Let’s talk about teaching the wiggly students in the music classroom. What do you do with them? How can you teach students who cannot keep their bottoms planted on your floor? Like I always say, you know your students better than anyone. So take the strategies that work well for you and ignore the rest. There is no perfect day, perfect class period, or perfect approach. Sometimes students are wiggly for different reasons. In this blog post, and on episode 244 of The Elementary Music Teacher podcast (where I go into all of this in much more detail), we’ll talk about working with those students.
Consider the Students You’re Working With
Some things to consider when it comes to teaching wiggly students in the music classroom is the ages of the students, when they come to you in the school day, and underlying reasons they might have a hard time sitting still. Kindergarteners and first graders naturally have a lot of energy. If students come to you after recess or towards the end of the school day when they’re ready to go home, they’ll be a bit more wiggly. If you’re nearing the end of the school year or a break, your students will have a harder time sitting still. I also want you to remember individual students who maybe have ADHD, or might be on some kind of behavior plan, might have a hard time keeping their hands to themselves. Have fidget toys easily available that you can hand to kids who need something to hold to keep their hands busy.
Less Talking and More Doing
Try to talk less as the music teacher. When is the last time you have done less talking and more doing? If you’re spending a lot of time standing at the front of the classroom while your students are sitting on the floor, especially those younger students, they are going to be wiggly. They have short attention spans. They might start tuning you out if you’re standing at the front of the classroom and giving long instructions. How can you incorporate more collaborative group work, small group work partner activities, or even when you’re giving whole class instructions, how can you have your students doing something where they’re not just sitting and listening?
Better Transitions
Better transitions in the music room will also help with wiggly students. When students know where to go and what to do when they’re getting to the new activity, or whatever it is, they need to have better transitions. So what does that mean? Well, transitions can be your students stepping to the beat while going to a new activity, patting their shoulders, or twirling in a circle. They can also sing a verse on the way to a new activity or on the way to their instrument. If students are transitioning from singing to playing instruments, show them what to do and give quick instructions. If students are moving from one spot in the classroom to another spot in the classroom, have a transition on how they’re going to get there. How are they going to get their instruments? What are they going to do when they have the instruments? What are the procedures you need to have in place?
Get Students Moving
Helping students get their wiggles out starts before the students even enter into the music classroom. Have students doing something with their bodies before they even walk in. I had an ongoing body percussion warmup I did with my students every single day. They would start in the hallway and then move into the music room already moving their bodies. So when I say keep them engaged in moving, have them doing something with their bodies, even if it is as simple as stomping the beat. If students are sitting down while you give instructions, have them pat the beat on their legs so they’re doing something with their bodies while they’re listening. Think about the ways you’re keeping your students engaged and moving in the music room from the moment before they even step into the door until they leave.
Keep Students Engaged
How are you keeping students engaged? Are you asking them questions? Are you providing ways for them to talk? Yes, they need to talk and they can’t stay in complete silence for a whole 45 minutes. Provide engagement opportunities and movement opportunities on an ongoing basis to allow them time to get their wiggles and noises out. Don’t have a lot of downtime. We’ve all forgotten the sequence of instruction. When those moments come, have a plan in place, point at a student to come to the front of the classroom and lead a body percussion rhythm. Have a plan in place for what are you going to do when those forgetful teacher moments come.
If you have extra time to fill in the class period, have some filler activities planned and ready to go that you can pull out. Also, plan a fun activity students have to wait until the end of the class period to do. If they need to get to the end of the class period, and they know there’s something coming that they really want to get to, you’re going to have better student focus.
Think About When You See Students
When students come to you after recess or at the end of the day, it’s tough to keep their attention. Let’s say you’ve tried a calming activity when they’ve come into the classroom to help them settle down a bit and it’s not working, then flip it. Try a movement activity at first because if your students bodies are still in movement mode, then join them in movement mode to help them to still.
How do you keep up with the wiggly students in your music classroom? Tell me about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post. I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it too.
P.S. Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher? Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!
Also…I wrote a book called “Make A Note: What You Really Need To Know About Teaching Elementary Music” to help music teachers move forward in your teaching career. You can get your copy here.
