Mania Musical in Spanish Class
It is about that time of year when everything is all Mania Musical or March Music brackets. This is my eighth year doing an all-class March music bracket competition. I know there are MANY variations by many different teachers who are desperate to spice up a dreary time of year.
You all know I have been posting about using authentic music for years, way back to my original ideas of música miércoles & baile viernes in 2014, I love using authentic music in class!
How to Use Spanish Class Music Brackets?
NEW! Are you more of a video watcher, than a blog reader, watch this short video to learn all about how you can use music brackets. >> Music Bracket FAQ Video!
+ read the newer post Mania Musical March Music Bracket FAQ
Watch 2 songs per day (from NEW 2023 Spanish Music Bracket /TPT Mania Musical 2023) & vote for the winner, who moves on. It takes 15 days or 3 weeks if done every day. (Note you now have the option to get the bracket from TPT or the Mis Clases Locas shop, depending on what works best for you)
- When each class enters post the slideshow with 1st video playing. Watch both videos & discuss. Depending on the level, you can do deeper into the artist, song, genre, or country of origin. To keep it easy, I have always had all classes have the same bracket. This way on the giant bulletin board (either physical or digital) we can all follow along.
How to vote for Spanish class music brackets?
(I have all classes vote together to keep things easier)
- On paper – print these FREE voting forms
- Old School – just tally votes on the whiteboard
- Digital – use the included Google Forms with links to songs
Music Bracket FAQS & mixing it up
- *Update read Mania Musical March Music Bracket FAQ for lots of help!
- Yes, the same songs are used again in the next round.
- You can mix up what you do each round if you want. Ex. Round 1 listen to just the audio, Round 2 watch the video, Round 3 chat, round 4 FSW chat/dance/learn about the artist.
- What if I reach younger students or at a more conservative school? – NEW Middle School Spanish March Music Bracket 2023 YOUNG mania musical música or TPT YOUNG 2023 Music Bracket
March Music Brackets for Spanish Class 2023
Want the newest Mis Clases Locas Music Bracket resources? Here they are! (with the new option to get them from TPT or the Mis Clases Locas Website Shop).
- NEW 2023 YOUNG mania musical música or TPT YOUNG 2023 Music Bracket for Younger students! It has options of full 16 songs or a 1/2 8 song bracket for classes that do not meet as often. Also, the bracket contains songs from a variety of years, as recommended by elementary Spanish teachers.
- Get all young music brackets together here in this Young Music Bracket Bundle
Mania musical over the years
Also, here are my previous brackets, so you can see the evolution. It was not always a fancy astrobrights board for mania musical. I have learned a few things in the last few years. Here is our bracket evolution.
- Mania Musical 2022
- YOUNG 2022 Mania Musical
- Mania Musical 2021– current songs (2 Winners due to quarter block schedule – Agua & Uchi Wala)
- 2021 Elementary Mania Musical! – for younger students or more conservative schools
- Mania Musical 2020 (Winner – Querer Mejor)
- bracket for younger students 20!
- 2019 current at the time. (Winner – Loca)
- Mania musical de Mujeres 2018 – The 2018 bracket was all about the ladies! All songs are from female singers or groups with female leads, to tie in with Women’s History Month. (Winner – Asi Soy – from the Greatest Showman)
Older mania musical Spanish class brackets
- Hispanic Heritage – Each year we do a Hispanic Heritage bracket with one song from each Spanish-speaking country. (Winner fall 2017 – La Gozadera)
- March Bracket 2017 – (I am not sure who won that year).
- Music Bracket 2016 – Next I added an organized slide show for more organization (Winner – Danza Kuduro – Don Omar)
- April Bracket 2016 – Then, due to a switch of Trimesters, many did not get to vote in round 1, so we kept up the same bracket & just put in new songs (Winner – Waka Waka – Shakira)
- Music Bracket 2015 – Finally, my 1st bracket was quickly drawn on a chalkboard. (Winner Juntos – Juanes)
How to make a March Music Bracket Bulletin Board
- Print bulletin board (Resources are included in all versions).
- print out 1 set of large song titles + 4 sets of small (later rounds)
- I like to use 1 color of cardstock for each page
- Print 4 copies of the later rounds on white
- Cut out the winners from the sheet & post
How to make the music bracket lines
(Due to varied space & size make fit your space)
- Option 1 – masking tape (I got a set of colors in later versions) you could use tape on a wall as well)
- Option 2 – cut & staple strips of cardstock
- Option 3 – draw lines on a whiteboard/chalkboard
A Fun Music Bracket Tradition Each year
If this is something you would like to do in class for multiple years download the growing Bracket Bundle here. It is updated to include 8 separate brackets (March 16, April 16, March 17, March 18, March 19, March 2020, 2021 & 2022& Brand new 2023!
The newest one includes an editable slide show with embedded videos, brackets, a bulletin board & new ready made Google Forms for easy voting. If you already have the bundle, make sure to download the new version. My plan is to keep adding my brackets each year to this bundle.
**Or, if you want the best deal possible on all of Mis Clases Locas music resources all together, check out the Mega Music Bundle.
How to Implement March Music Brackets in Spanish Class
For logistics in 2023, use the resources found in my Brand New Mania Musical 2023. It includes all Google editable resources including a slideshow with artist nationalities, genres, and embedded videos, Pretty Digital bracket, NEW Google Forms for round 1 voting, large and small bulletin board printouts, and Youtube playlist.
Starting in March all classes watch and vote for one pair each day. (Or you can start whenever you would like!) Then vote via included Google forms, with this free voting form or old-fashioned tally on the board. Finally, to keep it easy for a department of one, all classes have always had the same bracket, and as a school decides who wins and moves on. This way on the giant bulletin board we can all follow along with who is winning.
I have always posted the playlist, bracket, and voting forms on Google Classroom. I used the bracket as a class starter or brain break. Students voted for one match-up each day. We usually started by watching them as a class at the start of class or as a brain break. Once we have moved past round one, students could re-watch them on their own if needed and vote. Additionally, in later rounds, we could go deeper with songs as well if time allows. It takes 3 weeks if you do songs each day.
Chat about the music!
If you are wondering what to do with these songs, check out the new blog post Talk About Music in Spanish Class.
*Update – I now have music question cards to help support students chatting about music. It includes 56 different questions related to music. The music task cards include the following types of questions.
- General personalized questions chatting about music. (Use before starting the bracket)
- Basic & Intermediate questions to discuss any song in Spanish. (Chat about one song in later rounds)
- Questions to compare songs for a music bracket. (To compare and help discuss when voting)
Plus there is also now a NEW Find Someone Who to chat about Music. Tons of options to get students up and moving and speaking in Spanish about music
How other teachers use March Music Brackets
I know many other teachers do something similar and each has its own twist. You could do the whole bracket in a couple of days if needed. I personally like to spread it out to give some life to a dreary time of year in Iowa. Some teachers also go much more in-depth with later songs, learning about the artists, analyzing the lyrics, researching for projects, and more.
For example, here is a month long unit plan using my music bracket as the core of a contemporary life unit. It was created by Uxbridge WL and shared with permission here from Molly (@profehendrickx). Please reach out to Molly if you have questions about how they used this unit for March 2021.
For me, mania musical is just a class starter or brain break to mix it up. Finally, if you are using my March music bracket, please post them as you go on social media and tag @mis.claseslocas so we can compare music madness brackets!
Want to learn more about music brackets? Watch the Youtube video below about what to do with a song & music brackets.
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Want more music for Spanish class?
Originally posted mania musical de marzo – March Music Madness in Spanish class blog post 2.5.18 by Allison Wienhold. Most recently updated 3.15.23 Mis Clases Locas
So . . . important question. Do you show the official videos to your students in class? I just watched "Lo Malo" and I don't think I could show that one in class due to the suggestive dancing.
I usually download free best ringtones at https://ringtonescloud.com/
Very nice post. Thank you for sharing. You can download more free ringtones at https://ring320kbps.com
Hi!! I'd like to know if you have Mania Musical de Mujeres for 2020?
Above you can see I have a 2020 bracket, but it is not specifically women. The only year I made one just with women was 2018
Hi! I have the bundle for the March Music Mania, I thought you have one only with women like the one from 2018. =(
Hi, this sounds like fun but I still don't get the gist of the activity. Where can I find instructions or some sort of detailed explanation? Thanks.
I used your bracket in 2019 and it was so much fun for my kiddos! A lot of them started adding Spanish-language music to their personal playlists. Thank you for doing these!
Hola! Gracias por todos los recursos. Estamos haciendo Mania Musical 2021 y encontramos un error. Tainy (Agua) no es mexicano, es puertorriqueño.
muschas gracias! I just fixed it!