Making a "Music Space"

I am a firm believer that the language you use can influence the reality you are in. In another words, not to sound hippy-dippy, but see what you need and use your words to make it happen.

For example, in my post "How to win teachers and influence classrooms", I said to be grateful. Say thank you to teachers for "letting me use your space". Are they "letting" you use their space? No! Principal said so, so it is so. No one volunteers for this! But- you thank them anyways. And you know what happens? They start to change from this awful feeling of being coerced into this mess to actually being gracious with their time and space when you come rolling noisily down the hall and one minute to go time.

With my students, I do two things very intentionally every class to trick them into thinking their not in their classroom anymore.

1. I play music as I enter the classroom.

2. They take their cue from the music and move the furniture, come to the "music space" the class has just created, and they being to play our steady beat game.

Side note on why I do this. When their is no change in the classroom - when students stand at their desk (the place they do every other subject - with a different teacher with different rules), the students treat you like you are in THEIR space and not like they are in YOURS. Now, this is a true statement- except with this implication comes 2 problems. 1) "Lady, you are not in charge. Mrs. So-and-so is, and her rules are.... and what you say and what your rules are don't matter so much." 2) Students are not in the mind set to make music. They haven't made that mental switch. They haven't gotten in line and walked into the beautiful music room with all the music things everywhere and instruments and the music playing. No- you just walked into their space.

So- on day one on the cart, I walk in playing music on my Bluetooth speaker from the I-pad or my personal phone. Then after our game I say, "what can you do to make this into a music space?" (Use the language!) We agree that the desks are in the way. We come up with a class desk moving plan and guidelines (Wait until the person behind you has gotten out before you squish them with your desk and block them from getting out, etc.) I make it clear that this act of moving their desks and coming to play our first game right away is their responsibility for their music education. (Cuz really, they're sad about the loss of the music space too. They miss it and are often receptive to group problem solving the current space crisis.)

And then you do it. Go out into the hall. Come in playing music. They more their desks. They come to the music space they just created. And you play your first game. Then you go on with your lesson like you're in your classroom. Five minutes before you have to leave, review how to safely move furniture and put the class back together before the teacher comes back in. (This is key to building a good working relationship with that teacher. Don't make them clean up after you.)

It's messy at first, but once you begin that routine, the space really does start to become a "music space" and the students do take ownership and responsibility for it in a way they have never had to before.

As their classroom begins to become "the music space," management issues will become easier because the space will become yours- not as much as the actual music class was, but it will be more yours than if you don't proactively make it yours to manage.

*The steady beat game and other first movement activities are posted in the "Lesson Ideas" category of the blog.

**Disclaimer: I don't move desks for every classroom. My K and 1 classes have big carpet spaces. We just go there and play our opening game to set the tone.