Magical Volume 1 Happy 10.27.12 That s the word I d use if someone were to ask me to describe the effect short songs can have on the average classroom. Although, now that I m thinkin about it, we probably shouldn t limit the effect to just the mainstream. It works for all types of classes. And what I m talking about is something as simple as and yet as complex as playing the Bill Nye theme song. You see, in our classroom the Science Guy song had a special message for my students: You have 29 seconds to be on the carpet and ready for a lesson. During the first week of school we had met on the carpet regularly for lessons, discussions, and read-alouds. By the second week, gathering on the carpet had become a part of our routine. It was a nice change from the normal arrangement that had them sitting at their desks and me teaching at the front of the room. Not only that, the random seating arrangement that was created as everyone found a place to sit alleviated the tedium of always having the same neighbors. All-in-all, it made for a pleasant change of pace. These kinds of alterations in the learning environment are called state changes and can really help students stay connected to what s going on. Calling them to the carpet was an easy way to create a new state which provided a boost to the lesson that was about to occur.
But, heaven help me. Calling everyone to the carpet with only my voice as the cue could almost always be counted upon to produce any number of annoying and inappropriate student behaviors. Or, more correctly stated, it used to be that way. Then I started to use Bill Nye to help out. And all of the nonsense I had witnessed during my first five years of teaching slowly but surely went away. In fact, I quickly discovered that we were actually getting more done without my words than we had been previously with my words. Granted, the first couple of times the song was played there were some predictable issues with which to deal. (Examples of the behaviors and my responses to them can be found on the last page.) Nonetheless, in just one week the song completely transformed the manner in which I delivered the come to the carpet message. No longer was I having to use my tired, over-worked voice to: 1) get the attention of my students; and 2) instruct them to come to the carpet. Gone also was my frustration with trying to send an important message only to see my words being received by a seemingly disinterested, indifferent audience. Nope. Not any more. All I had to do was play Bill Nye and the effective was immediate. At the first signature chord, students would stop what they were doing and head to the carpet. Start to finish, the whole thing took 29 seconds. And did I mention that none of it required a single word from me? Not one. Nada. Nyet. Since the song was calling the students to the carpet, there was no need for me to say a thing. In fact, I quickly discovered that we were actually getting more done without my words than we had been previously with my words.
Adding to the advantage of the new cueing strategy was the fact that my students, through the magic of, became more independent and self-directed. As opposed to the Old School obedience culture in which the teacher always has to tell students what to do and when to do it, my students learned to tell themselves what to do. Before too long, just the first few notes of Bill Nye caused them all high achiever or low; ADD or special needs to head to the carpet and get ready for a lesson. It was not only a fun thing to do, it was the right thing to do. Why Bill nye? I chose the Bill Nye song because it was short enough so that it didn t waste class time but long enough to allow everyone to get to the carpet in a reasonable fashion. It also has a high-energy beat and some rather unique al features. Add in the fact that Bill Nye is still held in high regard by most schoolage children and you ve got yourself a sweet little song. Why The carpet procedure? Student compliance was easy for me to assess. It was a yes/no kind of deal. You were either on the carpet by the time the song was over or you weren t. Simple as that. Everyone understood the behavior that was supposed to occur when the song was played nothing more than operant conditioning as opposed to the lower-level classical conditioning for which Pavlov is most remembered. That didn t mean, though, they were all going to do what they had been instructed to do. Robert MacKenzie, author of Setting Limits in the Classroom, states that most misbehavior is just limit testing. It s how students learn to negotiate the world in which they live. However, far too many of them have grown up in obedience-based classrooms in which they ve figured out there s no need to self-direct. They do just about anything they want in the full knowledge that when things get critical, the teacher can always be counted on to tell them to stop doing whatever it is they re doing. But if students never develop self-control, then the classroom will never become that happy and productive place we so desire. For the record, it took me years of classroom experience before I was able to fully understand that the secret to a happy, productive classroom is student independence. For the record, it took me years of classroom experience before I was able to fully understand that the secret to a happy, productive classroom was student independence. To avoid all of that, I assigned a simple task and then prepared myself to hold each student accountable for correctly abiding by it. Ignoring the students who were not following my clearly stated directions for the procedure would send a mixed message about how serious I was. If even one student was not taking care of business
correctly, it wouldn t be long before their easily influenced peers began to show the same disregard for the song s message, as one-by-one, they joined the dark side. Coming to the carpet, though, was the type of behavior that was ideal for our first cue. Easy to understand, easy to do, and, as noted already, easy for me to assess their compliance. Sitting on the carpet and ready to go before the song ends? Excellent. A smile and a nod of appreciation from me to you. Didn t make it on time? I d jot down your name and speak with you later about your understanding of both the song and the message. A safe, non-threatening conversation in which I kept the interaction focused on, What don t you get about the Bill Nye song? These kinds of directed dialogues in which I started with a question went a long way in helping my students realize I was serious about the and what they meant. It was only when I saw a pattern of disregard that I would escalate things a bit by cracking out a consequence. certainty The Bill Nye song always sent the same message: get yourself to the carpet. There was no guess work or mystery. The reliability of the message enabled the students to own the song and respond to it successfully. Old School Transitions Students hear the teacher say, Go but that s about it. There s no time awareness on their part or any for how long they should be taking to complete the transition. Consequently, a number of them lose focus, become distracted, and waste precious time. And before you can say, I m not telling you again! the teacher begins to verbally coerce everyone to pick up the pace. In response, the students for the most part ignore the teacher s words until they detect anger. The all-too-common outcome is that the majority of students become dependent on the teacher to always remind them about how long they should be taking and, thus, never learn to complete the task independently. Why it works The created a framework for student success that is missing in most transitions. This simple framework is composed of two parts: structure and certainty. structure The song had a predictable, consistent structure. Bill Nye was always 29 seconds long. It always followed the same al progression. And within a week or two, my students internalized the song and used the length of the song to pace themselves. structure + certainty = success Bill Nye sent a clear message about what each student needed to do while the length of the song limited how much time they had in which to get it done. This combination of structure and certainty encouraged everyone to develop that essential attribute of self-control which is critical to the creation of a happy, productive classroom. And all of that from a song? Not too shabby.
The only downside to the use of a song to cue a procedure or time a transition is the hassle of playing the song itself. Whether the song is on a CD or in an itunes playlist, you ve got to find the song, start the song, and then, most importantly, stop the song when it s over so that the next song doesn t start to play. As great as the whole cue strategy is, it would be a total TAfter years of struggling with CDs and CD players, I started to use an ipod that was connected to some computer speakers. I could hold it in my hand which made it easier to use while the songs were all organized in playlists which made them easier to find. The problem, though, was that I still had to be there to stop the song. And, yes, I ve had students over the years who have taken on the job of classroom DJ but it still meant someone had to stick around to hit the stop button. Unless an idea was easy to use, I found I would either not use it enough or quit using it. But I m a believer in the magic of to help students become independent. Therefore, it s up to me to make the playing of a song as simple as possible so that I didn t hesitate to provide my students with al whenever possible. So here s my simple solution: an app that will enable you to create and play your own. homerun if only there was an easy way to play the cue. And if there s one thing I ve learned about classroom strategies it s this: Everything should be as simple as possible. Albert Einstein Not only is it a snap to use, but once your cue has finished playing, you won t hear another song. The app knows to play just the one song and nothing else.
getting started You ll find some directions listed in the main screen when you first open the app. After you re become familiar with the process which takes all of five minutes to master the steps can be deleted and replaced with your. select a song Tap the Select Song button and the media browser for your device will appear. Find the song from your library that you want linked to your cue and tap it. create a cue Tapping the Add button will take you to the Create Cue screen. save the cue Tap the Save button. You ll be returned to the main screen where you will find your newly created cue. Very cool. Tap the Cue Title text box and the keyboard will pop up. The title of the cue should be indicative of what the song tells the students to do. If the steps are still listed in the roster, just swipe across each one to delete.
playing Tap the cue you want the students to hear and you ll be taken to the Play screen. delayed play You can delay the start of a cue by setting the countdown timer before tapping Play. immediate play Tap the Play button and you ll hear your cue. Note: The graphic at the bottom of the Play screen is a volume slider. After tapping the Play button, the Play screen will display a countdown timer indicating how long until the cue is heard. During play, the Play button is replaced with a Cancel button and a Pause button. Cancel: Stops song play and reverts to main screen. Pause: Pauses song play. Pause button becomes a Resume button. When the timer hits 00:00, the song and only the one song will play automatically.
ipad native The app is even easier to use on an ipad since everything happens on just one screen. Tap the cue, tap the Play button, and your cue song is filling the classroom with the sounds of independence. Once the cue has finished playing, the app reverts to the main screen. You ll see the on the left and the screen for making new ones on the right. BONUS FEATURE Projecting the app image with a document camera or a smartboard will enable your students to see how much time they have left until the cue plays. They can also see what they re going to be doing when they hear the. Sweet.
Wonderful techniques...powerful, innovative, effective. I just love Rick s ideas. Annette Saavedra, Classroom Teacher Core Principles Confessions of a Former Echoer The Top Ten Things I Say How to Use Music for Management Sentence Strips: Cut-and-Paste Paragraphs Homework Made Easier Behavior CODES Credit Cards For the complete write-up about how to use to boost student independence, check out Eight Great Ideas: Simple Ways to Transform Your Teaching. This book, part of the four book series I wrote about effective teaching, comes with a CD of TV theme songs to get you started using for procedures and transitions. It s available for purchase $15 on the New Management website. If you d like to save $5, you can order the entire set for $45. NewManagement.com
Ddon t be surprised if some of your students over-react to the first song you play when you introduce the concept of. Hearing in the classroom and especially fun such as TV theme songs is not all that common. Consequently, you ll see a variety of over-the-top student responses. A steady hand and a calm yet firm approach is the way to go. Before too long, hearing will be as normal to them as the school bell or the voices from the intercom. And the fact that your students will be responding to these without a word from you makes the time you spend setting the norms well worth it. These responses are based on the come to the carpet cue message. Loud comments when the song is first heard: Kill the. Don t say a word until things are back to normal. When they settle down, calmly tell them that, yes, this is a fun song. But, no, they are not to go crazy every time it s played. Play it again but kill it again if even one student overreacts. They ll get it. Students run or hurry to the carpet: Pull aside any students. Have them stand on the perimeter where the compliant students are sitting. When your carpet time is over, hold them back and let them know running is not permitted. Never has been; never will be. Students dance their way to the carpet: As long as they are not being overly annoying or bothering any other students, I d let it go. They re kids. Of course they re going to want to respond to the in a physical way. Students aren t on the carpet by the time the song is over: Jot down the names of any student not on the carpet and ready to go. Talk to them after you ve released everyone else to their seats. Mr. Morris In a calm yet firm manner: What does the Bill Nye song mean? Student(s) Somewhat sheepishly: Come to the carpet and get ready for a lesson. Mr. Morris Yes. Come to the carpet. Get ready. And all done before the song is finished. Pause: But you weren t here on time. Another pause and without any sarcasm: Did you think I was kidding? Note: There s no good answer to that question. Yes doesn t work. No doesn t work. This simple question, though, was an easy way to reinforce I was serious without having to raise my voice. Suggestion: Whenever you re speaking to a student and feel as if you may be getting a bit upset, visualize the parents standing right behind the student. I can t possibly tell you how many times this image kept me from saying anything inappropriate. happy productive rick morris/new management, inc.