M.A.S.T.E.R.ING THE ART OF MUSIC INTEGRATION IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOM

Dr. Tim Duggan

Northeastern Illinois University

S O N N E T 1 8 W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou owest;Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

OPENING THOUGHTS

Music in learning spans centuries and cultures worldwide.

Majority of music integration casts students as listeners rather

than as

performers and composers (Duggan, 2003).

Music is part of a “larger picture” of artistic responses to life and

literature.

Music integration teaches language arts and music.

As students progress through school, fewer participate in music.

Students can do the creative work of music integration.

M.A.S.T.E.R.

Strategies for incorporating music actively:• Mnemonics: songs for remembering• Adaptations: new versions of stories

• Settings: text set to music

• Themes: musical signatures for characters or events

• Extensions/Explorations: original songs

• Recital: performance of work

GROUP TASKS:

Using “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros• Group 1: Make a mnenonic song for keywords in

the text.• Group 2: Write a musical adaptation of the story

of the grandmother.• Group 3: Pick one section of the text and set it to

music. • Group 4: Compose musical themes for the

characters.• Group 5: Pick a moment or sentiment in the

vignette and write an original song extending from it.

METHODS

Cooperate with group members.

Use voices, instruments, bodies, and/or

computer instruments. (such as GarageBand

keyboards or Mini-moogs for iPad.

Generate text/music/etc. without too much

concern for editing.

Think in terms of verses and choruses

Edit as time allows.

RECITAL!

Please share the work of

your groups!

DEBRIEF

Talk about your process.

What have you learned by engaging

in musical responses to the story?

How might you use this in your

classroom?

PARTING THOUGHTS ON M.A.S.T.E.R. MUSIC

INTEGRATION

Brings more students into classroom thought

production.

Creates space for advanced students to develop talent.

Opens new possibilities for technology integration.

Provides complementary writing opportunities (artist statements, essays, etc.).Expands perspective leading to integration of other arts in process (Duggan, 2007).

Helps students develop artistic identity.

REFERENCES

Duggan, T. J. (2003). Uses of music in the high school English/language arts class in South Dakota: Teacher perceptions and practices. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation.

Duggan, T. J. (2007). Ways of knowing: Exploring artistic representations of concepts. Gifted Child Today 30 (4), 56-63.