Using Math Songs to Teach Language Development

Photo by woodleywonderworks

The other day we mentioned in a post that songs, poems and chants can be used to simultaneously develop language as well as mathematical concepts with students who are learning English. We linked to a couple of "math poems" books that have poems that can be utilized with students in order to develop language and literacy. You can find the post by clicking here.

Integrating poems, songs and chants support language and literacy development with students who are highly musical, kinesthetic, linguistic and verbal. Students often know how to solve basic skills problems, but often have difficulties on standardized math tests because many tests also focus on the language and vocabulary that is associated with math. Integrating poems and songs helps students practice mathematical vocabulary, as well as assists musically and verbally inclined students with memory recall of mathematical facts.

To make it easier for teachers, we have been scouring the web for math songs and poems and found thousands of math songs for children on Amazon. We have been working hard to categorize them for elementary-level teachers into mathematical concepts. These songs are easily downloadable and are automatically downloaded into your itunes or windows media player. In the near future, we will also include some regular math compact discs in the ELD Strategies store.

Tips for Using Math Songs in the Classroom
When using a math song in the classroom, it would be beneficial to write out the words to the song on chart paper. We recommend playing the song once so that students will hear the rhythm and cadence. After listening to the song once, teachers can turn students' attention to the chart paper with the words and read the song with students. Teachers may elect to include pictures or sketches next to words on the chart paper, or may highlight key vocabulary words with a highlighter. Next, teachers can play the song again, using a pointer with the chart paper so that students can visually follow along with the words as the song is being sung.

The song can also be typed and copied for students to take home to practice. Typing up the songs on paper for students to read independently aids in reading fluency, decoding and vocabulary development. Teachers can include multiple songs on the same topic in order to provide English learners with multiple exposures to similar vocabulary words in different contexts. Typing up the words to the songs for students to read are a cost-effective way to include reading practice and language development through the study of math.

Check out the following songs, which have brief excerpts that you can listen to:

General Math Songs
Addition Songs
Counting Songs
Subtraction Songs
Multiplication Songs
Division Songs
Geometry Songs
Shapes Songs
Songs About Telling Time
Songs About Clocks
Place Value Songs
Measurement Songs
Days of the Week Songs
Calendar Songs

We plan on adding additional topics and themes soon, so stay tuned!
teaching math songs, math siop lessons, math poetry, songs about math, eld, math songs, multiplication math songs, kids math songs, elementary math songs, music math songs, songs and math, songs with math, download math songs