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Language Arts, Math, and Science
in the Elementary Music Classroom
ii
Language Arts, Math, and
Science in the Elementary
Music Classroom
A Practical Tool
Kim Milai
1
iv
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
To Dr. Ahmed Samuel Milai Jr., M.D.
Composer, artist, writer, and most of all, my dad.
vi
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
The Elementary Class: Transitioning to the Future 1
Using the National Core Arts Music Standards as a Tool 1
Subject Integration 2
What Is STEM and NGSS? 3
A Word About STEAM 4
What This Practical Guide Includes 4
Rationale: How Is the Music Class Evolving? 5
My Philosophy of Music Education: The Body/Brain Connection 5
Teaching Examples 7
Pedagogy 8
Why Should We Be Open to Adding Other Subjects Within the Music Lesson? 9
Questions to Contemplate 11
viii | C o n t e n t s
The Class 28
Questions to Contemplate 29
Notes 323
References 325
Song Index 327
Index 331
x
Acknowledgments
I am humbled by the guidance of the many extraordinary professionals who have in-
spired me through the years.
To my colleagues in New York City: Third Street Music School Settlement,
Greenwich House Music School, Little Red School House, and P.S. 124. I am indebted
to my colleagues in the Palo Alto School District and the Fredericksburg City School
District. Thank you to my professors at the Eastman School of Music, Baldwin Wallace
College, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I’d like to give a special acknowledg-
ment to Dr. Donna Brink Fox, whose advice and observations literally saved the book
from being out of date before it was even born. Thank you to my editor Norman Hirschy,
my reviewers and Oxford University Press for their support. Thank you to Lauralee
Yeary and Lincy Priya at OUP. Thanks to Jerry Anne Kines for her EPS magic. Thank
you for the priceless editing advice from my husband Mike Ashenfelder and thank you
to my precious daughters Audrey and Lulu for lighting up my life. Thank you to my big-
gest fan, my mother Barbara. Lastly, a heartfelt acknowledgment to my fourth and fifth
grade general music teacher in Western Pennsylvania, Mrs. Doris Winifred Waldie,
whose love of children and inspiring heart was the best model of a music teacher anyone
could ever have.
xi
Introduction
The entire collection of National Core Arts Standards (© 2014) was developed
by a coalition of arts organizations which included NAfME. The goal was to create
overall education standards for dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts,
so that the teaching results could be evaluated and documented over the different
disciplines. The main artistic processes are Creating, Performing, Responding, and
Connecting.
For elementary music teachers, the standards are meant to help rethink the les-
son. Concepts are generally the same, but the process is very different. Teachers get the
students to think more in depth and explore the concepts more thoroughly by asking
the students pertinent questions. Teachers also provide more opportunity for students
to perform and create. NAfME says the goal is for better music literacy. Literacy in this
context means musicianship, not just reading and writing music notation.
In this practical guide, each lesson in the curriculum contains example questions
based on these music standards that could be used during instruction.
Subject Integration
While teaching at a lower elementary school in Virginia, I found curriculum integration
was taking more and more time from my music classroom. All the teachers in the Arts
Department were tasked to add more math and language arts that could correlate with the
classroom teachers’ curriculum. I was reluctant to do so because I felt I was already enhanc-
ing student skills in counting and literature in my classes. I felt more integration could take
away from the precious little time I had for my students to learn music. The idea of being
forced to teach math and language arts made me fear that music would be swallowed up.
The reality is that there is a tremendous benefit for everyone in more subject inte-
gration. Student learning styles vary and interdisciplinary learning addresses this. All
subject areas, not just music, have been experiencing this type of curriculum change.
Classroom teachers find approaching a concept using different subjects livens up the
discussions. Adding science or social studies elements inside a math problem inspires
thinking in multiple levels. Using music in the social studies or language arts lesson
helps memory and gives cultural context. Not only are we all being asked to update our
lessons, we are being asked to revise and improve our teaching methods to meet these
new institutional expectations.
Studying state and national standards for math, language arts, social studies, and
science gave me a clear description of what classroom teachers expect from their stu-
dents for each grade. From these standards, I developed my own outline of math and
language arts core concepts that could easily be incorporated into the general music
class without taking away from the music curriculum.
Here is an example of a real situation that I experienced. The school administration
directed me to include a word wall in my classroom. I decided to use this word wall to
Introduction | 3
Vocabulary building
Decoding and breaking down words
Categorizing words and defining them
Learning words through conversations.
I decided this would be a second grade activity that would take a few minutes out
of each lesson. The setup: I instructed my students that I would be looking for music
vocabulary words to display on our wall. They could be music notation terms, instru-
ment names, types of music, etc. I gave them a few examples. Everyone would have the
opportunity to contribute at least one word. The catch, though, was that they needed
to be able to say it, spell it, and tell what it meant. If they couldn’t do all three, then we
couldn’t use the word. Once they could do all three, then they got to write the word on
a card and attach it to the wall. Words could not be repeated.
This activity was very participatory. Students used reading, writing, and research
skills to contribute to the class. The students could see everyone’s contributions on the
wall every time they entered the class. I had one particular student who said the word
and knew what it meant, but she kept misspelling it. Instead of telling her to use an
easier word, I gave her the spelling on a piece of paper and said to go home, study it,
and return next class and spell it correctly. I believe the word was “xylophone.” It took a
few more classes, but she finally got it and placed her card on the board. I was so proud
of her.
There are roughly eight science concepts for each elementary grade. The challenge
for the music teacher is finding ways to explore these concepts in the context of the
music lesson. I have included examples within the lessons in this practical guide. In
general, these science standards fall in line with the new Core Arts Music Standards
under Connectedness.
move activities evenly throughout the school year. Many music teachers like me are
visual learners and using strong visualization in the lesson planning aids the compiling
of the lessons. With the support materials—such as assessment tests, lesson templates,
and sheet music—I hope you find this book a valuable tool for teaching. Incorporating
the National Core Arts Music Standards and other subject standards helped me make
sure all main teaching goals for the classes were covered.
students. It is not just the development of the “ear.” It is the whole person; physically,
mentally, and socially.
We argue that the body is not only an instrument through which musical
thinking takes place; the body can be taken as a conscious and explicit object of
transformation.
—W e st e r lu n d a n d Ju n t u n e n, “Music and Knowledge in Bodily
Experience” (2005)
This philosophy is influenced by major music education thinkers of the last cou-
ple of decades. In 2003, David J. Elliott’s music philosophy, as discussed by Wayne
D. Bowman, states that the teacher’s focus is for the student to experience music as
“music making” or “music doing.” I take that to mean that the student is immersed in
music by performing, composing, improvising, and listening. With more student input
to consider (which is a good thing) the lesson becomes a dialogue. Bowman (2005)
explains a part of Elliott’s stance: “Musical praxis [active learning] emerges from and
is embedded in diverse yet concrete human social engagements and interactions.”
Trends
We contend any curricular reform today requires … a greater balance between
innovation and tradition to become the new norm.
—B e n e dic t a n d S c h m i d t, “Educating Teachers for 21st Century
Challenges: The Music Educator as a Cultural Citizen” (2014)
My Philosophy of Movement
The most important element a teacher uses in the process of teaching young children
music is movement. I see with my own experience how movement not only deepens the
understanding of concepts, but it is an automatic music motivator. Heidi Westerlund
Introduction | 7
and Marja-Leena Juntunen (2005) wrote in a chapter of Praxial Music Education that
movement demonstrates musical thinking. They believe that music is not truly learned
until it becomes “physically embodied.” This movement needs to be praxial—that is,
movement that is connected to the mind. These educators along with others like Lori-
Anne Dolloff and Sheila C. Woodward are believers in the importance of movement.
Teaching Examples
The National Core Arts Music Standards compel you to change your approach in a posi-
tive way. The new standards you see in my lessons are a steppingstone to musicianship
and music making. These new standards give a formal structure for teachers to ask more
questions. It gives students additional opportunities to take ownership of the music as
they respond. You want students to be able to articulate their experiences with music.
This leads students toward music’s true nature. Bowman (2005) paraphrases Elliott
when he says that when music is studied in context with its creation, its use and its rela-
tionship to the outside world—we are essentially studying the nature of music.
Here are two examples, for Kindergarten (Table 1.1) and First Grade (Table 1.2).
Objective Demonstrate beat, compare beat with clocks, time, and counting,
identify (perform) clock numbers with specific instruments, relate
clocks to other songs or experiences.
Standards MUK1-A Beat, LAK4-A Participate, MAK1-A Count by 1’s, MAK1-B Identify
0-12.
Aural Song.
Visual Lyrics in picture form (poster).
Tactile Percussion instruments.
National Core Arts Creating Present: Is this song ready to share? Are all the parts of the
Example Questions song working?
Student Input Ideas What other ways can we show the clock? Make your own verses by
replacing the animals with another animal or object. Make your own
Tick Tock Clock Song with percussion instruments. Discuss the clocks
in your home. Give students traditional and modern examples of music
to inspire them to discuss their own examples. Listen to the song Time
from the movie Inception, the Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson or
Haydn’s Clock Symphony.
Activity and Movement Students will become a giant clock with each one playing their instrument
Description but only on their number. First, the students learn the song using the
Example instruments: picture poster. Then, the teacher shows the circle of instruments that
hand drums, maracas, is sectioned like the numbers on a clock. There are 24 instruments,
wood blocks, 2 for each number (12 groups). This is so everyone can participate at
tambourines, claves, the same time. Each student pair wears a number around their neck to
cymbals, finger cymbals, designate their position. Students are assigned an instrument and sit in
vibra slap, guiros, the circle. Teacher goes to the center and shows his/her straightened
triangles, temple block, arm is the little hand and will point and rotate in the song. All will now
dumbek, gong, ratchet. sing the song with each student playing on their number. This is a very
dynamic activity that can be done standing or sitting.
8
Objective Compose your own melody using Sol, Mi, and La with melodic
percussion. Demonstrate placing notes in a specific order. Discuss
the song vocabulary.
Standards MU1.3-B Melodic Percussion, MU1.4-C Fundamental Composition,
LA1.1-A Identify details, LA1.2-C Sight words.
Aural Nursery rhyme.
Visual Students jumping over a pretend candlestick.
Tactile Xylophone, metalophone.
National Core Arts Example Creating Plan and Make: What note choices can you show us for your
Questions interpretation of Jack Be Nimble?
Student Input Ideas Can you remember your song (which note goes when)?
Can we change the rhythm but keep the same words?
What other rhyme could we do?
The class could create invented characters for Sol, Mi, La and the
students write their melody on individual whiteboards or paper.
Activity and Movement Teacher and students recite the rhyme Jack be Nimble. The class
Description discusses the vocabulary words. The teacher places a candle-like
object on the floor and students take turns leaping over it while the
class recites the rhyme. The teacher makes sure the instruments
only have Sol, Mi, and La on them. The class composes a group
melody on xylophone using the rhythm of the words. The teacher
gets volunteers to create their own song on Orff instruments based
on the rhythm. All students then have a turn to create their own
song to the chant.
Pedagogy
The lesson plans in this practical guide are a combination of strategy, experience,
research, and advice from colleagues. The center of my pedagogy is the song. My goal is
to combine all these elements into a cohesive curriculum.
What methodologies and approaches did I use in this practical guide? I blended
the best of my old techniques with the new standards and new philosophical views on
musicianship. This includes the use of language arts, math, social studies, and science
in the music classroom.
Sheila C. Woodward (2005) says that Elliott’s praxial (active learning) philoso-
phy of music making fits well into early childhood (and I assume elementary) teach-
ing methods. She thinks that approaches such as Kodály, Orff, Suzuki, and Dalcroze
emphasize the child’s practical experience of music concepts, which is in harmony with
current practices and research.
I agree with her. The result I see when taking these methods and blending them
with these new approaches is a dynamic and engaged classroom. The students are
immersed more in music and their ideas and music preferences are even more validated.
We are moving away from the “elitism” of western classical music. Here are a few recom-
mended books that are in line with my approach in this practical guide.
Introduction | 9
Rhythmic Activities and Dance by John Bennett and Pamela Reimer (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics, 1995). This is a book geared toward teens and older children, but
I found a lot of great international and American dance instructions that I could eas-
ily simplify for younger students. It is a good interdisciplinary reference for a music
teacher because the activities are written by a dance teacher and a physical education
teacher.
Kodály Today: A Cognitive Approach to Elementary Music Education (Kodály Today
Handbook Series) by Micheál Houlahan and Philip Tacka (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2015) is the most new and up-to-date series of Kodály Method Books. I have read
through this first book in the series and found it clear and thorough. I had referenced
the Choksy books for my own lessons but if I were to recommend a book series to help
develop your lesson plans using the Kodály Method, this would be it.
Ability Development from Age Zero by Shinichi Suzuki (Athens, OH: Ability
Development Associates, 1981)—I saw the musical results when my daughter took Suzuki
violin from an outstanding teacher who was grounded in both traditional and Suzuki meth-
ods. It made me want to research the philosophy behind the Suzuki methodology. I eventu-
ally completed teacher training in the 1A and 1B Suzuki Flute Courses. I found plenty in
this book to relate to elementary music classes: the nurturing of musicality, the inclusion of
parents and community in the child’s music experience and the belief that “every child can.”
Although it is somewhat awkward in translation, this is inspirational writing.
These following standards are threaded throughout my lessons: The National Core
Arts Music Standards, Math and Language Arts Standards, and the Next Generation
Science Standards.
Lastly, there are a multitude of songbooks that contributed to my lessons. Please
see the Appendix/Bibliography section to view the list.
Well, maybe not the actual program of Common Core, but music teachers
need the integration of interdisciplinary subjects along with other teachings,
such as citizenship, to be a part of the music classroom. It is what’s being
asked of us, but it also gives us an opportunity to reach our students in a more
complete way.
10
“The integration of music with the other arts and school subjects is a matter
that also has a long-standing tradition. Good teachers have long recognized the
importance of linking one subject to another wherever possible, and Detel’s plea
that the borders between music, the other arts, and school subjects be “softened”
makes excellent sense and deserves reaffirmation”.
—Jorge nse n, Transforming Music Education (2003)
In this quote, Jorgensen affirms how music and subject integration is not new.
What needs further investigation is how we integrate subjects. What is the manner and
type of educational cooperation that will benefit our students the best? Jorgensen men-
tions Claire Detel, a respected music education scholar who has written papers on sub-
ject integration and music. Her concern is for music education, by its own separatist
inclinations, to become marginalized. Her solution is for educators to find new ways to
blur the lines between all subjects for the benefit of all subjects.
Music education cannot but benefit from exploring these ideas. This practical
guide gives you some concrete examples on some ways to do this.
In October 2011, the College Music Society (CMS) held a conference in Richmond,
Virginia, near to the school where I taught. The main theme was community outreach, but
I also saw a panel outlined in the schedule that was going to discuss ongoing changes in
approach to undergraduate music curriculum. The theme was about how to better prepare
future music teachers and performers. I felt it was important to go to see what some col-
lege and university music professors were discussing. I got approval to attend the conven-
tion for my professional development. I was very excited because as an elementary music
teacher, I wanted to increase my knowledge on new ideas and trends in music education.
We can enter the Common Core Standards because we are forced to, but we can
also choose to engage with them intently and creatively; that is, with agency.
—B e n e dic t a n d S c h m i d t, “Educating Teachers for 21st-Century
Challenges: The Music Educator as a Cultural Citizen” (2014)
Except for some graduate students, I was the only non-professor there. That
surprised me. I then found that the professors I talked with were surprised to see me.
The professors at the panel discussed their concern that music departments could do
more to prepare undergraduate students for these changes in performing and teach-
ing. This tied into the outreach idea. As music departments lose relevance in the
I n t r o d u c t i o n | 11
community, they need to outreach more earnestly. The conference focused on a lack
of engagement with the community at large. This gathering brought out a wealth of
ideas to combat this lack of attachment. CMS brought a lot of educators together with
inspiring stories of how they were combatting this lack of community engagement.
The professors I talked with validated my struggles with keeping the music class
evolving but still intact. We talked about integrating other disciplines. For me, it was
reassuring to see so many ideas and so much activity being expended to come up with
solutions.
Music curriculum changes have to do with not just the educators and their phi-
losophy of teaching, but the times in which they live. For example, Michael L. Mark
(2008) describes in his book A Concise History of American Music Education how some
schools in the late 1800s hired music supervisors instead of teachers. The school systems
purchased special music course books for the classroom teacher as a guide so they could
put aside time in the class for singing. The music teacher was more of an advisor on the
sidelines. Much later, in the 1950s, there was a focus on science and math to the detri-
ment of music instruction. This brought up an uprising of protest. People of influence,
including scientists, spoke up for music and arts in the schools. This helped to turn the
tide back toward the return of music as a subject. In the 1960s, the teacher unions nego-
tiated prep time for classroom teachers. This meant more hiring of arts and physical
education teachers. As you can see, historically, music teachers worked together with
other educators and administrators to find ways to improve students’ education. The
key word here is flexibility.
There is precedent for continuing change. Mark writes about the slow build up of
support for the arts in public education started in the early 1800s and its subsequent ebb
and flow over the years to the present day. Teachers have had to adapt and adjust while
keeping their curriculum integrity intact. What helps to keep music in the schools are
interested people getting together to form organizations. These organizations through-
out history discuss, evaluate and research how to promote music education. We wouldn’t
have the vibrant, active exchange of ideas going on without these organizations.
As music teachers, we have an opportunity to be leaders of a larger educational com-
munity. Cathy Benedict and Patrick Schmidt (2014) say we need to reconceptualize our
impact on curricular decisions and move toward shared interdisciplinary responsibility
for literacy development. I hope that this practical guide will aid you in this endeavor.
Questions to Contemplate
How do you feel about the information you just read about school systems and the non-
music requirements you may be asked to do?
Scenario: Your administration decides that you don’t need the same amount of plan-
ning and preparation time that the classroom teachers use. How do you defend your
position?
12
Scenario: Your school is asking you to spend your professional development time on
non-music subjects. How do you handle this?
How will you develop your own philosophy of music education?
Plan on interviewing other elementary music teachers. What kinds of questions will
you ask?
Part One
Lesson Overview
The 108 lessons in this practical guide are examples of how to incorporate language arts,
math, social studies, and science (I’ll call them basic subjects from now on) into your
music curriculum. The system used in these lessons will enable you to identify and keep
track of concepts for any documentation your school may require.
These basic subjects are fully laid out in Part Four. I carefully went through the
Common Core guidelines and NGSS standards to choose the most important and the
most easily adaptable concepts to fit into the music curriculum. They are coded within
the lesson for easy reference.
Music Concepts
Holidays
Units (Specialized units like patriotic songs or dance)
Songs (Both American and international)
Basic Subjects.
14
Start with just your music concept cards obtained from Part Four and get them
in curriculum order. For example, collect all the rhythm cards into one group and then
order them. Do the same for melody, solfege, and the rest. Go ahead and spread them
out evenly throughout the year.
Now take each holiday card and place it at the appropriate day on the calendar.
Decide where you want your units. For example, I love to get students moving in
the late winter so I put my Dances from Around the World unit then.
Now, take a magic wand and fill your months with all the songs you want to teach.
Check out the song lists at the end of each grade section under Resources. Songs should
not only be chosen for teaching music concepts, but should be chosen to cover the cul-
tural aspects of our society and world. Each song encompasses a place, a history, a tradi-
tion and a people.
Take the basic subjects you wish to incorporate and sprinkle them through the
school year. I did it by looking at a particular math concept (for instance counting up
to 10) and seeing where it could fit with something I was already teaching (the chant
“Bubblegum, Bubblegum”).
Finally, use the National Core Arts Music Standards and create several questions
that could be asked in each lesson. See Lesson Overview/National Core Arts Music
Standards and Tips on Creating Questions for help.
Instructions: Take a music activity in your lesson and identify which music activity
in the grid most closely coincides with it. Use the corresponding music question from
the grid and customize it to fit back into your music activity. See the Example Questions
in each lesson for ideas. Remember, you don’t have to have all the perfect questions for
every activity right away. Focus on getting one or two per lesson and then keep adding
as you go along.
The goal of these standards is to change your way of thinking as a teacher. Your
teaching will automatically evolve as you start adding these questions to your lesson
strategy.
(Continued)
16
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