The Power of Music- What's Your Song?

Music is powerful. It can change your step or stride, mood and attitude, cause your feet to tap while you're pumping gas, and calm you down when you're wound up from an episode or just a long day.

Music is powerful in the classroom. It can shift one's mind in an instant, signal a change, and build community.

Music is powerful for the brain. Research indicates that, "music is used to facilitate induced state of consciousness that  is conducive to heightening the learning process." It can increase brainwaves and lower blood pressure. (Ostrander and Schroeder) Lozanov "considered the interactions between both hemispheres of the brain, together with the neo-cortex produce a positive effect on the retention rates of the learned materials." Clabomb's research also supports this claim.

Music is powerful at Buckner. Many of you have experienced the power of music in your own classrooms. You've used songs to:

• transition to new workshops
• gather students for a Share Square
• offer a brain break
• support students as they read and write
• offer a catchy way to learn new material

As you continue to build your classroom community, please consider how you might use music to enhance your students' experiences. Some of my new favorites to use include: Home by Phillip Phillips, Gaucho by The Dave Matthews Band, and and oldie- The Share Song by Jack Johnson. What is your new favorite song to use?

Check out this link for some new songs to use: http://www.dialogueonlearning.tc3.edu/classroomapplications/strategies/using-music-grp.htm