Setting the Tone: Music in the Classroom

Music is such an awesome classroom management tool! I know a lot of teachers who already do this, but I wanted to share how I use music in the classroom.

When I was a classroom teacher, I created a Spotify playlist that I played every morning as my students were arriving. In case you don’t know, there is a free version of Spotify with ads that play every so often. You just have to sign up.

The songs I selected were all student-friendly, non-KidzBop, upbeat songs. I used this to create the tone of our classroom for the day. I wanted my students to be able to come into my classroom and hear something that will wake them up, perhaps change their mood (if they come in upset/angry), and inspire them to do their best!

In fact, there is quite a bit of research that has been done that backs up how music can affect your mood. Here is an informative article from Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare that explains it in more detail.

I, also, chose songs that I like, too, so that I’d be in a better mood and ready to take on the day. I would sometimes even sing along with my students. My playlist changed each quarter, but a few favorite songs remained the same from quarter to quarter.

Another way I used music was by playing instrumental music in the background depending on what we were working on. I particularly liked playing Disney piano music during independent writing. I got this music from searching on YouTube. There are so many choices for instrumental pieces. You can even search “calming music” or “music to study with” and many options will pop right up to choose from. Using this type of music during work time helped create a calm atmosphere where students were able to tap into their creativity and complete their work.

If you’re curious about my playlist, read on. I’m going to share my quarter 1 Spotify playlist now!

1. A Million Dreams-The Greatest Showman (One of my favorite movies by the way!)

2. Rise Up-Andra Day

3. How Far I’ll Go-Moana

4. This is Me-The Greatest Showman

5. Better When I’m Dancin’-Meghan Trainer

6. Get Back Up Again-Trolls

7. Try Everything-Zootopia

8. Set It All Free-Sing

9. Fired Up- Disney Zombies

10. You’re Welcome-Moana

11. Life’s A Happy Song-The Muppets

12. Count on Me-Bruno Mars

13. Perfect Day-Hoku (Comes from a Barbie movie)

Sometimes we got through the whole list, other times I had to cut it short or start it in the middle. This playlist is 45 minutes long, so you can adjust it to fit your needs.

Something I would do differently if I ever decide to jump back in as a classroom teacher is to let students put in song requests. I read about this on another blog post from All About Third Grade and thought it was a great idea! It’s another way to build relationships with your students, read more about the importance of building relationships with your students with this post.

The songs would have to be school appropriate of course, but what an excellent way to give students ownership of the playlist. Then they are listening to the music they like and will be more likely to come in to the classroom and follow the morning routine to get started with the day on time. If students are not on task, you could always shut off the music until they are.

Please share in the comments below how you use music to set the tone in your classroom or add a favorite song of your own! Also, feel free to send me a message on my About Me page if you want any of my other playlists and I’ll send them to you!