If you are anything like me, you will want to get your students focused fast. In this blog I look at how to get students focused, now! Focus on Now is a blog that looks at Focus on Sound and how it can be used at the start of a lesson. It is part of a series where I am going to look at the many ways to use this software from Music First.
Where to start
The start of a lesson is crucial for getting students engaged. I have tried various techniques and approaches over the years and I wanted to share a few ideas. The most obvious one is to have music playing as students enter the room. A “Do It Now” task can then get students listening and thinking straight away. A few simple questions on the board to go with the listening is really helpful.
Another approach is to have a section of music on the board, and rather than have it playing, get them working out what it is. Maybe a few bars from a GCSE set work, or some chords for them to work out. A-Level students might enjoy trying to spot the mistakes in a cadence, or recognise the chords in a chorale.
Whatever method you choose, the whole point is to get students thinking as soon as they arrive. You can then take the register and know that they are already focusing.
Focus on Sound
I love the name Focus on Sound because it is absolutely what music students need to do. Having music playing on arrival to a lesson is showing students what music is all about. It is the language we use in our classrooms, and we should always try and get students thinking that way. Sound isn’t present in every other lesson, and so having something to listen to is immediately going to engage students.
But we do need them to focus and that can sometimes take some training. As mentioned above, some questions on the board can really help them as they listen to music. These might be closed questions about specifics, or more open ended questions about how the music makes them feel.
Key Terms
What I find helpful is to not only have music playing, but also have key terms visible to learners as soon as they walk into the room. Key musical terms are also part of our language as musicians, and we want to ensure they are front and centre from the start of the lesson. My advice is to think about displaying the key terms that are going to relevant to the lesson on the board. Get the students thinking about them straight away, and hopefully reviewing prior learning.
Focus on Now
So how can Focus on Sound help students to Focus Now?
Something I have been doing for a few years now is getting students to come into the lesson and log straight on. I am lucky enough to have computers in my room and I find that it is good to get them started on something. Key Terms have become a rallying focus for me, and so I get students to focus on them right at the start of the lesson. Focus on Now is saying to students, let’s get on with something now, straight away. And this is where Focus on Sound comes in.
Let’s imagine that last lesson you taught students about texture, and as they enter you have a key piece of music playing. They then log on to Focus on Sound and take a short quiz on texture. This will be easy for you to make in Focus on Sound, and they can quickly log in and get started. This will help them to review prior learning and inform you of exactly where they are at before the lesson gets underway.
The real benefit of this approach is that the learning starts quickly, and the routine is good for students. Key Terms at the start of the lesson also help to get them focused on the language of music.
Focus
A “Do It Now” task is a great way to focus students. When lessons start with focus, students are much more likely to learn and engage. A “sloppy” start to a lesson is always a recipe for disaster, so why not use Focus on Sound to help you. Creating quick tests and quizzes based around key terms is really easy. Students will also get instant feedback as they think about the lesson ahead. They can then spend the lesson focusing on what they don’t know and what they need to learn.
And so I begin a series on Focus and how Focus on Sound can be used to help. It is a fantastic tool for learners, and of course they can access it at home or in the classroom. It is perfect for learning let terms, researching and listening – but I will discuss that more in this blog series.
If you need any advice or support with Focus on Sound, then please do get in touch. Enjoy getting your students to Focus on Now!