reading Comprehension for Active Learners

 

Most of these activities will enhance the children's knowledge with very little work on the teacher's part. Plus, teachers can see their results easily for all those Boom Cards! 

Here are some links to articles about how guessing helps students learn.

How Mistakes Help Students Learn

How guessing the wrong answer helps you learn the right answer 

How Guessing Helps Students Learn

  

How do you challenge your students beyond what they already know?

Ten Seasonal Deals

It's that time of year when the special days come one right after the other, and I'm getting ready!

 

I thought I'd give you a taste of several upcoming special Days! Most of the resources listed are $1.00!

Sometimes I think all these special days are the only things that get me (and the kids) through these New England winters! 

 

The Super Bowl is indeed coming up, which means many of our students will have football fever! 

Try this: Football Game Board and Cards - Counting to 1,000.

Soon is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Thanks, Dr. King for all you did for peace as well as the day off!)  Here's a popular resource to get the kids thinking about justice! See the image below for Just or Unjust!

You can get this resource for free by signing up for my helpful emails HERE.

Many people are getting ready to celebrate Day 100, but we have another month before that happens. However, I do think Day 90 is a great opportunity to celebrate my favorite fraction! Halfway Day includes a couple of fractions to practice 1/2, and some badges for the children to wear to celebrate 1/2 way through the school year!

Ten days later, we'll be celebrating the 100th day of school!  I have a little tradition I started years ago, I take my kiddos from class to class singing Day 100 songs.  Here's a link for one of my songs: 100 Days Smarter!

Another Day 100 treat, a math game for active kiddos!  

Here's a link to this freebie:  Beanie Toss to 100!

That groundhog will be peaking out of his burrow in just a couple of weeks! (I sure hope spring comes early, I've had enough!) Check out the link here:  Groundhog Consonant - l-e Sort!

I often begin doing research projects with my students mid-year. The ABC book is a great way to present the information! ABC Book Template

Pretty soon, we'll be celebrating our presidents! Here's a fun one: Presidents Day Mini Booklets!

Here's another way to celebrate our presidents! See the image below for President Writing Prompts

And, of course, Valentine's Day is less than a month away, and the kids are getting excited about that too!  Valentine's Day Mini-Books

Wow, we have some busy days ahead of us! I hope these ten Deals will help you through!

Five Fun Ideas for a Seashore Week!

In many ways, this has been one of the most fun weeks I've had as a teacher in ages!  Why? Because we're done with most of the "have tos" and I get to teach what I truly feel the children need, and will enjoy. 

I chose to go with a Seacoast Theme for this week, and I'm not sure who had more fun, me or the kids!

We were totally busy, and squeezed in the seacoast theme every chance we could!

Here are a few of the things we did:

1.  Towels!  We brought in beach towels, and the children sat on them every time we had stories on lessons on the rug. Each day, there were more beach towels and paraphernalia, it really looked like the beach! We even had a couple of "boogie boards" and a child sized beach chair! These came in handy during Independent Reading time, as well. Yes, you guessed it, we read loads of books with the Beach theme!

2.  Games!  I managed to dig up several games with the beach theme that reviewed important skills we studied this year. Of course, instead of the usual tubs, I picked up some pails and buckets at the dollar store to store the beach themed games. Great stuff!

3. Books, books, and more books!  Our wonderful librarian found some great books for us to share! Here are some of my favorites:

  

  

4. Floating Boats!  This was a huge hit this week, and something I managed to bribe motivate the children with as they're getting into their "summer mode". We made sailboats out of milk cartons, then today we floated our boats. First, they put their boats in the water, then we added "people" (balls of clay) It was interesting to see how many people they put into their boats without disaster. They were thrilled to bring their boats as well as the "people" home at the end of the day today. We called our bodies of water The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. We figured the Arctic Ocean was mostly ice and probably wouldn't have sailboats. (Yes, I'm always finding excuses to squeeze in a bit of geography review as well!)

 

5.  "Beach Day" Theme Unit: We did manage to squeeze in some real learning, mostly in the form of centers. This set has plenty of review materials for my second graders! You can see this unit by clicking the link below or click here: Seashore Bundle

 

A little more learning fun: Science and Social Studies Activities for Summer

What themes do your students enjoy in your class?