The first week of music class sets the tone for everything that follows. You’re reviewing expectations, setting up classroom routines while learning new names and faces. Additionally, you’re trying to form a meaningful connection with students and get them excited for what’s to come. It’s a tough balance, and it’s hard to get it right.
I always work to create activities that give me meaningful insight into who my students are as people. What matters to them? Which songs and artists do they connect with? Which genres of music help students feel seen?
Find a Song is one of my favorite back-to-school activities. It helps form important connections and first impressions, without a lot of fuss. No need to dig out instruments. No use of fancy technology. No extensive prep during one of the busiest weeks of the year! Students can easily jump into these song choice boards and respond to prompts. They do this by sharing the titles of songs that reflect their identity, emotions, or musical preferences. In other words, it’s the perfect activity to learn what their music means to them and why it matters so much.
The Relevance of Back to School Song Choice Boards
Most back-to-school activities focus on surface-level interactions. Students might complete a survey where they share their favorite snack, TV show, or their pet’s name. That kind of thing has its place, but these are really superficial ideas. Find a Song helps nurture meaningful connections and friendships among students. Students are selecting songs to respond to a prompt like:
- Find a song that tells a story
- Find a song that makes you feel brave
- Find a song that teaches a lesson
Instead of just revealing favorite colors or foods, students are sharing insights into their values. They’re offering songs that spark core memories and reflect their identity. You’ll hear about the kinds of songs that reflect their faith, family, culture, and values. Those choices become a window into the kinds of things students care about and how their music helps them feel seen.
I promise once your students realize that their voices matter, they will start showing up differently for music class. They’ll want to participate more. They begin to see your room as a safe place of inclusion and belonging.
SEL Through Song Choice Boards
You don’t need a complex separate lesson plan to support social-emotional learning in the music room. When the classroom culture is facilitated correctly, it just happens naturally.
Find a song invites students to reflect deeply, without putting anyone on the spot. Some students will explain why a specific song matters to them. Others will quietly let their choices speak for them. When a student selects a song tied to an emotion, memory, or experience, they’re sharing something personal. It’s the kind of activity that helps build a classroom community through critical thinking, reflection, and peer connection.
This kind of reflection also helps you respond more thoughtfully to students’ emotional needs. When you learn that a student connects with a song because it reminds them of someone they’ve lost—or a tradition they value—you’re gaining emotional insight in a way that builds real trust. Worksheets and name games don’t always offer that kind of trust or emotional insight into who your students are as people.
Encouraging Higher-Level Thinking with Find a Song
This activity also supports high-level musical thinking. Students aren’t just naming their favorite songs blindly. They’re thinking deeply to analyze lyrics, evaluate sounds, and interpret the deeper meaning behind the songs they love.
They begin to make emotional and musical connections to structure, genre, and message. This type of thinking comes in handy later when you explore new music that students haven’t previously heard.
In general, this activity aligns with the following National Core Arts Standards:
- MU:Re7.1.4–6a – Analyzing how music is expressive
- MU:Re7.2.4–6a – Interpreting meaning in music
- MU:Cn10.0.4–6a – Connecting music to personal or cultural experiences
These back-to-school song choice boards make a strong first impression because they communicate to students that their musical interests and preferences matter and have relevance. It also helps them stay more open-minded when you introduce new music in future lessons, because they’ve already experienced a moment where their own musical preferences were heard and valued.
Cross-Curricular Thinking with Song Choice Boards
While Find a Song stays grounded in music, it opens the door to natural connections with other content areas. It encourages students to discuss songs tied to family, values, heritage, or life lessons. And often, it becomes the type of learning and discussion you’d expect in a social studies or language arts class.
When students describe the meaning behind a song they chose, they’re using persuasive communication and personal narrative skills, which they also use when crafting essays or presentations in ELA. When they analyze lyrics, they’re evaluating their tone, mood, and figurative language. And when they listen to peer responses and share their own reflections, they’re developing real-world speaking and listening skills.
These moments are reached through authentic reflection. They give students a chance to practice literacy skills, communication, and critical thinking in ways that feel natural, connected, and relevant.
Find A Song is Easy to Use and Ready for Observations and Admin Walkthroughs
These song choice boards may seem simple, but they’re rich with student-centered learning.
Students are expressing personal connections through music. They’re sharing information about their musical identity, interpreting the meaning of songs, and building an open classroom community.
If an administrator stops by for a walkthrough or unannounced observation, they’ll instantly see students deeply engaged in culturally responsive, standards-based music learning. You’re demonstrating a lesson that connects to identity and builds classroom culture. It engages students in critical thinking and personal reflection—all on day one. In other words, you can’t go wrong with this one. It’s not busywork or fluff. It’s a meaningful back-to-school activity to show that your students’ voices and identities are valued—and that your music class connects music to real things that matter.
Try a FREE Version of Find A Song First!
You can try a sample version of this activity for free inside the Chamber of Freebies. The sample is called “Find a Song That Uses a Specific Instrument” and it works well as an ice breaker, back-to-school, or sub plan activity (even for non-music subs).
The full Find a Song resource available on TPT includes a broader range of prompts focused on emotion, storytelling, identity, and culture. You can use one per lesson or rotate by theme depending on your needs.
Final Thoughts on Back to School Song Choice Boards
The beginning of the school year is your chance to make a great first impression and show students what music class is really about. The find a song choice board activities set the tone for student-centered music learning from day one.
It’s easy to use, connects naturally to the National Core Arts Standards, and builds relationships that support your classroom all year long. These back to school song choice boards are more than just an icebreaker—they’re a powerful way to show students that their voices matter and that music is personal, emotional, and deeply human.
Try the free sample now or check out the full version on TPT to bring this meaningful back to school activity to your classroom today.
Looking for classroom management strategies that actually work? Check out my 5 Music Classroom Management Strategies next!