POWERFUL Social-Emotional Learning Activities for the Music Classroom

Students today are facing challenges that we teachers can’t fully imagine. They are growing up in a post-pandemic, social-media saturated, rapidly changing world. Now more than EVER, we need to give these children skills to cope with these new and evolving obstacles. Here are some ways to incorporate social-emotional lessons into music class.

Project Idea #1: Study a musician who overcame adversity.

Learning Goal: Students will understand adversity and identify ways that it can be overcome.

All students will face challenges. They MUST learn that it is possible to overcome challenges. A wonderful way for students to discover this possibility through positive role-models. Consider having your music students research and create a report on a musician who exemplifies tenacity.

Outline:

1. First, lead a group discussion: Who can define the word “Adversity?” What are some examples of adversity? How can a person overcome adversity.
2. Next, have students independently research musicians who have faced a significant challenge in their life and overcome this.
3. Then, students should create a powerpoint highlighting 5 musicians. Each slide should include the musician’s name, their “greatest hits,” an explanation of the challenges they faced, and an explanation of how they overcame these challenges.
4. Finally, students can choose 1 of 2 SHORT essay prompts:

• Do you face any adversity in your life? If so, how can you overcome this?
• How can you help someone else who is facing adversity overcome their challenges?

Feel free to borrow this idea for your own classroom. I also have created a guided version of this lesson for google slides that is available on TPT. Check it out!

Here is the link!: Musicians Who Overcame Adversity

Project Idea #2. Create a “Music For Change” Playlist

Learning Goal: Students will identify positive changes that can be made in their communities. Students will learn how they can use music to inspire these positive changes.

This is a project that increases social awareness by guiding students to empathize with the problems of others. This project also teaches students to identify problems and create possible solutions – developing the social-emotional skill of responsible decision making.

Outline:

1. First, have students make a list of positive changes that can be made in their school, environment, community, and world. They should leave plenty of space between each change idea for more writing.
2. Then, have students write one song next to each idea that could inspire someone to make the change. For each song, they should write a short explanation as to WHY this song could inspire someone to make a change. They should also select ONE lyric that they feel is particularly inspiring.
3. Finally, have students create an album cover for their “playlist for change” and give them a chance to share their work.

Feel free to borrow this idea for your own classroom. I also have created a guided version of this lesson for google slides that is available on TPT. Check it out!

Here is the link!: Playlist For Change

Project Idea # 3: Write a song about kindness.

Teaching our students to be KIND is so important. It is something we hope that they carry with them through their schooling and into adulthood to be thoughtful and caring citizens. Consider having your students create a KINDNESS song to celebrate this.

Before beginning this project, you may need to create some buy-in for your students so it feels relevant and meaningful to them. You may need to have students listen to some songs they know about kindness already – “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars, “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders, and “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” by Randy Newman are all great examples.

Outline:

1. Have students brainstorm lyric ideas by answering questions about the importance of kindness. Some example questions are:

• Why is it important to be kind?
• When was a time where you showed kindness?
• When was a time where someone showed kindness to you?
• How do you feel when someone is kind to you.

2. Choose 5 words that are RELATED to kindness. Use an online rhyming dictionary and list several rhyming word options for these words.

3. Use brainstorming and rhyming words to create a four line “poem” about kindness. Teach students to rhyme the ENDS of each line with either the next line or every other line.

4. Once students have created their “poem,” they can use a chord generator online to create a harmony to serve as accompaniment.

5. Have students try “singing” their poem along with their accompaniment to create a final melody.

6. Once students have finished their songs, they can perform for the rest of the class! This project works best in small groups.

Feel free to borrow this idea for your own classroom. I also have created a guided version of this lesson for google slides that is available on TPT. Check it out!

Here is the link!: KINDNESS Songwriting Project

Thanks for reading! If you are interested in MORE SEL ideas for the music classroom, check out this BUNDLE of SEL music education projects!

Social-Emotional Project Bundle!