Music Streaming Services in Education: Transforming the Teaching of History and Literature

As we navigate through the evolution of educational tools, music streaming services in education have carved out a significant niche, especially in the realms of history and literature education. Teachers can leverage the vast collections of music, poetry, and speeches on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. This makes historical events and literary texts come alive, providing students with an engaging and immersive learning experience.

Music as a Historical Lens

Music streaming services offer educators an expansive library of music from various historical periods, serving as powerful tools in education. These platforms enable teachers to enrich their lessons with the sounds and songs of the past, providing students with a deeper understanding of historical contexts. Music from specific eras, linked directly to the curriculum, transforms into an auditory journey through history, making abstract concepts and distant events feel immediate and real.

In episode 3 in Season 3 of the Teaching Hard History podcast, host Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Dr. Charles L. Hughes discuss the music of the movement and how it was not just a soundtrack for the period but was part of the movement itself. Music can provide context, but it can also convey messages that are hard to articulate. Classics like “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke become more than just music; they are entry points into the lived experiences of the time.

Bringing Voices from the Past into Present Classrooms

Music streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify offer educators an expansive library of music from various historical periods, serving as powerful tools in education. These platforms enable teachers to enrich their lessons with the sounds and songs of the past, providing students with a deeper understanding of historical contexts. Music from specific eras, linked directly to the curriculum, transforms into an auditory journey through history, making abstract concepts and distant events feel immediate and real.

There is a treasure trove of speeches on these platforms. You can easily find Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Order of the Day for June 6, 1944, and many speeches by MLK and Malcolm X. Additionally, I often give my students copies of the speeches to read and annotate while listening. Reading a speech is beneficial, but it was not solely intended for reading. Indeed, the delivery informs us just as much as the words themselves.

Furthermore, this is especially true when covering poetry. Listening to a poet read their own work reveals the work in ways that reading of the page can never accomplish. Langston Hughes emphasizes words for a reason. Sterling A. Brown uses breathes that can’t be replicated in a class reading.

Dramatizations: A Gateway to Literary Mastery

In addition, Apple Music and Spotify’s educational utility also extends to their collections of dramatized literary works. Audio dramatizations make literature, including Shakespeare, more accessible and engaging. Educators can use this innovative method to teach classics, fostering deeper student appreciation.

Effective Strategies for Integrating Music Streaming Services in Education

• Curating Educational Playlists: Leveraging Apple Music and Spotify to create thematic playlists tailored to specific lessons can streamline the integration of music into the curriculum.
• Utilizing Audio for Engagement: Incorporating historical speeches, poetry, and music into classroom discussions or assignments can enrich the learning experience, making it more interactive and impactful.
• Encouraging Independent Exploration: Assigning projects that require students to explore these platforms on their own encourages self-directed learning and promotes critical thinking skills. However, you do need to find alternatives like YouTube because you can’t expect kids and their families to pay for a service, so you can do a lesson plan.

Music streaming services have revitalized history and literature education. They offer tools that make learning interactive and engaging. As digital tools reshape education, using them wisely deepens and broadens our understanding of the world.