50+ Classroom Appropriate Songs and Music to Listen to During Writing Time
Music, Writing Time, and Finding Rhythm
What music can I play in my classroom?
I wanted to share these playlists because on Fridays, we would always do Friday Free Writing. Students love to listen to music, but sometimes it would also help if we collectively have music playing overhead. I have two playlists in this post: Music with Words and Background Music. I included as many lyrics videos as possible because I feel like the music that we play in our classrooms is directly related to our personal tastes and the standard of what we feel is “appropriate.” I know my personal tastes in music are represented in my playlists. I did enjoy putting these lists together because it almost felt like I was a teenager burning a CD again. I tried to balance genres, but I tend to be heavy in R&B, Hip-Hop, and Soul. We sometimes have a “one artist” day like Michael Jackson and John Legend. Kids love listening to both current and old hits.
Please make sure you preview music before sharing if you are unfamiliar with the artist, genre, or song. While I would play the music on these playlists, it does not mean everyone would consider them appropriate.
Read More >> Why Free-Writing is My Favorite Way to Help Kids Love Writing
CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW EACH LIST TO GO TO THE YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS!
Lo-Fi Fall Cozy Writing Music
Holiday Music/Fireplace
In case you are approaching winter break or it is a little colder in your area, I often will play a fireplace while working in the background in class. This transfers over to virtual teaching as well because I love to play music as students enter class on Google Meet for virtual learning or doing work time where they can ask for help. For holiday music, I will stick to no words. Not everyone celebrates Christmas or follows one particular religion; therefore, I try to keep the background music to instrumentals. If you are working from home, it is a great hygge idea to get comfortable and cozy as you work on next week’s lesson plans. It can be quite a motivational tool to have a fireplace (even a fake one) going in the background for worktime.
Background Scenes
Along the same theme as the fireplace, you can also choose to have different backgrounds playing depending on the book selection or class interest. My classes love underwater scenes or nature scenes. Here are a couple of videos to try:
Playlist for Music/Songs with Words
Adele - Hello
Adele- Rolling in the Deep
Adele - Someone Like You
Alicia Keys - Girl On Fire
Alicia Keys - No One (lyrics)
Aloe Blacc- The Man
Aloe Blacc - Wake Me Up
Andra Day- Rise Up
Beyoncé - "Bigger" (The Lion King: The Gift)
Beyoncé - BROWN SKIN GIRL (Lyrics) ft. SAINt JHN, WizKid, Blue Ivy Carter
Beyonce- Halo
Beyoncé - MOOD 4 EVA ft. Jay Z & Childish Gambino
The Black Eyed Peas - Where is the love Radio Edit.
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This
Chloe X Halle- The Kids Are Alright
Christina Aguilera-Beautiful
Coldplay- Clocks
Demi Lovato- Sorry Not Sorry (Clean Version)
DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You [Lyric Video]
Ed Sheeran, Khalid – Beautiful People (Lyrics)
Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (Super Clean Version)
Flo Rida - Good Feeling(Lyrics on screen)
Flo Rida-My House Super Clean Edit
India Arie - Video
India Arie- What If
John Legend- Preach
John Legend- Love Me Now
John Legend- You and I
John Legend- Ordinary People
Jonas Brothers - Cool (Clean - Lyrics)
Jordin Sparks Feat. Chris Brown - No Air Lyrics
Justin Timberlake-Can’t Stop the Feeling
Mark Ronson-Uptown Funk (Clean Audio)[feat. Bruno Mars]
Maroon 5 - Girls Like You (Clean - Lyrics) ft. Cardi B
Maroon 5-- Sugar *CLEAN EDIT*
Michael Jackson- Beat It
Michael Jackson- Man in the Mirror
Michael Jackson- You Rock My World
Michael Jackson- Thriller
Naughty Boy ft. Beyoncé, Arrow Benjamin - Runnin' (Lose It All)
OneRepublic - Counting Stars
Panic! At the Disco - High Hopes (Lyrics)
Pharrell Williams - Happy
Post Malone, Swae Lee - Sunflower (Lyrics) (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Rachel Platten-Fight Song
Rihanna - American Oxygen
Rihanna- Towards The Sun
Sam Smith- Too Good at Goodbyes
Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) -Lyrics
Taylor Swift - You Need To Calm Down (Clean - Lyrics)
AND MORE!
Playlist for Background Music/No Words
Bruno Mars 24K Instrumental Playlist
Joseph Jacobs ' Jazz · Instrumental · Hip Hop ' Best Of Mix [2016]
Chillhop Yearmix 2017 • jazz & lofi hiphop
Weekend Relaxation [Jazzhop / HipHop / Chillhop]
Chill Study Beats 2 • Instrumental & Jazz Hip Hop Music [2016]