Steven Pule

Mr. Nunes

Period 4

3/17/20

Senior project research paper

Growing up music has always been one of my many escapes from school and all

other sorts of stresses in my life. Music has been proven by scientists that it produces

positive ;effects on a human’s body as well as their brain. Music turns on both the left and

right sides of the brain at the same time and the activation of both can help increase a

student's learning and improve their memory. “Studies have shown that music produces

several positive effects on a human’s body and brain. Music activates both the left and

right brain at the same time, and the activation of both hemispheres can maximize learning

and improve memory.” So that leaves the question, How can certain music be used in early

childhood education to reinforce lessons across the curriculum?

Music has been around for over forty thousand years and has changed and inspired

lives to be open and creative with their ideas. This form of art gives you a chance to freely

express yourself and can help with a lot of mental obstacles. I am one of those people.

Music has helped me get through so much in my life, especially during highschool when I

was at my lowest point. Music provided me with a safe space and allowed me to open up

new parts of my mind. Every song is telling a story, you've just got to be patient and really

listen to the lyrics and understand where the artist is coming from. Sometimes school can
be stressful, even for children that are in elementary school and music can be a way for

them to focus and set their mind to something.

The Experiential Project I've chosen is to write a lesson plan for first and second

grade students at Eagle Peak Elementary revolving around music and how it can affect

their focus during class. My mentor Mrs. Jennifer, who is a teacher at Eagle Peak

Elementary, has also been practicing this method of teaching for as long as she could

remember. “ When my kids are doing their work during their ten minute silent work

period, I like to throw on a CD for them to listen to. One of their favorites to listen to is

classical music because it helps them to focus more on their work.” Music is a great way to

express the way you feel, but also helps your mind focus on things you never could have

imagined. I will do this by teaching these young students about different genres of music as

well as having them listen to different types of classical music during their class while they

do their work. My hope is that music can not only help a student express themselves, but to

also help grow with their musical skills and an opportunity to further develop certain skills

they didn’t even know they had. This method of teaching has been used by a handful of

teachers including some of my own. It has been proven to be effective for kids, giving them

the chance to develop all of their potential skills and possible talents.

The University of Maryland Medical Center has done studies with this method of

teaching and it has proven to be effective for students. “Listen to music. Music is an

effective stress reducer in both healthy individuals and people with health problems.

Research finds that listening to soothing music can decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and

anxiety levels in heart patients.” Music is also a great way for a student to process emotions
and strengthen their resolve with being overwhelmed. “People often turn to the music they

can relate to as it helps them deal with stress in this way.” Being a little kid and having a

brain that is still developing, some things can be a little much for them and they may need

something they can relate too just in case. Music is the perfect thing to relate to because

there's so much of it. There's hundreds of different genres of music and that's why I

decided to make that my experimental project because there are so many for children to

explore.

Children learn things by using their senses. How do they do this? Well they do this

through play, exploration, and discovery, repetition, and imitation. Even before a child

reaches the age of early childhood education, music is affecting them. For example when

you see a mother or father singing to their infants it is often because infants can be soothed

through the use of music. “Speech and music have a number of shared processing systems.

Musical experiences which enhance processing can therefore impact on the perception of

language which in turn impacts on learning to read." - Susan Hallam (Institute of

Education; University of London)

Song lyrics of certain songs can introduce new words to a child's small vocabulary. Making

songs to remember specific lessons can help a student to remember specifics from that

lesson. For example my master teacher and mentor Mrs. Jennifer has her students sing the

ABCs while they wash their hands so that they have an idea on how long they should be

washing their hands for.

The thing about music in a classroom is that everybody can use this method; it's not

for any specific learner or teacher. So making up a song or melody in your head to
remember something can be proven to be effective for a student to further enhance their

memory. This is because you are stimulating neural pathways associated with a higher level

of thinking. Chelsea Lamassa said, “While you are adding a tune or melody to your words,

you are stimulating neural pathways associated with higher levels of thinking. One side of

your brain processes words in a song, while the other side of your brain processes the

music. By stimulating both sides of your brain, you are more likely to remember things!”

There are hundreds of ways you can use to introduce music into a student's

curriculum. One way is for a teacher to train their students to move faster and efficiently to

their stations is simply by playing a theme song for transitions into other activities. A

teacher named Tricia Richardson likes to use this method with her students because it

trains them to work efficiently and to get things done. “Train students to move quickly and

efficiently to your meeting area, or through stations, using popular theme songs. I

particularly like the theme from “Mission Impossible” or “The Magnificent 7.” My

students know that when that music is played, they are to bring their white boards and

come quietly to the carpet. If they don’t then I will “self-destruct in 10 seconds!”” Students

may also need a break at times when they are hard at work in the classroom. So one way of

introducing music is by giving them a five to ten minute break to let their wiggles out by

listening and dancing to different genres of music. This gives them the chance to let off

some steam and have a little fun while in class. The most popular method is to have

students listen to some form of peaceful or classical music during their writing time or

when they are having a ten minute silent work period. So there is always a new way for

music to be introduced into a classes curriculum.

 Learning new words and phrases is important for a child's development. So

introducing music to their curriculum can benefit them by giving them the ability to learn

new words they have never heard or seen, pronounce them correctly, and process new

sounds. Music requires memorization and focus so when a student is in the classroom they

can use this to their advantage. “Music is also easily stored in our memory. Have you ever

had a song stuck in your head? You can use music to help children remember things.

Examples include using common tunes to memorize facts, playing meditative music during

study time, and using music resources when presenting materials.” Studies show that music

has been found to stimulate other parts of the brain and it has been revealed that music can

enhance the memory of patients who have Alzeimers and dementia. This study was done at

UC Irvine and it was found that the scores on memory tests of patients with alzeimers had

improved when they had listened to classical music. Chris Brewer, the founder of Life

Sounds Educational Services and author of the book ​Soundtracks for Learning​ says,

“Sounds can help to hold our attention, evoke emotions, and stimulate visual images.”, and

“ Students of all ages—that includes adults— generally find that music helps them focus

more clearly on the task at hand and puts them in a better mood for learning.” She also

stated, “The use of music throughout the day is''positive mood management” and suggests

that various styles of music are appropriate for different types of activities. For instance,

she recommends using upbeat popular music to motivate learning, especially songs with

lyrics that encourage positive thinking. When studying, writing, or reading, play

instrumental music to sustain concentration. What we should be asking now is, When will

schools start to realize and really start to discover this method of teaching.
 If Music can not only help a student improve his or her memory, but also make

them feel happy and secure then why don't we start to use more of these methods. So I took

it into my hands and asked both elementary and highschool students as well as a teacher on

how they felt when they had music playing when they were studying or trying to work and

focus on something. One fellow student from Northgate highschool said, “ Usually when

i'm studying or doing some form of work, I like to listen to kendrick lamar because in my

opinion he’s an amazing lyricist, his music is poetic, and every word he uses in his bars are

down to earth. I can say that his music has taught me a lot of new words that i can use to

express myself as well as a way to find my own voice.” Music can have an expressive impact

on everyone and can really become a part of a person. Mr. Yen who is a fifth grade teacher

at Valle Verde Elementary loves to play music while he is teaching his students, I know this

because I used to be in his class when I attended Valle Verde Elementary myself. I went

back to my roots and went back to Valle Verde to ask him some important questions on

how music makes his students feel when they are working with classical music playing in

the background. “ When my students are working on their journals I can't help but notice

that they are much calmer and relaxed when they are hard at work and have classical

music playing. Some of my personal favorite artists to play for them are Johann Sebastian

Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. My all time favorite piece to play is Don Giovanni

by Mozart.” I can say for myself that when I was in Mr. In Yen's fifth grade class his

classical music playing in the background did help me a lot when I was writing my journal

entries and helped me focus a lot more. This is one of the many reasons why I chose this

topic because I have had the chance to have it used in my classroom back when I was in
elementary school. Music in the classroom helps reduce the feelings of anxiety, stress,

regulate students emotions, improve students concentration and on task behavior as well as

enhance the way children can process speech and language. “​We can experience music

almost everywhere: on the street, at a concert, in our homes, on our phones or radios, in

school, and even in classrooms. Regardless of our interests and talents in music, we can all

greatly benefit from experiencing music, particularly in the school environment. In fact,

did you know that exposure to music can improve learning and increase positive classroom

atmosphere (Eerola & Eerola, 2013; Foran, 2009)? During developmental stages, active

engagement with music can impact the way that the brain can process information,

enhancing the perception of language and speech, and subsequently improving our ability

to communicate with others and learn to read (Hallam, 2010). Several studies on the effects

of experiencing calm music have suggested that it can reduce aggressive behavior and

regulate moods, particularly feelings of anxiety and stress (Ziv & Dolev, 2013; Goldbeck &

Ellerkamp, 2012; Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007). When students are able to manage their

emotions in more positive ways, students are able to enhance their learning potential

(Foran, 2009).” Only way to find out if this is actually effective for students is by having

teachers actually take the big step to try out something new and integrate it into the

curriculum.

If the studies show that music is able to help students and do even more such as

make them feel happier at school then why dont we change the curriculum and inout more

music into schools. These methods work, it’s just up to the teachers who are up for the

challenge. Being a student myself learning from a book can be boring at times and
sometimes to wake us up we need something to catch our attention and music is exactly

that. Not only does it catch our attention it also helps us better understand the teacher but

it also helps with our memory and relieves our stress allowing a better, healthier lifestyle.

This is why I think we should integrate music into our schooling curriculum to help

students and teachers.

 Work Cited

Barras, Colin. “Earth - Did Early Humans, or Even Animals, Invent Music?” ​BBC,​

BBC, 7 Sept. 2014,

www.bbc.com/earth/story/20140907-does-music-pre-date-modern-man.

“Boost Memory and Learning with Music.” ​PBS,​ Public Broadcasting Service, 21

Mar. 2020, www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/boost-memory-and-learning-with-music.

“Boost Memory and Learning with Music.” ​PBS,​ Public Broadcasting Service, 21

Mar. 2020, www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/boost-memory-and-learning-with-music.

Boyd, Chris, and Nusa Maal. ​Soundtracks for Learning: Using Music in the Classroom.​

LifeSounds Educational Services, 2008.

“How Does Music Benefit Your Classroom or School Community the MOST?”

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments,​

safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/voices-field/how-does-music-benefit-your-classroom-or

-school-community-most.

Partners In Learning,​ performancepyramid.miamioh.edu/node/1169.

Richardson, Tricia. “7 Creative Ways to Use Music in Your K-6 Classroom.”

WeAreTeachers​, 5 July 2017,

www.weareteachers.com/creative-music-in-the-classroom-k-6/.

Richardson, Tricia. “7 Creative Ways to Use Music in Your K-6 Classroom.”

WeAreTeachers​, 5 July 2017,

www.weareteachers.com/creative-music-in-the-classroom-k-6/.

Team, Marketing. “The Benefits of Studying with Music.” ​Florida National

University,​ 13 Aug. 2019, www.fnu.edu/benefits-studying-music/.