I first learned about thematic learning while working with some amazing, old school preschool teachers in Texas. (Preschool teachers are the unicorns of the teaching world – they are magical in every way!) I watched how they used a variety of themes to teach content foster engagement and promote curiosity.
What is Thematic Learning?
So what is thematic learning? Simply, it’s choosing a theme in which to teach a variety of concepts. The challenge with thematic learning is that the theme has to be fully integrated into the curriculum or standards being taught. If I choose to do thematic learning around the ocean, then every song, chant, musical concept or skill has to be matched instructionally for the grade level I’m teaching.
Why use Thematic Learning?
The advantage to thematic teaching is that I can weave a musical story to enhance the learning experience. If we’re singing songs about the ocean, then I tell a story about going on a boating adventure (while rocking to the beat). As the waves hit against the boat, we fall into the ocean and discover that an octopus is right in front of us. We move like the octopus to a little sea chant and vocally explore the sounds an octopus might make as it squirts ink to get away. We swim back to the boat, but continue to fall out to explore additional animals. Once we’re back on shore, we’re so tired, we take a nap on the beach and dream that someone is sing to us (tonal patterns, of course). We awake to see a singing dolphin and “arioso” back and forth to the dolphin, and so on. Students get so engrossed in the story and musical play that behavior issues are minimal. It’s hard to act up when you’re exploring the mysteries of the ocean or zooming through outer space in a rocket!
Extra Advantages of Thematic Learning
The other advantage to thematic units is that it’s easy to build music workstations around a theme. From puppet play, instruments, to song stories, I can create music centers for students that supports the musical learning in our room as well as a high level of engagement.
Ideas for Thematic Learning
Here are some of the thematic units I’ve done with my K-2 students:
- Seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
- Holidays: Halloween, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day
- Farm Animals
- Ocean
- Outer Space
- Jungle
- Insects
- Around the World (multicultural unit)
Any of these themes are easy to find songs and chants for instruction. The challenge is layering your instruction so that it follows a sequential progression of content. I’ve spent the last 20 years of my teaching curating songs, chants, activities, and song stories for each of these themes. Some themes are visited yearly while others are alternated from year to year.
Have you every used thematic instruction in your classroom? Leave me a comment below with your favorite themes!
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Back to School: Teaching Kindergarten, Part 1
Back to School: Teaching Kindergarten, Part 2
Here are some of the children’s books I use throughout our Ocean themed unit.
Here are some of the puppets I use with our Ocean themed unit. Puppets are a great way to get students responding and improvising musically!
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We LOVE to use thematic units in our K-2 music classroom. Lesson planning can sometimes feel overwhelming with countless songs and chants to choose from, but when using a theme you have a chance to narrow the scope a bit. We’ve used continents, habitats, genres, holidays, seasons and even character traits. Some of my favorite themes: Antarctica, Europe, Jazz, Patriotic, and Ocean(with pirates of course!).
How long do you use each theme?
Fantastic post on thematic learning in the music room! I love how you’ve incorporated the pre-primary curriculum into music education. Using themes can really enhance a child’s engagement and understanding of musical concepts. Looking forward to trying out these ideas with my students! For more visit at https://www.dotlearningcircle.com/comprehensive-curriculum-for-pre-primary-children