I would also play a snippet of a song (about 5-30 seconds) when we would transition from one activity to another. For example, when it was time to go over morning work, I'd play the first 10 seconds to Black Eyed Pea's "Let's Get It Started". We practiced over and over again at the beginning of the school year getting our morning work out and open as fast as possible. Students were so good, they were usually ready to go by the time the song snippet ended.
If you are interested in this practice, here is a list of songs you could consider purchasing and playing each morning. I kept copies in a folder in my documents on my school computer. This allowed for fast and easy access. Please note, however, that some songs listed (transition songs) were edited by me so only a small portion would play. If you were to let the entire song play, it would contain inappropriate words or imagery for students. Always listen to a song a few times and look up the lyrics to make sure it is appropriate for students. Some of the songs listed below were edited by me to not include one or two words that ruined the song, making it unplayable:
Beginning of day/class songs:
- Wake Me Up by Avicii
- On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons
- Keep Your Head Up by Andy Grammer
- Shine On by NeedToBreathe
- Magic by B.o.B
- Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer
- Here It Goes Again by Ok Go (great for Mondays!)
- Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
- I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone by Johnny Nash
- Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
- You Gotta Be by Des'ree
- Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves
- Rocky Theme Song
- Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye
- Best Day of My Life by American Authors
- Roar by Katy Perry
- The Fox (What Does The Fox Say) by YLVIS
- Learning to Breathe by Switchfoot
- Feel So Close by Calvin Harris
- Count on Me by Bruno Mars
- Silver Scrapes by Chronic Crew
- Kids by MGMT
- Come With Me Now by Kongos
- Float On by Modest Mouse
- Everything Is Awesome from The Lego Movie
- Happy by Pharrell Williams
- Lean on Me by Glee Cast
- Safe and Sound by Capital Cities
- Firework by Katy Perry
- Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus
- Party Rock Anthem by Kidz Bop 21
- Hey Soul Sister by Kidz Bop 18
- Good Life by Kidz Bop 21
- Stereo Hearts by Kidz Bop 21
- Fireflies by Owl City
- Home by Phillips Phillips
- Sandstorm by Darude
- Too Close by Alex Clare
- Can't Hold Us by Macklemore a Ryan Lewis (MUST BE EDITED!)
- I'll Be There For You (theme song from Friends) by The Rembrandts
- I Like To Move It, Move It from Madagascar
- I Lived by OneRepublic
- Brave by Sara Bareilles
- Rather Be by Clean Bandits
- Riptide by Vance Joy
- Pompeii by Bastille
- Celebration by Kool and The Gang
- Birthday by The Beatles
- Ignition by TobyMac
- Let's Get it Started by Black Eyed Peas
- Science-Weird Science by Oingo Boingo
- Math-867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone
- Art-Viva La Vida by Coldplay
- PE-Pump It by Black Eyed Peas
- Music-Please Don't Stop the Music from Pitch Perfect
- Library-Reading Rainbow Theme Song
- Recess-Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men
- The Final Countdown by Europe
- St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
- Ghostwriter by Rjd2
- Zombie Nation by Kernkraft 400
- Adagio in D Minor by John Murphy
- Turning Page (Instrumental) from Breaking Dawn
Editing songs
In lieu of Audacity, you could download an audio editing app from the Microsoft Store, however, I did not have much luck finding a free one that was easy to use.
I will be happy to show you how to easily edit songs if this is something you wish to do! Just complete the request form so that I can set up a time to assist you.
A cheap and easy alternative to downloading and editing songs is to use YouTube, however, you will have to put up with ads and there is the risk that what you see is not appropriate or what you intended students to see. Always pre-screen any song/video you plan to show students.