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Music in the Integrated Curriculum
Music can be used to support or enrich many
curriculum areas. Social studies, Science, and Math, for example,
offer possibilities of many natural connections.
In a social studies unit on transportation,
such as trains, children can:
- learn folk songs with train themes (I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” “She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain,” “Train Is A-Comin’,” or “Morningtown Ride”)
- dramatize the actions of a train or role-play train workers and passengers, accompanied by a rhythm band
- accompany the train story with instruments, including whistles, shakers, and drums
Music can be integrated with science:
- Place a few dried beans on the head of
a large drum or tambourine. Tap gently on the edge of the
skin and you will see the vibrations move the beans.
- Pour water of different amounts into bottles
of the same size. Blowing into each bottle will produce
a different pitch. Ask the children to line the bottles
up from lowest sound to highest sound to create a scale.
- Take a walk in the park and record the
various sounds you hear in the environment. Later, in class,
see whether the children can identify the sounds.
Music also goes well with math:
- Compare the shapes of various musical instruments.
What shapes can be found inside an outline of a guitar,
a kettle drum, a xylophone?
- Make patterns in groups of two, three,
and four using lines, circles, or other symbols (e.g., ///
// /// // or //// /// //// ////) and clap to the beats or
use various instruments.
Whether the study is of family, neighborhood,
or community, singing and instrument playing can be easily
integrated.
About the Author
Nina Jaffe is an award-winning author, folklorist, storyteller,
and arts educator who is on the graduate faculty at Bank Street
College of Education. Her acclaimed retellings of world folklore
include The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the
Jewish Tradition and Patakín: World Tales of Drums and Drummers.
She shares stories and music with audiences in schools, conferences,
and festivals throughout the United States and abroad.
Book links:
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