Post #15 - Instrument Integration

Elementary General Classroom

Instruments are not limited to the music room; they can be used in the general classroom as well! Teachers could integrate instruments into a language arts lesson for younger children by using the sounds created as a form of creative expression. Sounds can produce a mood and/or tell a story. Instruments can be used to create sounds that enhance a work of literature. For example, adding sound to an experience makes the story more vivid. These sounds don’t necessarily have to be created in a traditional way; the students should explore various items and the sounds they produce to create the experience they are sharing. This idea connects to how to incorporate instruments into a younger science lesson. In a science lesson, the students practice classifying and categorizing sounds by how they are produced and how they sound.

Middle Grades General Classroom

Instruments can also be integrated into lessons designed for older children. When considering language arts lessons, the integration of instruments can be seen as a more sophisticated model of what was mentioned for the younger students. Instruments can be used to add meaning to words or phrases when looking at a poem or story. They can also be used to represent a rhythmic pattern of a piece of literature. In intermediate science lessons, instruments are a great way to begin exploring vibrations and how sound is produced. Basic concepts of sound and the characteristics of sound are easily explored when working with a variety of instruments in a classroom - not to mention it is way more fun than watching a video or reading a textbook!

Resources:

1. Signaling Classroom Transitions with Songs

2. Powerful Ways to Use Music in the Classroom