Student Contributor: T. Cavin
This tool would be used to signify that the class is transitioning. Different songs can be connected with transitioning to the carpet, to centers, back to their desks, etc.
When students get in the habit of something, it is easy for them to associate that habit with what it means/what they were taught it’s associated with. In this case, different songs can be used to signify different transitions. In my placement classroom, students know that when they hear the Toy Story theme song, it’s time to clean up centers and get ready for recess/lunch. When they hear the song that includes many different chimes, they know that means to clean up their center to prepare to go to the next center; not leave the classroom. It is important to remember this might take awhile for students to remember the different songs, so they have to be taught with verbal instruction until it becomes second nature to them.
The phase I think this tool best relates to is the preventative phase. My reasoning behind this is because teaching them that certain songs relate to certain things they need to be doing (such as cleaning up, lining up, etc.) will prevent them from being confused once an activity is over, and it will also help the students who are constantly participating in the clean up by setting the expectation that this is a time for everyone to clean up, not just certain students. I placed this under student-directed and collaborative because you, as the teacher, do have to teach this at the beginning of the year but not long after it will be something your students remember to do once they are cued by the song.
More Information –
Tool Source: My mentor teacher
