Songs of the Week Toolkit
Music as an instructional tool
A simple weekly routine using music to help groups settle in, connect, and reflect - plus discussion prompts for meaningful conversation.
Instructor Notes (Click to Open/Close) -
Teaching purpose and structure.
In this class, music is an instructional tool, not background or entertainment. Each week, the song models a classroom decision teachers make: how to open a lesson, reset attention, regulate emotion, or build community.
We start the song about 10 minutes into class, once everyone has arrived. This mirrors a real classroom transition from arrival mode into learning mode.
We are not here to critique the song. We are here to notice what it does to the room.
Week 1 - Belonging and Classroom Entry
Song: Happy Birthday
Stevie Wonder (1981)
Focus:
Course orientation, classroom culture, community formation
What to notice:
- How the room feels once everyone shares a moment
- How belonging can be established before instruction begins
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
Pathway-friendly (not assuming you will become a teacher).
- What made this space feel more (or less) welcoming?
- How did the opening moment affect your willingness to participate?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
More credential / pedagogy-focused.
Focus:
Course orientation, classroom culture, community formation
Guiding questions:
- What changed in the room once the music started?
- Did this feel more or less like a classroom? Why?
Teaching takeaway:
Teachers design entry experiences. Belonging comes before learning.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s actual birthday: January 15, 1929
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (federal holiday): Observed on the third Monday of January each year (usually between January 15–21). In some years, that Monday lands on January 20. When you see January 20, it’s referring to MLK Day, not his birth date.
Week 2 - Voice, Purpose, and Advocacy
Song: This Little Light of Mine
Odetta (1963)
Focus:
Why teaching, voice, visibility, advocacy
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
Voice + visibility (beyond any one career).
- When do people feel most comfortable speaking in groups?
- What helps someone feel safe enough to share their ideas?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- Whose voices are usually loudest in schools?
- Whose voices are easiest to overlook?
Teaching takeaway:
Teachers manage visibility as much as they manage content.
Week 3 - Systems and Collective Responsibility
Song: When the Saints Go Marching
Louis Armstrong (1959 recording)
Focus:
Benefits, retirement, professional systems
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- What happens when people in a group move at different speeds?
- How do systems help — or limit — individuals?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- What happens when someone moves faster than the group?
- What happens when someone falls behind?
Teaching takeaway:
Teaching is collective labor. Systems shape experience.
Week 4 - Growth, Accountability, and Confidence
Song: Amazing Grace
Mahalia Jackson (1958)
Focus:
Emotional intelligence, Pedagogy of Confidence, classroom growth
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- How should mistakes be handled in learning spaces?
- What helps people grow without fear?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- Can someone change and still be accountable?
- How should classrooms handle mistakes — punishment or learning?
Teaching takeaway:
Confidence comes from learning, not perfection.
Week 5 - Special Education and Human Complexity
Song: Malaguena Salerosa
Chavela Vargas (1960s recordings)
Focus:
IEPs, 504s, emotional expression, and how behavior gets misread
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- How is emotion sometimes misunderstood as “behavior”?
- What gets lost when a system prioritizes compliance over understanding?
CAL 3070 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- How might emotion be mislabeled as behavior?
- What gets lost when we only reward calmness?
Teaching takeaway:
Special education begins with listening, not labeling.
Week 6 - Collaboration and Lesson Design
Song: You've got a friend in me
Randy Newman / Toy Story era (commonly used classroom version)
Focus:
Lesson planning, collaboration, and the support systems teachers rely on
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- Who supports people behind the scenes when work gets hard?
- What happens when someone has to do everything alone?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- Who supports teachers behind the scenes?
- What happens when teachers feel isolated?
Teaching takeaway:
Instruction fails without relational trust.
Week 7 - Differentiation and Perspective
Song: House of the rising sun
The Animals (1964)
Focus:
Differentiation, student-centered learning, and honoring multiple paths
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- Why do systems often reward only one “right” way to learn or succeed?
- How does perspective change what success looks like?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- Whose version of learning usually gets rewarded?
- How do we design for more than one path?
Teaching takeaway:
Differentiation begins with perspective, not strategy.
Week 8 - Cultural Humility
Song: Li Beirut
Fairuz (1987)
Focus:
Cultural respect, multilingual classrooms, and listening with humility
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- What does respectful listening look like across differences?
- When does learning about culture turn into “performance”?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- What does respectful listening look like?
- How do teachers avoid turning culture into a performance?
Teaching takeaway:
Listening is an instructional skill.
Week 9 - Narrative and Meaning
Song: La Vie en Rose
Edith Piaf (1947)
Focus:
Reframing struggle, resilience, and how meaning shapes motivation
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- How do stories (about ourselves or others) shape motivation?
- How can reframing change effort without ignoring reality?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- What stories do schools tell about success?
- How can reframing support learning without denying reality?
Teaching takeaway:
Narrative shapes motivation.
Week 10 - Community and Relevance
Song: Dynamite
BTS (2020)
Focus:
Community schools, engagement, and meeting students where they are
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- What happens when people feel “seen” in a group?
- Why does relevance matter for engagement?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- What happens when students feel seen?
- Why is youth culture often resisted in school spaces?
Teaching takeaway:
Cultural relevance lowers barriers to learning.
Week 11 - Regulation and Silence
Song: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Ryuichi Sakamoto (1983)
Focus:
Emotional regulation, safety, and how quiet can support or exclude
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- When is silence supportive?
- When might silence exclude people?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- Who benefits from quiet classrooms?
- Who might struggle in them — and why?
Teaching takeaway:
Silence can be supportive or exclusionary depending on design.
Week 12 - Joy and Energy Management
Song: Stomp
Kirk Franklin (1997)
Focus:
Classroom energy, engagement, and joy as a regulation strategy
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- How does movement affect attention?
- Why is joy sometimes discouraged in “serious” spaces?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- How does movement change attention?
- Why is joy sometimes treated as “unprofessional” in schools?
Teaching takeaway:
Joy is a regulation strategy, not a distraction.
Week 13 - Reflection and Closure
Song: What a wonderful world
Louis Armstrong (1967)
Focus:
Reflection, memory, and the emotional tone students carry forward
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- What emotional tone do you carry away from meaningful experiences?
- What do people remember most — and why?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- What emotional tone do you want to leave behind as a teacher?
- What will students remember most from your class — and why?
Teaching takeaway:
Teachers shape memory through tone and presence.
Week 14 - Identity and Responsibility
Song: Man in the Mirror
Michael Jackson (1988)
Focus:
Teaching identity, ethics, and the responsibility of influence
CAL 2970 — Discussion Prompts (Click to Open)
- What kind of presence do you want to have in shared spaces?
- What habits would support that?
CAL 3970 Advanced — Teacher Pedagogy Prompts (Click to Open)
- What kind of teacher do you want to be remembered as?
- What do you need to practice now to become that person?
Teaching takeaway:
Teaching is moral and reflective work.
Final Note: This ritual is not about music expertise. It is about learning how teachers use culture intentionally to guide attention, support belonging, and align tone with purpose.