Music Unlocks Doors to Math Learning

If you've ever taken piano lessons or played the air drums along with your favorite song, you know that making music requires counting. From learning to feel the beat to understanding tempo, it's all about numbers and timing—which most people associate with math, though perhaps not consciously.

Countless experts believe there's a strong connection between music and math, and this concept is nothing new. Ancient philosophers claimed that music was both a matter of artistic expression and a representation of math, and they defined the mathematical arts as geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and, yes, music!

In recent studies, Frances Rauscher, a University of Wisconsin psychologist, found that math test scores for preschool-age students rose for those who received instruction in piano, rhythm or singing. Students who studied rhythm had the biggest gains, learning to use ratios, proportions, and other math-related skills.¹

Educator Karin Nolan in Tucson, AZ, is relating math and music concepts directly. Her students compose rhythmic patterns to fit various time signatures, identify the sums of music note durations, and practice basic algebra skills by

identifying which type of note is needed to complete a measure. "This has been incredibly successful and works as well with fifth graders as it does with kindergarteners,"² says Nolan. "Students are enjoying the act of making music so much they do not realize that they are also practicing and applying math concepts."

The question then for most parents is not if music can help with math learning, but rather what exactly they can do at home to get started. Here are a few ideas.

For many kids, learning to play a musical instrument will be fun, help develop confidence, self-esteem, and discipline — as well as develop math skills. For younger kids, parents can involve their children in singing, clapping, marching and dancing to the beat. As parents know, most young children love to play and sing along!

Here is a cool site that suggests a good range of playful musical activities. Songs for Teaching is full of ideas and products for teaching through song — it's geared for teachers but parents can use it too! (Note that the site doesn't include the melodies but it offers CDs to play, teach, and sing along with.)

• The section on preschool fingerplays provides fun ways to build number skills (http://www.songsforteaching.com/fingerplays/index.htm), complete with song lyrics, teaching tips, and some have photos showing how to play. For example, Five Little Seashells teaches counting down from five. As you sing "Five little seashells lying on the shore" (you hold out five fingers). "Swish went the waves" (open your other hand and pass it over the five fingers) "and then there were four" (you hold out four fingers). The song continues until all your fingers are hidden!
• The site also includes a section on Number Chants and Counting Songs, with lyrics that teach early math skills like shapes, money and telling time, for preschool and kindergarteners (http://www.songsforteaching.com/numberscounting.htm). For example, with the Drawing Shapes song you draw big circles, squares and triangles in the air. And Sixty Seconds in One Minute is about things you can do in one minute, or one hour, one day, one week, etc.

Today, even when school budgets are being cut and funding for music programs is on the chopping block, parents can help their children grow up to benefit from and appreciate both math and music by making it a regular, fun activity at home.

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1. Chandler, Michael Alison (2008). Math and Music: Are They Connected? Washington Post.com http://voices.washingtonpost.com/x-equals-why/2008/11/math_and_music.html

2. Karin Nolan teaches music in Tucson, AZ, and teaches music foundation and education courses at the University of Arizona. She has written a book of ready-to-use lesson plans called Musi-matics! http://www.menc.org/v/general_music/math-music-enriched-learning

Math Learning Tips for Busy Parents

At DreamBox Learning, we know parents want to be involved with their children's learning. Parents can help develop math skills no matter what their child's age by talking about the math in the world around them! As a regular feature, we include simple games parents can play with their young children, even during everyday activities.

Making Pairs of Ten
Here's a two-player game for families with a child who is learning to add. Your child can cut 20 small squares of paper, or cut 10 index cards in half. Then mark each square with one digit, creating two sets of squares with the digits 0 through 9. With the squares face down, mix them up and put the pile between you. Player one picks up one square, turns it over and keeps it. Then player 2 takes a turn. Each time a player gets two numbers with a sum of 10, they remove the pair from their pile and they score a point. The game is over when all squares have been picked. The person with the most points wins that round.

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Try the Newest Version of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math

DreamBox is inviting new students to participate in the private beta program for DreamBox Learning K-2 Math. DreamBox Learning is solid math wrapped in fun web-based adventures that kids love, and there are over 100 lessons at each grade level!

If you're currently a DreamBox beta user you don't need to sign up again.

If you are interested in signing up your Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade child(ren) for this beta, please click here. You'll discover the many cool ways DreamBox Learning helps your child have some serious fun learning math! And they'll be learning the math that's vital to their future. For example:

• An initial placement lesson and ongoing assessment ensure that your child starts at the optimum point in the curriculum, and continually gets the right lessons at the right time.
• All aspects of the experience are adapted for each child—including the lessons, hints and instructional feedback, the pace, sequence, and much more—to help your child to feel engaged, motivated, and successful.
• All of the lessons cover the key concepts from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics-recommended curriculum for each grade level.
• And, parents get progress report emails, tips for fun home activities, and an online "Dashboard".

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Want to learn more about DreamBox Learning's point of view? Read our blog!

Read about CEO Lou Gray's view of the eLearning industry in "Edu-tainment as You Know It Is Dead'. Or if you're the parent of a DreamBox beta tester, learn why "A Little Help Can Go a Wrong Way." http://www.dreambox.com/blog/.