Mark your calendars - March 14-18 is the 2022 Illinois Arts in Education Week!
Looking for easy-to-implement and low-cost ways to celebrate music education in Illinois schools next week? Check out these ideas and be sure to follow ILMEA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the run-up and during this week-long celebration!
Activities
Ask each student in class (and the teacher too!) to contribute songs to a class playlist that you can share out and also play in the background during independent work.
Poll the teachers in your school to find out who participated in school music when they were students. Post the teachers’ photos and what they played outside of the music room.
Set aside time in each class this week to read aloud a picture book about music. This isn’t just for elementary students! High School and middle school students will love this too (they just might not admit is, but trust us here!). Because by Mo Willems, Violet’s Music by Angela Johnson, The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow, The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, Drum Dream GIrl by Margarita Engle are only a FEW of the fabulous children’s books out there about the power of music. Ask the children’s librarian at your local public library for more ideas!
March Madness Music Bracket - pick a theme (musical theater openers, marching band performances, songs from a certain decade, songs about the season of spring, etc.) and have students vote until a winner is declared.
Have students ask a parent, guardian or relative about what music they listened to when they were in the same grade in school and listen to some together. Ask 2-3 students each day to share what they learned about music from past decades!
Students can write brief statements about why music is important to them, why they value music class and what it means to them to have music as part of their school day. Make a few copies and send these notes/statements to the president of your local school board, the superintendent, and/or the principal of your building to share why it is important for them to continually support music education for students in your school and district.
Share clips and photos from past performances every day on your school or music program social media pages.
Writing Prompts and Discussion Starters
Younger Learners
What song makes you happy? Why do you think it makes you feel happy?
What song do you like to listen to when you are sad? Does that music help you feel better? Why do you think it makes you feel that way?
If you could learn play ANY instrument, what would you pick? Why would you pick that instrument?
Older Learners
Think about a strong musical memory you have - describe what you saw, heard and felt.
If an alien from another planet landed in front of you, what song would you play for them? Why would you pick that one?
What do you most enjoy about making music or listening to music?
The way we’ve listened to music has changed so much over the years - radio, vinyl, cassettes, CDs, streaming, etc. How do you think the way you listen to music is different from your parents or grandparents? How do you think it will change in the next 20 years?
In the 1990’s, scientists found that college students who listened to music by Mozart for a few minutes before taking a test did better than students who listened to no music or even music by another musician. Do you believe that music can make you more intelligent just by listening to it? Why do you think it helped students do better on tests?