I love music. Honestly, I learned more Spanish from listening to Hispanic music than I did in any Spanish class. I loved mimicking the pronunciation and the tune or a beat kept the lyrics running through my head long after the song was over. When I later learned about multiple intelligences, I knew I was a musical/rhythmic learner. Many of our students are, too. With iPods and phones, kids have more access to music than ever and it is a big part of their lives.

I use a lot of music in class. I love introducing students to different types of music and encouraging them to decide what they like best. They like seeing what artists look like and hearing rap music in Spanish. I am always listening for new songs that use vocabulary that we are learning. Besides “Camisa negra” by Juanes, I haven’t found many songs that talked about fashion/clothes so I decided to make one up. It’s far from amazing, but it really works for musical learners and gives the class new ways to practice this unit’s vocabulary.

Here’s a video I threw together. Ha! I won’t quit my day job.

This is how I use the song.

1.) I rap it for them and they write clothing/accessories they hear.

2.) They each have a 5-6 pictures and when they hear the article of clothing from their picture, they hold it up.

3.) They can fill in the blanks. I write out most of the lyrics and they listen for the missing words.

4.) They rap it with me. I sometimes start in slow motion without the music. When I stop, they say the next word.

5.) Finally, they are ready to do it on their own. I usually let them practice for a purpose. We will challenge another class (usually our French students) to a RAP competition and then perform it for them. (We always win!) Other classes divide the song up and make a music video. For the record – their videos are better than mine!

Music is such a motivator to some. Try including some simple beats or rhythms with new vocab and those musical learners will pick it up twice as fast!

P.S. Let me know if you know of any record labels looking for a fresh face in the Latino music industry! 🙂