You Played a Song, Now What? A Survival Handbook for Using Songs in the Classroom by Sue Fenton, M Ed.
This book has 35 categories and 100's of multidimensional strategies & activities for "squeezing" the potential out of songs in classrooms of any subjecct.
COLLEGE COURSE RESOURCE: This book is the sole resource or one of the resources required for methods and other courses at various universities & colleges.
THIS BOOK IS FOR:
- Teachers of any classroom, any school subject, or any program for children or teens
- World Language Teachers (to support learning structures and vocabulary)
- High School, Middle School, and Elementary School Teachers
PRELIMINARY POINTS:
- In elementary school much is learned through songs. They disappear in high school. Yet music is the identity and lifeline of teenagers. Students should be singing in English, physics, and algebra classes, too.
- You can only push “PLAY” so many time before students get bored. Only listening to songs wastes valuable educational opportunities.
- You don’t have a music degree. And you say you can't sing. But neither of these is a prerequisite for using songs in your classsroom!
A WORKSHOP IN A BOOK that will train you to...
- start actively searching for songs to match your unit or curriculum content or themes.
- create your own course song repertoire.
- look at songs in new ways.
- quickly size up song themes and content and their potential value to your unit or curriculum.
- play a song in a different way every time
- unlock the unlimited potential of songs to inspire a wide variety of creative and colorful multidimensional activities to interpret and learn their content
GETTING STARTED:
First, there are guidelines for getting organized.
- Analyzing songs for content and starting a “Song File”
- Creating a “Play List“ for your units or curriculum.
- Looking for songs from your own collection and beyond.
- Playing a song with a different twist each time.
35 TOPICS
Among the 35 categories are:
- Props
- Mascots
- Visuals & Murals
- “Ear Straining”
- Movements
- Paired Speaking
- Creative Writing
- “On Location” Sets
- Staging photos
- Song Memories
- Parodies
- Styles
- Song "Accessories"
- Projects
- Springboards, etc.
100'S OF IDEAS & ACTIVITIES
There are many innovative activities in this book, ranging from serious to outrageous fun. Traditional ideas are given new twists.
Examples:
- creating song "sets,"
- mascots
- imitiative writing
- desiging song CD covers
- choreography
- gags
- song chats
- staging "song photos
- song theme days
- goofy props
- fun wtih song grammar
- newspaper headlines
- class presentations and more... there are so many things you can do.
"A song is a magical captivating energizing and powerful tool in learning that stokes emotions, elevates spirits, taps personalities, melts in the mind, and becomes a friend." Sue Fenton
