Music and Motion in the Special Education Classroom

     Trying to break down intricate topics to my students can be tricky. I need to scaffold concepts down to the core thought and then pair with something gimmicky or eye catching. Think of when you are daydreaming and a light reflection hits the corner of your eye and pulls you out of deep thought. Essentially, my students are always inside of their own thoughts and its my job to come up with a way to present, catch their attention, and then keep them engaged for 5-20 minutes depending on the student.

     Music is, and will always be, my go to way to break down mental roadblocks. Teaching secondary students allows me a bit more freedom to play current pop songs and not the same boring renditions of classic nursery rhymes. When incorporating music videos with high energy dance moves, I notice my students' attention is quickly gained during the most intense learning activities. 

       For my Force & Motion lesson I used infographics, music videos, tactiles, and interactive experiences to teach a basic concept in Physics. The videos I used were Willow Smith's, "Whip My Hair" and an instructional dance video fot the instrumental of V.I.C.'s, "Wobble" (if you haven't seen this dance, chances are you don't live in the Deep South). 

 To grab my students attention I started with Wobble and introduced the thought of movement. I used pinwheel .GIFs to show a speed of movement, spun arrows to show direction of movement, and then introduced "Wobble" and had the kids get up out of their desks and try the dance movements. I was in heaven because it is a really fun dance, but my kids absolutely loved being silly and trying new things (SO COOL). I continued the discussion with a couple more slides with info graphics and then we made paper planes to further the discussion. I could tell I had a few kids drop off while folding the paper so I ended the slides with "Whip My Hair". I did not care how or why they moved in a certain fashion, I just wanted them moving and using their communication skills to tell me, "I'm moving". 


     Both songs feature low to mild beats per minute (BPM). "Whip My Hair"'s BPM is 81, but "Wobble" clocks in around 95 BPM. A typical workout playlist will probably feature a rate of 170+ BPM. For example, Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" has a BPM of 227. Knowing the BPM is very important in my classroom setting because students with Autism are naturally aroused and overstimulated by their environment. Playing high intensity music at all times would emotionally exhaust the students and increase the chances of unwanted behavior occurring. 

    The last two years I have been taking data on what styles of music student with Autism react positively to. 1960s soul is by far the lead runner  (65-80 BPM) and is a style I will always play if unwanted behaviors manifest. When some of my previous students (high school angst and high functioning rears its head) were having a bad day, "Don't Bother Me" by Bad Brains typically allowed them to cool down, refocus, and go to their next class. 

    When you write your next lesson, do not forget to incorporate music into the slides or interactive lesson. Playing music in any class setting takes away the rigid feel of classrooms past and breaths fresh air into the possibility of an education tailored to the students.