INSPIRATIONAL Cross-Curricular Learning In The Music Classroom

Imagine if music existed in a bubble. Just sound. What would we miss?

The history of who created it? The inspiration behind it? The connections to things with similar and opposite themes and ideas.

CONTEXT is key here. To fully understand something, everything that surrounds it must be considered. As music teachers, we must encourage our students to consider MORE than just the music itself.

Here are some examples of cross-curricular learning in the music classroom that can help your students build a STRONG foundation of understanding in music and in their other subjects.

1. Music and Art

The relationship between music and art might be one of the most compelling connections that can exist for our students due to the symbolism, emotion, and creativity that they share.

One way to have your youngest students appreciate this connection is to have students listen to music and draw a picture that represents what they hear. Try to stay away from songs with words so that students focus solely on the the music!

Older students can begin connecting existing artwork to music by evaluating theme, style, and history. Have them select a visual artist and choose 5 pieces of their work. Then, have students write a sentence or two for each piece describing how it makes them feel. Next, students should select a song that represents each feeling/piece of artwork in order to create a playlist for the artist. Finally, have students create their own artistic renderings, visual or musical, to represent this feeling. Through this activity, students begin to make meaningful connections between different modes of expression.

Feel free to use my idea in your classroom, or buy the google slides version on tpt!

2. Music and Physical Education

Physical education is often left out when discussing cross-curricular examples in the music room, but movement is critical in learning music. In younger students, the link between the two subjects is more obvious. Dancing, imaginative play, and laban movement activities easily create this connection.

While these movement activities are still beneficial for older students’ musical growth, older students can be more reluctant to engage in these types of playful activities. However, the love of SPORTS seems to remain constant through the middle school age group. Consider deepening the link between music and physical education by having your students create a fight song for a sports team they love.

First, students should select (or create) a team and identify what makes them great. Then, students should listen to existing fight songs of other teams to gain an aural understanding of what they are creating. Finally, students should create the lyrics and music for their team.

This assignment can be daunting as it requires a lot of composition. You can remedy this by giving you students an instrumental track instead of having them compose the music themselves.

If you would rather buy pre-made tracks and a project outline on google slides, I have created one for TPT. Check it out!

3. Music and Math

Although math isn’t nearly as important as an aural foundation when it comes to learning music theory, at some point your students will reach a point where they need to learn the “math” of music. This includes note values, scale degrees, and time signatures.

Your students can connect note values with addition through creating this foldable rhythm game from TPT. Check it out!

4. Music and Literature

Connecting music and literature is another wonderful chance to see how emotion is expressed in different artistic mediums. With your youngest students, reading story books with songs or singing songs that tell a story is my favorite way to create this connection.

If you are looking for song stories, John Feierabend has a fabulous collection.

To explore this connection in older students, consider having your students create a playlist for a book.

First, students should select a book they love. Then, they should complete the following tasks:

• Identify, describe, create an image of, and find a song to represent the book’s protagonist. Explain why they chose this song.
• Identify, describe, create an image of, and find a song to represent the book’s antagonist. Explain why they chose this song.
• Identify, describe, create an image of, and find a song to represent the book’s setting. Explain why they chose this song.
• Identify, describe, create an image of, and find a song to represent the book’s conflict. Explain why they chose this song.
• Identify, describe, create an image of, and find a song to represent the book’s resolution. Explain why they chose this song.
• Identify, describe, create an image of, and find a song to represent the book’s theme. Explain why they chose this song.

You can copy and paste these instructions into a handout. OR you can check out my pre-made google slides presentation on TPT!

5. Music and Creative Writing

Songwriting is the PERFECT way to connect music and creative writing.

HOWEVER…

Songwriting can be scary. It requires a willingness to express oneself without the fear of judgement – and to a middle schooler that can be a worst nightmare.

Creating boundaries in which students can write lyrics will help to lessen this fear. This is because it narrows the challenge of “endless” possibilities into a more doable task. Giving students a particular theme, format, style, etc. will help them complete the task with more confidence and ease. For even more structure, consider having students start by writing an additional verse for a song they already love, keeping in mind the style, theme, and structure.

If you are looking for a way to introduce songwriting to your students in a way that inspires creativity and confidence, check out my “Introduction to Songwriting” on TPT!

6. Music and Geography

Where does the music we listen to come from? Does it sound like other music of the same place? What non-musical things influence the music of a particular time and place? How is this the similar or different from music to which I listen?

Having an understanding of where music comes from where helps students to better understand not only music but the world around them. One way to begin this musical world exploration is to have students create a “Musical Vacation” playlist.

First, have students select 5 places that they would like to visit. Then, have students select a song to represent each of these places. Next, have students write a short explanation as to why they chose each song. Was the song written in the place they chose? Do the lyrics reference the place or something that is common in the culture? Is the artist from the place that they chose? This is a great first introduction to understanding music in the context of geography.

Feel free to borrow this idea, or check out my pre-made google slides presentation on TPT!

7. Music and Poetry

Poetry is a vital piece of so much music, and it is a major focus in students’ English classes. Yet, in music class we rarely spotlight this musical element.

A great way to examine poetry’s role in music, and re-enforce the concepts that students are learning in English class, is to have students complete a “poetry scavenger hunt.” Give students a list of poetic devices. For example:

• Rhyme
• Alliteration
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Hyperbole
• Onomatopoeia
• Imagery
• Personfication

Next, have students find one example of each poetic device within songs they know. I usually let students complete this on their chrome books so they are able to search lyrics.

You are welcome to borrow this idea for your own classroom or buy my version on TPT!

Thanks for Reading!!!

I hope this was helpful in your own classroom. For more fun ideas, please subscribe to my blog and check out my store on TPT!