One of my favorite TV shows this summer has been Beat Shazam hosted by Jamie Foxx. Three teams of two face off against each other to be the fastest at identifying popular songs by their correct name to win cash prizes. Basically, it is a game show for music! What is not to love?

When I find something like this that I absolutely love, my first thought is how can in incorporate it in the classroom or student salon. This is not going to be something that will support the content you are teaching, but you could incorporate it as a quick energizer. Many times in the late afternoon, things will start to drag in the student salon. It has been a long day, everyone is tired, and what we need is just a quick energizer to re-engage the students to finish the day strong.

That is where Beat Shazam comes in. Have a series of popular songs ready to play and when things get slow, tell the students you are going to play a quick round of Beat Shazam. Put the students in groups of 2 or 3, then play a song. The first team to correctly identify the song by the correct title wins a point. Play the game for 5 minutes and the team with the most points at the end wins! Have a token prize ready to award the winning team and then get back to work.

This is also a fun opportunity to break that generational divide that we may have in our class. Make sure your playlist includes popular music from each decade. The students who partner together with other students from different generations will have the advantage!