Learn a Song and Cantando en Grupo!

Música is a concert performance that includes a collection of songs highlighting Sonia De Los Santos’s Mexican heritage, her family’s journey to New York City and learning about other cultures. Most of the songs in the show are sung in Spanish.

Ask your students if they know any songs in Spanish, and choose one that you can all learn as a class! Note: You can also use one of the many websites that have free online access, such as www.rockalingua.com (content intended to teach Spanish to children) to help you find a song and translate it. Let any Spanish-speaking students in your class be the experts in teaching the lyrics, their meaning and the tune.

After you’ve taken time to translate the song to English, ask your students if there’s any other language(s) spoken in your classroom. If there are, let your students be the leaders in translating the song to the language of their choice or choose a totally new language to learn altogether as a class.

Practice singing your song in Spanish or your class’s chosen language everyday. This could be as a ritual warm up or a transition that lets your students familiarize themselves with the words and melody.

As your class gets more confident with the tune, you can even add basic movements that connect to the lyrics or add simple background instruments.

Finally, have a multilingual sing along or performance for another class. Now everybody can sing in another language!

To support this unit, use the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (¡Cabeza, Hombros, Rodillas y Pies!) Activity.