How long has it been since you have had a fellow teacher approach you with the following: "Do you have a song to teach the concept of___?" This request comes no doubt the day before or perhaps the day of the introduction of the concept. Or perhaps you have been requested to help assist the faculty with teaching a particular skill? In these situations, I would try to supply teachers and students with some type of jingle or simple song, regretfully knowing that any musical content contained in the song was being watered down to serve the other content area. Yes, the students were engaged in music but were they actually engaged in music learning? What occurred during those lessons was not music integration, but rather music enhancement. In these cases, music was being used as the vehicle for learning, but not addressed as one of the subjects to be learned. Similar situations plague music teachers around the country. In some instances, music teachers have become disenchanted with the idea of collaborating with general education teachers regarding music integration.

Background
To help improve music integration at my school, I surveyed the K-6 classroom teachers in a pilot study. This population of teachers is unique in that most of them (86%) have participated in formal arts integration training. Among the twelve questions asked, one dealt directly with the issue of music enhancement versus music integration. Even among these teachers, the large majority (79%) admitted to merely enhancing their lessons with music instead of the full integration of the two content areas. There was an apparent disconnect between knowing about music integration and being able to authentically integrate music. This schism in understanding was the basis for the development of a truly usable music integration guide, in which music integration in theory becomes music integration in practice.

By definition, music integration is the learning of a music standard at the same time as a general education standard. In the state of Tennessee, integration has proven to yield up to 20% gains in math, English, and social studies, according to a recent study by the Tennessee Arts Commission (Leavitt and Brown, 2010). To be genuine integration, however, a few fundamental elements need to be in place: 1) recognition among all teachers involved that the subjects areas are "co-equal;" 2) collaborative planning to develop lessons that teach both content standards with integrity; and 3) administrative support to help maintain the balance of these two content areas (Strand 2006). Even in an arts-integrated school this is a challenge.

Through the pilot study survey I also sought to answer questions about the most salient issues classroom teachers faced when integrating music. A majority (93%) responded that planning time was the most challenging issue. In an effort to help alleviate the issue of planning time, a necessary commodity in producing quality integrated lessons, I have developed a planning guide for music integration with mathematics and social studies. The purpose of this guide is to offer music teachers and classroom teachers a database of ideas for linking the National Music Standards with the Tennessee Common Core standards for each of these subject areas. The guide contains music and classroom standards pairings, lesson starters, and examples of authentically integrated lessons. This database is meant to help teachers in the state of Tennessee have a head start on collaborating with each other and a springboard for authentic integration of these content areas.

Music Integration Guide
In considering what would be the easiest way to make this material available, I looked at the shelves of binders and books in my classroom. I may go to these resources occasionally with a specific need, but they usually just take on dust until the end of May each year. On the other hand, I use my computer daily. I feel that more and more teachers are planning, developing lessons, and doing research for their instruction on computers. Therefore, the idea of an online integration guide database emerged. This way both the music and classroom teacher can access the same information at the same time. Also, this creates mobile access to the content from anywhere.

This online integration guide contains math and social studies standards paired with music standards, lesson starters, and other related media. The standards pairings make up the heart of this work and are the foundation for natural connections that can yield authentic integration. From the homepage of the website, the general education teachers select the grade. They are then connected to all the standards that are currently available for that grade level and subject. After selecting a specific standard identified by the Common Core listing, (for example: MD 2.3 is the math standard "Measurement and Data" for second grade, standard three) they will be taken to the standards pairing page specific for that standard alongside a suggested music standard.

Each standards pairing also includes a lesson starter. These are snapshot descriptions on how these two standards can be used together in the classroom (music or general education). This is where collaboration becomes very important. To make the lesson starter your own, tailored for your specific students, you may need to consult a collaborating teacher. The lesson starters provide a basic outline for using these standards in a music-integrated lesson in either the music or general education classroom.

Some of the standards pairings also include lesson plans and media content such as personally composed tracks for student composition/lyric writing, forms for listening activities, or photos of students engaged in the lessons. While in no way is this work exhaustive, these resources should prove helpful in focusing the collaboration between teachers to make successful music integration less challenging for all involved.

This integration guide should not replace collaboration with your fellow general education teachers. It should strengthen this connection. Collaboration is a crucial piece to successful integration. After all, the music teacher is still the specialist, while the classroom teacher knows what will work with his/her students. With this tool, however, the conversations and planning sessions can be jump-started. Instead of trying to find time to sift through all of the standards to find one that may contain a natural connection, the time can instead be spent collaboratively, fleshing out the details. Furthermore, as part of the professional evaluation rubric, we are evaluated on the level of collaboration with our fellow teachers, so this process should not only provide authentic music opportunities for our students, but also provide the administration of your school a tangible way to observe your collaborative efforts.

Closing Thoughts
The ultimate goal of music integration is for students to be more successfully engaged throughout the school, not just in your classroom. Music is both a powerful aesthetic and vital academic subject, not just a tool for learning other content. When students are engaged in music, they are not only able to experience that aesthetic, but also attach that experience to other parallel content knowledge through the learning process. Through authentic integration, those same parallels can be understood and demonstrated, without sacrificing the integrity of the music standards.

The pedagogy of music integration is one that takes time to develop. As we grow together with our general education colleagues in our knowledge of the parallel teaching experiences, collaboration with our fellow educators, and development of cross-curricular content knowledge, there can be substantial increase in student learning. Authentic music instruction does not need to be compromised when used to complement other areas.

Integrating music with other content areas, while keeping the validity of each subject, can be challenging. It is my hope that the database provided may assist you and your colleagues in successful integration while addressing the issue of limited planning time. Music integration implemented with fidelity is well worth our effort. Furthermore, I have seen students in my music classes more successful in music making because of musical involvement throughout my building. My hope is that this integration guide will help you see the same results and inspire your classroom colleagues to authentically include music in their teaching.

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