This is the day the LORD has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)
What if we led our classrooms with the same joy expressed in this passage, cultivating a sense of anticipation for how we will see the Lord in our subjects? For Christian educators, the curriculum isn’t just a set of standards to meet – it is a window into the character and the work of the Creator.
In this post, we explore how music teachers have transformed their classrooms into spaces of biblical discovery. These teachers have created opportunities to reveal biblical truth in their existing curriculum. From singing techniques to complex compositions, discover a strategic, step-by-step approach to moving beyond simple lessons and toward a deeper, Christ-centered understanding of music.
Music Curriculum as a Window Into God’s Character and Creativity
Early in the year, an elementary school music teacher decided that she wanted her students to see how God’s creative work and character can be experienced through music. She began with her curriculum standard requiring students to sing using head voice and appropriate posture and move to music of various styles, composers, and cultures with accurate pitch, rhythm, and expressive qualities. As she prayed, thought about, and researched biblical principles revealed in that standard, she discovered three biblical truths. First, music requires skills given by the Lord. Secondly, these skills are to be used to praise Him and bring Him glory. She also noticed that songs in the Bible, particularly the Psalms, are songs that tell of God’s work and character. Now she had a set of biblical truths that she could help her students also discover as she taught her curriculum units on singing skills. She decided that asking students why we should sing would guide them to the biblical answers through scripture analysis.
Using Essential Questions to Guide Scripture-Based Learning in Music
For her opening curriculum unit of the year, she wanted her students to understand that there is a biblical reason why they learn to sing well in music class. She wanted her students to understand that we sing to praise the Lord with the gift of music and to make him known by telling of his works. How would she structure the learning opportunities so that students could take to heart the importance of God’s relationship to music?
Since this teacher only meets with her students twice a week for 40 minutes, she would have to spread out her curriculum and opportunities to reveal biblical truth over several weeks. For the first several weeks, she focused on the necessary skills to sing well. After students demonstrated the ability to do so, she provided learning opportunities focused on biblical thinking.
A Step-by-Step Model for Biblical Discovery in Music Class
Here are her unit plan procedures to unfold over three weeks while also learning and practicing the musical selections planned for their early winter play performance.
- Review what makes good singing by turning to a neighbor and telling them.
- Ask students the Essential Question (the big question): “Why should we sing?
- Take some student answers. Some may say we sing for God. Accept that response, and add that we need to be sure that is true by looking at the Bible.
- Analyze Psalm 105:2 “Sing to Him, sing praise to Him, tell of His wonderful acts”. As a class, go through the scripture by saying it, and doing motions to it. Student pairs share what the scripture means, then tell how the scripture answers the big question.
- Then, as a class, analyze Psalm 89:1 “I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations”. Read it together. Break into groups of 3-4 so students can analyze the scripture together to come up with their own motions for it and discuss how it answers the big question. Students write down answers and then share them with the class. The desired answer is for students to explain that we sing to praise the Lord and make him known.
- Sing our play songs and tell what the song might be saying about God. Students fill out exit tickets telling their answer to the big question of why we should sing.
Strategic Planning for Biblical Integration in Music
Notice the steps this teacher took to create her unit plan. She first used her assigned curriculum, rather than creating a lesson that was disconnected from her curricular scope and sequence. Next, she prayed about and researched biblical principles related to her curriculum standard. Then from the list of discovered biblical truths, she chose only one to focus on at this time. Also notice that the biblical focus did not occur during every lesson she taught. Instead, the biblical focus was strategically planned to take place after students understood the content.
Practical Classroom Examples
Other music teachers K-12, after using the same steps to discover for themselves the biblical principles revealed from their music curriculum, have planned learning opportunities with the following biblical truths and corresponding essential questions.
Example 1: Performing Music for an Audience of One
While preparing for a vocal concert, one music teacher wanted the students to understand that no matter what we do, we should be performing for an audience of one, our Lord, Jesus. Therefore, we should do our best when performing. We bring glory to God as we use our gifts in the area of music. The teacher thought an essential question that fostered the appropriate examination of scripture and revelation of biblical truth is, “Does it matter if we do our best?”
Example 2: Understanding the Relationship Between Performance and Worship
One music teacher discovered that performance and worship have a close relationship if biblical principles are applied. She wanted her students to understand that performance can be an act of worship if we are focusing on God during our performance and giving glory to him as we apply our skills and effort. She had her students examine Col.3:17, 1 Cor.10:31, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 34:1, Psalm 29:2, Rom. 11:36 over several days. Students used the principles gleaned for the scriptures to formulate their response to the essential question, “Can we worship and perform at the same time? Why or why not?“
Example 3: Evaluating Messages Communicated through Musical Compositions
A band teacher planned learning opportunities for his students to consider the messages that are communicated in musical compositions. Here is the question he posed to his students. Why is it important that we carefully consider the messages communicated in music? Based on his research and scripture analysis, he would have his students analyze Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 3:17, and Matthew 5:16 to guide them to discover the following biblical truths. We must consider whether the message is edifying. We have to consider whether the message aligns with a biblical response. We must consider whether the message can be used to teach about and glorify God.
Example 4: Stewardship of Musical Gifts and God-Given Talents
Another band example addressed the idea that each student has a different level of giftedness with music, yet each individual is responsible to use and invest in the talent given by God. The investment is important so that God can be glorified and honored for the talent provided. The essential question that was used to guide students’ discovery of the answer through scripture analysis was: What responsibility do we have with the talents we are given?
With the music curricular examples presented above, notice the common features of each unit. The teacher predetermined a set of biblical truths for students to discover by way of scripture analysis. An essential question was developed and presented to the students in order to focus their thinking as they formulate a response revealing God’s relationship to music.
Fulfilling the Call to Make God Known Through Music Education
These examples from music educators across K-12 demonstrate that when we approach education with joy and anticipation for seeing the Lord in our work, we not only meet academic standards but also fulfill our calling to make His wonderful acts known. How will you begin transforming a unit in your own classroom this week?
Transformed PD’s Biblical Integration Series
The mission of Transformed PD is to nurture the thinking and expertise of Christian school educators through relational teaching. We offer professional development services grounded in the Bible and train educators in best practices for biblical integration in the classroom. Be sure to visit our other posts in this series on biblical integration within each subject: Biblical Integration in Language Arts, Biblical Integration in Math, Biblical Integration in Social Studies, and Biblical Integration in Science. Many educators also find our post, Transformed PD’s Guide to Biblical Integration, very helpful.
