As a writing teacher, I have used Garage Band to make my students' poetry come to life. I thoroughly enjoy using Garage Band because students can create music and poetry.

My Take

My overall opinion about Garage Band is that it is very engaging for middle school students. It can take a concept like poetry that sometimes is not the most engaging topic to teach to middle school boys, and it makes poetry come to life through music. I like that there are a lot of different options for students to add beats and their own voice to their piece. I would highly recommend that teachers practice with this app before having students try it. Also, give students time to "play around" with the app, too! I would also recommend that students write a poem/piece of writing first before using Garage Band because students tend to get overwhelmed with the musical instruments, background beats, etc. and you, as a teacher, need to have them focus back on the purpose of why they are using Garage Band. Garage Band enhanced more of the presentation of a poem rather than learning how to write a poem.