Kids Learn Better With a Song in Their Hearts

Do you recall the multiplication tables, grammatical terms, or historical documents through song? Many educators recognize that teaching with song makes learning not only more fun, but more effective and long-lasting. When you want to inspire your students, take time to tickle the ivories, pluck the strings, or turn on the boom box and “tune-in" to song. Included: Learn why songs benefit learning and how to choose the right material for the school or classroom.

"Pop culture has known for some time that music is an effective way to influence how children think of themselves," says David Craft. "It's about time educators began using music to positively influence how children see themselves in this world."

Craft started playing guitar in his junior year of college because the piano wasn't transportable and he wanted something to add to his "bag of tricks" for teaching. In his 18 years as a classroom teacher, he used the guitar to introduce songs that focused on the curriculum and to entertain during group camping trips. Today, as principal of Greenvale Park Elementary School in Northfield, Minnesota, Craft sings daily during whole-school morning meetings, and the focus of the songs he shares is on building-wide expectations and a "common identity."

"This is my first year at Greenvale Park, which has many experienced teachers on staff," he explained. "I wasn't sure how they would respond to the building-wide morning meeting with the group singing, but after our first one, some of them expressed how impressed they were with the addition of music."

Ask Greenvale Park students who they are, and the response will be, "We are hard workers!" The building message is Work, Respect, Belong. As students enter for morning assembly, they hear recordings that are representative of that message. Song selections include "Working in the Coal Mine" by Lee Dorsey, "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, and "Somewhere Out There," performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram.

Why Make Time for Song? Early childhood educator and teacher trainer Sharon MacDonald believes there are many reasons why song deserves attention in classrooms. Music helps children hear rhyme. They hear the similar sounds the words make and the cadence of the rhyming word patterns and word segments. Music has a rhythm. Children listen to the series of beats in the lines of song and the patterns created by the beats in the words. (Beats are syllables.) Music helps develop vocabulary. Children increase their knowledge of word meanings and word use by using new vocabulary in a variety of song contexts.

Craft plays classics like "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain," along with selections for his many Spanish-speaking students, like "La Bamba" and "La Cucaracha." He introduces genres of music by allowing students to pick the style and tempo for familiar songs that he plays. A favorite among the students is "Big Booger," an anti-bullying song by Tim Noah.

"Music is a powerful medium to help kids see themselves as who they are and who they can be," Craft told Education World. "Singing with the students allows me to let my hair down and be seen in a different role -- not the iron fist, but the encourager, the supporter."

Craft invites musical performers to visit his students. When one told stories of bullying from his childhood and sang "Don't Laugh at Me," written by Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin, even the toughest child in the crowd was moved. He plans to use this song to promote mutual understanding and "belonging" at Greenvale Park.

"Sharing songs is one way we promote healthy self-respect and perseverance," added Craft. "A mindset is nurtured and reinforced through the songs -- set a goal, persevere, succeed."

For example, Craft played "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry, which conveys the tale of a kid who mastered the guitar, and pointed out to the students that the "guitar" in the lyric might represent something else for them -- maybe math or spelling or… Later, individual students left notes for him stating things like, "I wasn't doing well in spelling. I worked hard, and now I'm doing better."

Says Craft, "The message conveyed is more important than the music itself."