Introduction
You hear grunts and groans! Is it the WWE? No, it’s an elementary music class! How can we engage and motivate students and build learning stamina?
These reactions happen when kids are challenged or bored or scared and don’t have the learning stamina they need to remain open-minded and perseverant. Building stamina will help students engage and stay motivated.
In this blog post, I’ll explore a creative approach to motivate and engage students by asking for more than is actually needed.
We’ll delve into an innovative (kinda *wacky) approach that will not only motivate elementary music students but also engage them by incorporating the elements of repetition, surprise, and layered learning.
*I originally spelled wacky “whacky.” I’ve been playing with those Boomwhackers too much!
The Playlist
Building Stamina: Asking for MORE
One unconventional yet effective method to encourage stamina building is to ask for MORE than what seems necessary. I’ve used it countless times and it always works. When I ask for MORE, I get exactly the amount I NEED.
“Ask for more than what you need.”
Ok so teachers are yelling, “Why do we need to go through with this bullpoo?” Well, you don’t. This isn’t the only way you can build learning stamina, just one idea.
My experience showed me that this idea is similar to the working theory of extrinsic rewards. If you start out by extrinsically rewarding student work/behaviors, you hopefully get to the place where the accomplishment feels good (intrinsic) and the extrinsic falls away.
Building Stamina: The Scenario
Here’s an example of how I asked for more than I needed related to a leveled learning lesson.
Setting the Stage to Motivate Elementary Music Students
If we were learning a new song, as we worked through the process of melody, rhythm, beat, whatever, I’d have groaners each time we sang it again. I’m not talking about 20 minutes of drill, drill, drill, just 8 minutes of layered learning.
I mean they’ll play 500 bazillion levels of a video game but can’t sing a song twice?
So I had this idea to ask for more than I needed,
“We are going to sing this song 15 times!”
- “What?”
- “NO!”
- “UGH!”
- (That thing where their whole body moves/jerks like they just heard the world was going to explode in 60 seconds.)
🔑 The key is to dive into the process without any kind of a discussion which will help start the engagement process.
Forge ahead!
The Lesson Countdown
I made sure I counted out loud or by holding up my fingers for exactly which number, from 1-15, that we were on. Here are my directions.
“Number 1. Sing as we pat the steady beat.”
“We had a pause and lost our beat at the end of the first line. Let’s try again. Number 2.”
“Beautiful, that steady beat continued. Number 3-try it without my help.”
“YES! Number 4-Sing and clap the rhythm.”
We continued on and used audiation, half the class beat and half rhythm, etc.
They finished what I wanted them to do after about #8 when I could proclaim, “Wow, we didn’t need 15. You’ve learned it all in 8.”
We sang the song EIGHT times without a groan because they were mentally “prepared” for 15.
Learning to Do It Again
This unexpected positive reinforcement not only motivates but also builds the stamina needed for sustained musical success. It’s really a form of social-emotional learning (SEL) to set and work toward goals.
Also, I think the counting invokes a feeling of a competition or a challenge which they LOVE!
It not only boosts the students’ confidence but also reinforces the idea that they can achieve more than they initially thought. Repetition isn’t boring or useless. Repetition doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Repetition is PROGRESS!
I used it infrequently because once they figure out that I was going to be teaching in that sort of way, they began to mentally expect it.
Conclusion
In the pursuit of motivating and engaging elementary music students, the art of asking for more proves to be a transformative strategy. By infusing surprise, motivation, challenge, and engagement into the learning journey, teachers can cultivate a resilient stamina in students.
Read More About It
Major units of study such as learning ukulele or recorder can hit learning plateaus. Integrate an Orff approach, centers, or other activities into parts of those units to build stamina. Check out this Ukulele & Orff Pack!
