Student leadership skills are a magical thing. When an elementary music class is built on the foundation of supportive teaching and student involvement, it transforms your music classroom into a place where students feel empowered, valued, and excited to learn. Leadership roles encourage students to take ownership of their musical growth, collaborate with others, and develop life skills that extend far beyond elementary music class. Let’s examine how student leadership skills can make a difference in your music room.
Why Student Leadership Skills Make A Difference
“Remember the cut-off on beat four, Suzanne.”
I remember being fairly young when I heard this reminder from a student who was only a few years older than I was. She had come to visit our school and lead sectionals with the flute section. It stood out to me because while I’m sure I had heard similar or identical feedback from my band directors, it felt different coming from a student. I didn’t want to let them down. After all, we were on the same team. In that moment I realized how powerful peer leadership can be. When students step into leadership roles, their voices carry a unique weight. Student leaders inspire their classmates to listen, learn, and rise to musical challenges. This unique influence is especially impactful in an elementary music class, where fostering a sense of teamwork and shared responsibility sets the tone for a positive and productive learning environment.
Student leadership skills also create a ripple effect in the music classroom. When you allow space for student leadership skills to blossom, you create an environment where students are capable of trying, learning, and growing together. Let’s explore how you can identify potential leaders in your elementary music class.
Finding Leaders in Elementary Music Class
What characteristics come to mind when you think of great leaders? Some that stand out to me include:
- Positive Attitude
- Work Ethic
- Honesty
- Optimism
- Empathy
- Kindness
- Self-Awareness
- Flexibility
- Passion
- Resilience
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Taking Initiative
- The Willingness To Take Risks
In my experience, it’s rare to find a student who naturally embodies all of these traits. However, when students demonstrate three or more of these characteristics, they are often well-suited to become capable student leaders.
One thing I’ve noticed is that some of the best student leaders aren’t always the ones who are initially drawn to music. In fact, many of the student leadership candidates I’ve identified come from unexpected backgrounds, for example, they may be passionate about sports.
The most rewarding part of identifying these students is when you see how their involvement in leadership nurtures their character and, over time, fosters a genuine enjoyment of music. Your student leaders may also show their potential through undesirable classroom behaviors such as:
- Clowning Around
- Bossing Others Around
- Openly Challenging Rules and Expectations
- Attempting to Dominate Others
While these behaviors may initially seem disruptive, they often stem from underlying strengths. For example, a student who “clowns around” often has a natural ability to connect with their peers and create a sense of community. Similarly, a “bossy” student demonstrates confidence and decisiveness, which is a valuable leadership trait when channeled appropriately. When music teachers recognize and nurture the positive aspects of these behaviors, they can help students refine their leadership skills and become responsible and empathetic leaders.
Building Leaders from Behavior Challenges in Music Class
I want you to put yourself in your students’ shoes for just a second. I’m sure you can remember the class clowns, rule challengers, or know-it-alls that likely pushed the buttons of many of your teachers growing up. It’s possible you were one of these students yourself! Now I want you to think about the types of teachers that earned those students’ respect. Here’s an example scenario that actually happened in my classroom…
At the time I was teaching my third graders to read the line notes of the treble staff (E-G-B-D-F), and I had just finished introducing mnemonic phrases to help them remember, such as “Every Good Boy Does Fine” and “Elephants Get Big Dirty Feet.” I challenged my students to create their own mnemonic devices using the letters E-G-B-D-F. As my class was making connections, one of my students—let’s call him Billy—raised his hand with a mischievous grin. Before I could call on him, he loudly called out, “What about ‘Every Good Butt Does Fart’?” As the class erupted into laughter, I had a choice to make.
In my frustration, I could have let Billy have it. “Billy,” I would say, “that’s not appropriate. Please speak with me after class.”
While it was tempting, I took a breath and tried a different approach, “I’m glad you made that connection. I’m sure no one will forget these letters now! That being said, let’s remember to use our manners and wait to be called on.” Later after class, I asked Billy’s classroom teacher if I could speak with him a bit longer.
“You have some really creative thoughts.” I began. As I looked at Billy, he looked braced for a lecture. He probably heard this a lot. “It would be great,” I continued, “if we could use that talent to help everyone else.”
Billy didn’t say anything but I could tell he was interested. “Next week, we’re going to play a game of BINGO to practice the notes we learned today. I’d love it if you could be my helper. I think the game will be really fun for the class with you leading the way.”
Billy seemed to perk up, excited to be offered a job. “Okay!” he said.
“I need you to promise me something though,” I said firmly.
“I want you to work on finding appropriate moments for your humor during music class. Music is a lot more fun when we can laugh and enjoy it together but we need to make sure that’s not distracting us from the big learning moments. Do you know what I mean by that?”
Billy nodded. He understood. Just like that, Billy was transformed from a disruptive class clown to a student who was invested in making music class fun. Over time, I continued to find opportunities for Billy to help in class and it was like he transformed. At the end of the year, I was shocked when he told me that music was now his favorite class. Through me giving Billy a chance, Billy was willing to give my class a chance too. I’m so glad that I decided to nurture his potential instead of embarrassing him. He became one of my best students!
How This Approach Helped Build Student Leadership Skills
When you make the choice to guide these moments with empathy and compassion, students in your elementary music class learn that their thoughts are valuable. It also reinforces the idea that there’s a place for them in the music room, even if they’re not fully convinced of it yet! Ultimately, students will become their best selves when they’re encouraged and empowered by a teacher willing to look past their misbehaviors and see something special and full of potential.
In an elementary music class, fostering student leadership skills often starts with recognizing the strengths hidden within challenging behaviors. Giving students opportunities to lead, such as helping with a game, or demonstrating a rhythm pattern, teaches them how to channel their energy into something meaningful. These moments empower students to take ownership of their learning, connect with their peers, and build confidence in their abilities.
Finding Your Student Leaders in Elementary Music
Sometimes you may not yet know who your student leaders are, and that’s okay! Here are some questions to ask yourself when on the lookout for student leaders:
- Who is positive and uplifting of others week after week?
- Who is willing to lend a helping hand before you even ask?
- Who is a good listener?
- Who takes responsibility for their mistakes?
- Who has a strong work ethic? (This doesn’t necessarily need to be in music)
- Who contributes and encourages others during group projects?
- Who is consistently praised by the sub when you’re absent?
Once you start asking yourself these questions, you’ll likely notice leadership potential in students you hadn’t considered before. These leaders may not necessarily be the best musicians, but it’s their actions and attitudes that will lead to success in the long run.
Strategies for Nurturing Student Leadership Skills in Elementary Music
Energizers are really fun and simple activities to get students cooperating and working together. Here’s one of my favorites for grades 5 and 6!
Once you’ve identified your potential student leaders, the next step is to help them grow into their roles. Leadership skills don’t develop overnight, but with your guidance, students can thrive. Here are some strategies to nurture student leadership skills:
- Establish high standards and expectations
- Start with smaller leadership tasks like demonstrating a rhythm or distributing/collection classroom instruments
- Acknowledge student leaders with verbal praise, positive notes or a “Musician of the Month” award!
- Provide ongoing leadership roles in the form of classroom jobs—I like to rotate music classroom jobs every marking period!
- Encourage your student leaders to lead by example
- Incorporate teamwork-building activities into music class. I love using the energizers by Responsive Classroom for this!
- Model and discuss the traits of good leaders during class
- Create opportunities for students to practice problem-solving skills
- Provide feedback and support
- Encourage discussion and reflection on growth
How this looks in Kindergarten Music
It was a small gesture. “You can be line leader today because today is your special day.”
It was the end of music class and my kindergartners were lining up by their door waiting for pick-up by their classroom teacher. Eli (who was the designated “line leader”) had just offered his place in line to his friend Noah who was wearing an oversized, paper birthday crown. We all know how attached kindergarteners can be to their jobs. This student had just allowed his friend Noah to take his place in line purely to make him happy on his birthday.
“Thank you so much Eli for teaching all of us about how to be kind to others. You’re setting a great example.”
This is a simple example of acknowledging student leaders with verbal praise and providing feedback, and it’s based on a true event from my classroom years ago!
How this looks in Third Grade Music
Maverick was not like the other third graders. He was known for being prone to distraction with frequent outbursts in class. He also struggled to sit still due to ongoing challenges with ADHD. Today was a particularly tough day because Maverick’s mom forgot to give him his medication before school. As I was trying to teach, Maverick was slamming his hands into his chair over and over. Bang. Bang. Bang. There was no way he was going to stop today.
“Here Maverick.” I handed him a frame drum. “I really need someone to help us keep a steady beat in this next song. Can I count on you to do that?”
Believe it or not, this solution worked incredibly well for this class. The class was more or less aware that Maverick had unique needs and were incredibly understanding and compassionate towards him, and he loved banging on that drum! I think this particular story is a good example of how to start with smaller leadership tasks. I believe it worked well in Maverick’s case because I gave him an outlet to redirect his energy, and I also provided him with a role that gave him a way to contribute to the class in a meaningful way. On a deeper level, I think it also reinforced the idea that anyone and everyone can contribute or be a leader if we, as teachers, provide that opportunity.
How this looks in Sixth Grade Music
In this story I was traveling classroom to classroom with my music cart. One of my sixth grade students saw me approaching their classrooms and jumped out of her seat to hold the door for me. She didn’t want to see me struggle with the cart to get the door open. This kind gesture is a great example of a student leading by example. She noticed me struggling and decided to solve a problem without being asked. The next week, I asked the same student if she wanted to continue helping me during music class.
“Why does she always get to help?” demanded another student after a few weeks of this.
“She takes initiative.” I responded, “You all have the ability to take initiative and help those around you. You just have to look for someone who needs it.”
Pretty soon some funny things started happening with this group. Students started begging to help pass out music folders and hurrying to help pick the clutter off the floor when they saw me approaching their classroom with my music cart. I liked this change I saw in the students because it showed a shift in their mindset. Instead of waiting to be told what to do, they began actively looking for ways to be helpful during music. I was a lot less stressed as a result of that change. The students were looking for opportunities to help each other, too. They started collaborating in practice groups and helping each other practice and master the lesson material. This would go on to be the collaborative environment I strived to create for my sixth-grade music classes year after year.
Ideas for Classroom Jobs in Elementary Music Class
Creating classroom jobs is a great way to motivate students to contribute. Jobs give students a sense of pride and ownership. Offering a variety of jobs allows more students to take part and develop student leadership skills in the process. Here are some ideas for jobs that can work well in elementary music class and/or chorus:
- Attendance Song Leader
- Hello Song Leader
- Music Folder Distributors and Collectors
- Instrument Distributors and Collectors
- Class Messenger
- Line Leader
- Caboose
- Music Librarian/s
- Clean-Up Crew
- Sound Manager (student presses the play button on the stereo)
- Lights Manager (student turns lights on/off)
- Goodbye Song Leader
To include more students, you can double certain jobs and rotate roles regularly. The relevance of each job may vary by grade level. For instance, kindergarteners LOVE being the line leader and caboose, but older students aren’t as excited by it. Similarly, a mature sixth grader can easily manage being the class messenger, whereas a kindergartener might need a buddy. You know your students best, and it’s important to choose jobs that align with the needs of your classroom and students.
The Importance of Resilience When Building Student Leadership Skills
While student leadership can have a tremendous impact on your elementary music classroom, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t always go perfectly. Your students won’t always make the right choices when they’re working on their leadership skills, and mistakes can and will happen. Here are some common mistakes that I’ve seen happen:
- Being too bossy or aggressive
- Poor listening to others
- Excluding others
- Struggling to read social cues from peers
- Expressing frustration when something doesn’t go perfectly
- Not understanding how to effectively motivate others
In these situations, it’s our duty to provide our students with kind but constructive feedback. If your students respond in frustration, you can explain that all leaders make mistakes, even great ones like Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, and JK Rowling! Everyone has moments of error, we are all human after all! It’s okay to admit when a mistake happens. It demonstrates two other valuable student leadership skills: honesty and resilience.
Why Student Leadership Skills Matter in Elementary Music Class
One of the many reasons why music is a magical subject is because it has the potential to reach students who need a safe place of belonging at school. I believe every student has potential that can be revealed through opportunities to lead and contribute in meaningful ways. When you focus on developing student leadership skills, your elementary music class becomes a space where students feel seen, valued, and empowered. This sense of belonging helps students grow in confidence and take pride in their contributions.
If you’d like access to free resources that can save you time and support your teaching, consider joining the Chamber of Freebies! It’s a growing collection of free music education materials created to help elementary music teachers like you. You’ll find practical tools to engage your students and make your classroom even more magical.
*DISCLAIMER: The names of students mentioned in the stories of this blog posts have been changed and the stories may have been modified in order to protect the privacy of the children in them. These changes are intended to preserve confidentiality while maintaining the educational value of this blog post.