-Sanjum Sethi, Headmistress, Venkateshwar International School, Sector-10, Dwarka. New Delhi
e-ISSN 2349-2155
Introduction
I have been an active teaching practitioner for two decades and now I am leading fourteen foundational learning classrooms in a very well-known and accomplished English medium school in Delhi. We have been incorporating many experiential learning activities in the classrooms, especially for language learning. The joy which I see on the children’s faces while they learn new things lights my day up and encourages me to be on further lookout for enriching experiences for them.
One such experience has been the incorporation of music and movement into the classrooms. It was an odd, fun activity, which led us to making it an integral part of our curriculum on a daily basis. We have never looked back ever since.
What did we do?
1. We chose an English song with easy lyrics to begin with and made singing and dancing along a daily activity in class, with the teacher in the lead, singing and dancing along with the children.
2. We selected the songs in alignment with the concepts that were being taken up in the class during that time.
3. We changed the song when we observed that all the students in the class were singing the song confidently.
4. We kept introducing a new English song, with an embedded concept, every fortnight.
What age group did we use this activity with?
With 5-7 year-old students
What were the sources?
We chose open sources like YouTube and TeacherTube for the songs.
What were the criteria for selecting the songs?
1. Songs which were in English
2. Songs which were based on the concepts being learned in the class from other subjects
3. Songs which were mostly sung at an easily understandable pace
4. Songs which preferably had neutral accent
5. Songs which preferably had lyrics as subtitles.
When did we play the song in the class?
At least twice atleast: Once at the beginning of the day, when the students are fresh and next when the teacher feels that they need to refresh themselves and have some fun.
What instructions were given to the students?
1. The students were told just to move around and dance when the song was played first.
2. They were instructed to pay close attention to the teacher who was always singing along.
3. They were asked to try to sing-along.
4. By the fifth day, the children were asked to sing along.
Did we use any progression? How?
Yes, we did, and in this manner:
· We experimented by muting the song towards the 5th-6th day of the same song being played in the classroom and asked students to sing together.
· We used the karaoke of the song.
· We asked the students to read out the lyrics aloud while the song was being played on mute, according to their grade level.
What equipment did we use?
We have smart AV systems in our classrooms.
*Quick-Fix for a cost-effective A/V system in class - a projector, a vinyl screen, a CPU, and speakers.
Our Observations
1. The students’ love of the music and movement breaks
2. Enhanced level of vocabulary
3. The students’ useof new words and phrases which they picked up from the songs
4. Students with a heavy mother tongue influence in their accent, using the right diction for the words and phrases they picked up from the song
5. Enhanced attention span
6. Enhanced focus
7. Immense joy while learning
8. Enhanced speaking and listening skills
9. Enhanced comprehension skills
10. Enhanced reading skills
11. Enhanced communication skills
12. A very effective tool for kinaesthetic learners
13. Enhanced understanding of the learning concepts
14. Better verbal expression of the students
15. Enhanced confidence.
Reflections
The complexity of this activity can be tweaked as per the grade level. A few examples:
1. Write a rhyming phrase to the first sentence of this song. (writing)
2. Give the students a ‘cloze’ exercise to attempt on the basis of listening to the song. (listening comprehension)
3. Draw the main idea of the song. (art integration)
4. Compose a new song with the same idea. (creative writing)
5. Change the last word of every sentence to give the song a new meaning. (creative thinking)
References
2. https://nextstepenglish.com/learn-english-with-music/
3. https://www.chhs.niu.edu/child-center/resources/articles/music-and-movement.shtml[PN1]
4. Shilling, Wynne A. 2002. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29, 3, pp.179-84 (Spring 2002).
5. Williams, K. E. 2018. International Journal of Early Childhood, Springer.[PN2]
