What, I Can Really Listen to Music in Class?

You can see the shock on this student's face.

Students were amazed when I told them they could start listening to music as they read or worked. They had never heard of anything like this. First it was singing in the class. Now, I was telling them they could bring their IPod to class.  This just had to be too good to be true.

Each students has his/her own computer, so each has a CD ROM at their desk.  Or, if they choose, they can bring in an MP3 player.  When I surveyed each class, the majority of students listen to music each night as they read and/or do their homework.  Why not allow it in school?  When I have done this before, it seemed to help a lot of students avoid distraction.


There are a few rules:

1. You put a CD in the computer at the start of class, and leave it for the entire class.
2. You cannot play it loud, or bother peers.
3. Once you hit play, you must work.
4. You cannot use class time to switch from track to track.

There are several benefits when students play background music while they study, read, or write:

1. increase attention levels
2. improve retention and memory
3. extend focused learning time
4. expand thinking skills
In the brain there is a band of white fibers connecting the right and left halves of the cerebrum called the corpus callosum. Very recently researchers have discovered that the corpus callosum increases in size when humans are exposed to music. This increases communication between the two halves of the brain which increases learning efficiency.

Yiftach Levy of the Department of Educational Technology at San Diego State University studied the use of background music in the classroom. This is part of his finding.

Davidson and Powell (1986) took up this exact subject in their study of American fifth-grade science students. They reported the observations of on-task-performance (OTP) of children in the classroom over 42 class sessions, with data recorded every three minutes (10 times) per session. Treatment, in the form of easy-listening music, was delivered in between two control observations (i.e., 15 sessions without background music, 15 with, and 12 without, in that order). They determined a significant increase in OTP for the males in the classroom, and for the class as a whole. 

Image from http://dresslikenick.com/.

Better Listen and Listen Fast

Better pay attention! Why you ask?  Because this isn't a teacher standing in front of the class and talking all day blah, blah, blah, blah, blah kind of class.  

Have a look at this.

Now I am not going to teach quite like that (I hope) and I am not going to talk all day.  This is a class with a five minute mini-lesson, and then students work hard and then work some more.  As famous California educator, Dr. Harry K. Wong said, "the one doing the work is the one doing the learning."  And of course, I want students to learn as much as is possible.

Please give me your attention.  I'll keep it short.

You Too Can Pass the Test

How is winning a basketball game like passing an Achievement Test? It's all about using what you worked on in practice at game time. Students each year start to freak out as the test date approaches. They love to throw out those, "OMG, I am sooooo nervous!"

Give it a rest, already. Good test scores are a result of following procedures and using what you know. Students in Reading Workshop have learned all they need to know to prove their proficiency. When the big day comes, they will be ready to use the skills they have been practicing.

Going spastic and twitching nervously might give people something to laugh about, but it really doesn't have one thing to do with the test. It really just comes down to reading a few passages, and answering some questions. Being a fruit loop and stressing out yourself and your classmates is a total waste of time.

If you don't know the answer to a question, or don't know a word, deal with it. Use skills you have learned. Substitute an easier word, or use context clues to figure it out. If you can't, just miss a question. You will still pass. Basketball players miss shots all the time--no big deal. Miss one, but then get the next one right.

Work hard, work smart, and you will score well. You have spent all year proving your ability, so now just throw it out there one more time. This is your chance to spend 2 1/2 hours and prove that you are a success.
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Who Needs Recess

Instead of hanging around for the 20 minute recess after lunch, the sixth graders at Laurelville have decided to get fit. Students have volunteered to give up their recess in an effort to get in shape. They are walking and/or jogging every day for twenty minutes after lunch.

What started as an idea to just give the opportunity to walk to students that were bored during recess has evolved into one of the high points of the day. Some students jog, seeing how many laps they can make around the gym. Others get with a partner or group and talk as they walk.

The biggest benefit seems to be in the classroom afterwards. Students are more attentive and mentally alert, while being more relaxed and restive in their seats. Their output in the first hour after walking has noticeably improved.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that fewer than one-quarter of children engage in daily vigorous activity. In this class lately, 100% of the students are getting busy each day. Taking turns carrying the pedometer, students are charting the miles. So far, they are averaging about 1.3 miles/day.

According to WebMD:

1. Exercise Boosts Brainpower
2. Movement Melts Away Stress
3. Exercise Gives You Energy

4. Fitness Can Help Build Relationships
5. Exercise Helps Ward Off Disease
6. Fitness Pumps Up Your Heart
7. Exercise Lets You Eat More
8. Exercise Boosts Performance

This sixth grade class is going to see the benefits of exercise, if they keep up the pace each day during recess.

Great job to the McGuire's Milers!

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Monday Morning