I'm an English teacher, and I want to incorporate music theory into my classroom somehow. Can this be done?
Well, here are actually quite a lot of ways to do this; music is quite versatile and it accommodates everybody. Fusing ELA with English can show us how to inspect meaning from different angles through multiple lenses.
So how can you as an English teacher use music in your classrooms? Here, I have couple of lesson prototypes for you to build on. Catch!
1. Scansion
That sounds...hard. I like the challenge but my students might find that boring. Got anything else?
I wouldn't say boring, since there's always a way to make a lesson entertaining. And you don't only have to show them Shakespeare or Homer, you know. Rhythm is found in everything from spoken word to protest songs.
Speaking of, here's a more personal way to put music into learning. I promise it's not all math:
2. Protest Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUCGefm30XY
That's better. I think my students love agitating.
Lots of people do. There's nothing wrong with finding productive ways to mobilize learning. Each student has something personal that motivates them.
One way of tapping into this is through review writing, which requires the writer to explain clearly and concisely their opinions and reflections on a piece of musical media:
3. Review Writing
Oooh, this one's good.
I can also assign articles as readings, and ask students to bring in some of their own!
Yes exactly.
Any more?
Fine. One more:
4. Mnemonics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz4Dd1I_fX0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfenLGAYDeg
This sounds fun...
Yeah, it can be! What makes mnemonics special is that they are great to engage learning in a variety of disciplines, be it geography, languages, history, science, social studies--you name it!
So how was that?
Not too bad.
I told you.
You did. I can't wait to use these ideas. I hate writing lesson plans though.
That's not my problem. Making lesson plans is half the fun!
In what world? In what world?
Okay, Okay. I'll give you some lesson plans. Just go back to where you came from.
