Music and Song

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This popular series gives teachers practical advice and guidance, along with resource ideas and materials for the classroom. The tasks and activities are clearly presented, and offer teachers the information they need about level, time, preparation, materials, classroom management, monitoring, and follow-up activities. Each book offers up to 100 ideas, as well as variations that encourage teachers to adapt the activities to suite their individual classrooms.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• The summary below aims to give a general idea of the book's organization
• The author and series editor
• Foreword
• Introduction
• How to use this book
• Section 1 Tuning in (11 activities)
• Shows how teachers can tune in to their students' interests and become sensitive to their tastes
• Section 2 Just music (8 activities)
• Focuses on the use of music without words (instrumentals) and the ways in which it can be used to create an atmosphere or be central to an activity
• Section 3 The artists and the industry (16 activities)
• Looks at how student interest in the topic of music and song can be used to stimulate language learning, even if the students don't actually hear any music
• The activities capitalize on the widespread availability of magazines and articles about the music industry
• Section 4 Using songs (24 activities)
• Looks at how the music and the lyrics of songs can be used in a classroom or language laboratory
• Activities are provided which go from a written text to a listening or singing activity, or vice versa
• Section 5 Video song clips (16 activities)
• Examines the ways that video clips can be explored creatively and communicatively
• The activities help students evaluate media such as videos, without simply being hypnotized by them
• Section 6 With young children (10 activities)
• Includes activities that can be used as warm-up techniques for eventual singing; jazz chants; and different song-types, the most important being Total Physical Response (TPR) or action songs
• Appendix
• Provides sample songs to illustrate grammatical and thematic categories, and some useful addresses
• Annotated bibliography