Music as an aid to comprehension
Much like the world of film, the world of music has also often been crossed with the world of literature. In some cases, these cross-references can be so literal or explicit that teachers can use a song as an easy remembering tool for the themes of a reading. One such example would be the song “Romeo and Juliet” by the band Dire Straits. This is obviously about the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. But for a slightly more contemporary music look, try this song by the band Green Day. This song, which is entitled “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?” is about another common high school book, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The chorus of the song provides a very succinct statement about the key points of Holden’s character. Using a song like this in a classroom does several things. First of all, it gives auditory learners another frame of reference to remember the information. It also gives students a summarized version of a theme and a break from the reading. Here are the songs lyrics:
“Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?”
A thought burst in my head and I need to tell you
It’s news that I for thought
Was it just a dream that happened long ago?
I think that I just forgot
Well it hasn’t been the first time
And it sure does drive me mad
There’s a boy who fogs his world and now he’s getting lazy
There’s no motivation and frustration makes him crazy
He makes a plan to take a stand but always ends up sitting.
Someone help him up or he’s gonna end up quitting
I shuffle through my mind
To see if I can find
The words I left behind
Was it just a dream that happened long ago?
Oh well…
Never mind.
Well it hasn’t been the first time
And it sure does drive me mad
There’s a boy who fogs his world and now he’s getting lazy
There’s no motivation and frustration makes him crazy
He makes a plan to take a stand but always ends up sitting.
Someone help him up or he’s gonna end up quitting
There’s a boy who fogs his world and now he’s getting lazy
There’s no motivation and frustration makes him crazy
He makes a plan to take a stand but always ends up sitting.
Someone help him up or he’s gonna end up quitting
There’s a boy who fogs his world and now he’s getting lazy
There’s no motivation and frustration makes him crazy
He makes a plan to take a stand but always ends up sitting.
Someone help him up or he’s gonna end up quitting
Also, just to provide the resource to play it for auditory learners in the class, heres a you-tube version:
michelewithonel said,
December 13, 2007 at 10:38 pm
i like that you had the lyrics as well as a video
Jeong Hee said,
December 17, 2007 at 1:55 am
I also used music in my blog to enhance a lesson. I think that it is a fun and relateable way that students can use as an alternative learning text.
Patrick G. said,
December 17, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Very cool…this is a nice way to incorporate the teaching of that novel into the classroom! I had never known that song existed before!
Patrick G. said,
December 17, 2007 at 9:00 pm
I forgot to mention, this is also great to help learners that may be more auditory than visual!