How to MMM

With thousands of teachers doing a version of March Music Madness in their classrooms, with different age groups, different proficiency levels, different school settings, and different school schedules, no two experiences are bound to be alike!

We asked teachers to share how MMM looks in their classroom and these were their answers:

• Preview songs weeks beforehand, allowing students to rate and discuss them
• Students fill out prediction brackets before the tournament starts
• Quick poll by show of hands for choosing favorite song and/or use Google Forms for quick results and comparisons with national polls
• Play each song while students describe artists in TL
• Use as a bell ringer activity
• Learn about each artist, their country, and music style
• Listen to songs, vote as a class, and compare with national results
• Audio-only listening in the first round, possibly deeper activities in later rounds like lyric study, artist bios, etc.
• Use of Spotify playlist for students to listen to songs outside of class
• Incorporate vocabulary related to opinions, preferences, and song lyrics
• Provide chat mats with vocab to facilitate discussion in Spanish
• Activities include reading about authors, locating countries on a map, discussing styles, analyzing lyrics, etc.
• Project-based activities for favorite songs, such as creating album covers or writing English versions of songs
• Engage students by discussing song titles, main ideas, and lyrics in Spanish and English
• Integrate grammar and vocabulary activities using song lyrics
  
  
  

• The following text based on output from AI (and then edited) after inputting multiple teacher responses:
• Pre-Tournament Previews: Start the excitement early by previewing songs weeks before the tournament begins. Allow students to rate and discuss the songs, building anticipation for the upcoming matchups.
  One teacher says she “gives students the link to the spotify playlist a few weeks beforehand and let[s] them fill out a prediction bracket to turn in before the first vote just like a march madness bracket (they can put personal time into this outside of class making well-informed decisions or just fill it out randomly if they want).”
• Prediction Brackets: Encourage students to make their predictions before the tournament starts. This not only gets them engaged but also allows for discussions on artists, music styles, and personal preferences, when the national polls open. Many teachers reward participation of those making predictions and award prizes to students who earn the most points that match the winners.
• Interactive Voting: Many teachers have students listen to the song in class and then vote by either a google form or by raising their hand to determine a class victor. Others rely on the national poll by sending the link to students to cast their vote against students across the national. Many do both and can discuss the differences in voting among their classroom and the nation.
• Cultural Exploration: Take the opportunity to explore the cultural backgrounds of the artists and their music styles. This adds depth to the learning experience and broadens students’ cultural awareness.
• Gradual Depth of Activities: Some teachers spent a few minutes on MMM at the beginning of class, during when they typically might do a bell-ringer. Other teachers say they spent around 15 minutes of time listening to the songs and discussing various components in Spanish. Meanwhile others say the spend the majority of class exlcusively during MMM activities during the the first round. And others progressively increase the depth of activities as the tournament progresses by starting with simple listening activities and gradually incorporating lyric analysis, artist bios, and more.
• Project-Based Learning: Engage students in project-based activities related to their favorite songs. This could include creating album covers, writing English versions of songs, or analyzing music videos.
• Incorporate Language Skills: Integrate language skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening into the activities. Use song lyrics for grammar and vocabulary practice, and provide opportunities for discussion in the target language. For novices, one teacher uses classes to get repetitions of high-frequency vocab, like “is from” “likes” “better/worse,” “won,” “fast/slow,” “is called,” and “has/wants” while others mention having students discuss their opinions and stating if they agree with their classmates or not.
  
• Apply Concepts Naturally: Avoid overly drill and practice driven approaches by applying concepts naturally through activities. Let the songs and discussions lead to opportunities for language and cultural learning. If you have studied a particular grammar concept, that language structure is likely to be find in the song lyrics.

March Music Madness isn’t just about the music—it’s about creating memorable learning experiences for students. By incorporating these creative ideas into your classroom, you can turn this musical tournament into a fun and educational journey for your students.