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Smooth Moves or Slow Shifts? Demystifying Student Task Transition Time.

Dear teacher


You are probably back in the classroom a few days now and I bet you already thought that you need ideas to make your students more engaged in the lessons, that they don’t focus when you are giving them the instructions, that they are not learning the content you are sharing with them, etc.

I am not going to promise you a magic trick that will make them do all that, but what I can do is help you understand how to change some things about your routine in the classroom and as a result, those things will most likely cease to happen.

As Eric Jensen, Ph.D. says, “Using music is an excellent way to influence or change the states of your students, to help with those transitions, or bring them back from a break and let them know it is time to start something new.”

When I moved from music teacher to classroom teacher, one thing that I struggled a lot with was to have my students transitioning between tasks without having to tell them a hundred times what to do and where to go. As I had to spend most of the day with them, I realised I had no energy at the end of the day, mainly because they took forever to do things and follow commands. That is when I started using songs to help them and save some of my energy.

Find below the list of moments that I use songs in the classroom, with my Year 4 students, to have them focused and ready:

  1. Lining up

  2. Washing hands for lunch

  3. Going to the meeting area (we don’t do circle time, as my students are in Year 4 already).

  4. My attention grabber is to a tune.

  5. Cleaning up

Now, if you work with younger students, there are many more possibilities, like the ones I’ve added below:

  1. Hello song

  2. Snack 

  3. PE / Music Class

  4. Library

  5. Circle time

  6. Story time

  7. Nap time

So, if you already use songs for transitions and to help with your classroom management, leave a comment and say which is your students’ favourite. If you don’t use songs yet, send me a dm with your pain point.

Follow me @bilingualmusiceducation on Instagram if you want to save some energy in the classroom.

 

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