Today we explored behaviour management strategies while teaching music in the classroom. As someone who had a very large and loud class during my first year placement, this session was very useful for what methods I could incorporate into future practice.

As the classroom can become very noisy and over-excited during a music lesson it is important to establish routine and control as the teacher.  Setting out instruments before a lesson begins saves time and arguments between children over specific instruments.

Some examples of management strategies from the Incorporated Society of Musicians include:

•  When setting up the classroom with instruments, place them out of the reach of children or under chairs.
• Teacher hands out instruments rather than have children choose.
• Give children a number so that they can collect the instrument in an organised manner.
•  Assign “music monitors” and give them clear instructions of when to hand out and collect instruments as well as where to store them.

(ISM, p.1&2, 2021).

 

Other management strategies that we explored in breakout rooms while reflecting on past placements include:

• The use of buzz words
• Tidy-up song
• Simon says
• Class chants
• Fairy lights around the whiteboard

I had never heard of having fairy lights around the whiteboard idea before but I find it a great idea that I would love to use in future practice. When the teacher turns on the fairy lights, the children know that that is the signal to stop what they are doing and turn all of their attention towards the board. I find this a good form of control without having to raise my voice to be heard above the noise of the class as well as adding nice decoration to the classroom.

I witnessed the class chants being used while I was on placement. To ensure everyone was listening the class teacher would chant “are you listening?” and the class would reply “yes we are”. This was a good method to use as it engaged the children, however, a lot of children would try to be cheeky and reply “no we aren’t” or not engage at all.

As a future teacher I will ensure that all of the resources required for the lesson are set up before the class starts. I did this in my previous placement before a literacy lesson. By having the resources out on desks, the lesson was able to start straight away and there was no time wasted on children collecting resources themselves. I also use this method in my work while coaching children in sport which results in the lesson running smoothly.

 

References:

ISM Trust (no date) Using Musical Instruments in the Classroom. Available at:  https://www.ismtrust.org/resources/primary-toolkit/using-musical-instruments-in-the-classroom/getting-instruments-out-and-putting-them-away (Accessed: 19 February 2021).