Ideas for Teaching Music to a Second Grade Class

Music education during primary school years can lead to better math skills down the road.

Music and the arts are important components of a well-rounded primary education. A second grader may not need to show potential as a professional musician, but a strong understanding of rhythm, melody, pitch, and more can help her better appreciate, and possibly pursue, the art form as she matures. Studies in the "Journal for Learning Through Music" also show that consistent childhood participation in active music education (to include making music) can help improve math skills.

Singing

Singing helps reinforce in second graders a sense of rhythm, pitch, and melody.

Second graders are at an age where they will enjoy singing in a group. They might also enjoy singing solo. Try teaching your second graders songs with predictable rhythms, such as "Make New Friends (But Keep The Old)," "Rain, Rain Go Away," or "Kookaburra." Reinforcing in your young students a sense of how songs progress from start to end will be helpful. Having the class sing in rounds helps youngsters learn to stick to their own pattern of melody and rhythm, even while their classmates initiate the same pattern at a different time.

Movement

Expressing the music with their bodies helps children comprehend rhythms.

Having second graders move their bodies to music helps enormously in their understanding of rhythm. You can have them clap out the strongest beat in the music. For example, in a waltz, they might clap only on the downbeat or clap loudly on the first beat and lightly on the second and third beats. Ask them to pound out the rhythm of a march with their feet. The more rambunctious youngsters, especially, will enjoy this activity. If you have plenty of classroom space, encourage them to move freely to the music whether swaying, bouncing, jumping, or turning. (Of course, you will need to ensure they don't collide with one another in the process!) Feeling the music and expressing it with their bodies, in addition to gaining an understanding of rhythm, is a tremendous outlet for their natural energy.

Playing Instruments

Even playing a simple percussion instrument helps children understand how music is made.

Children will gain many benefits from the experience of playing instruments for themselves. First of all, when you discuss different instruments during class, they will be able to relate much better to what you are saying. Secondly, it is an enriching experience on its own to create music--or just sounds--with your own hands or lips. If your second graders have the patience to actually learn a short piece on an instrument they have never touched before, it will be an opportunity to increase their confidence. Repeating this experience as the school year progresses with a range of instruments, from different types of drums, to the piano, to a string instrument (harp, violin, cello), or wind instrument (bugle or recorder), will only strengthen their understanding of where music comes from and how it is produced. It will also help them get a feel for the different instrument families.

Listening to Music

The Internet, the iPod, CDs, and DVDs have made this part of teaching music more convenient than in eras past. Take full advantage of the availability of different styles of music via so many media. Expose your second graders to music of different continents. Play for them African, Brazilian, Cuban, new age, Broadway, and classical genres. Your second graders may surprise you by identifying similarities among the genres. Of course, you will want to avoid music with great dissonance or little resolution, like many non-film-score compositions of Philip Glass and much of the work of Igor Stravinsky, as these characteristics may prove disturbing to young listeners. After playing selections, discuss with your class which instruments were used. Use images to show them the kinds of instruments that they are hearing. Ask them how the music makes them feel or what kinds of images it brings to mind. Playing for your students a wide variety of musical genres helps keep their minds and ears open to new influences.

References

• Great Schools.org: Your Second-Grader and Music
• Kindermusik.com: Impact of Music on Math

Resources

• MusicEducationMadness.com: Suggestions and Ideas for Teaching Music