[HANASHIR:7941] Help with 7th Graders...

[David Weisz <dweisz...>]

Hello folks...I'm in need of a bit of help. I teach music in a supplementary
Hebrew/Judaica school at a local temple, and despite the success I have been
having with most of my classes, I have found that my 7th graders are now
entirely turned off from music. I grant that this is a very difficult age,
but unfortunately that excuse doesn't make my 20 minutes with them any less
painful for me or for them. It is not that we dislike each other or that
they do not understand my goals or my reasons for teaching them, rather that
they have it in their heads that they dislike music.

So, instead of beating my head against a wall week after week, I'm looking
for alternative ways to engage them in Judaic music. Something we did a few
weeks ago that they enjoyed was a "singdown" with Judaic themes. I chose
words such as "peace" and "life" which they could translate to Hebrew, and
they got "bonus points" for songs that were in Hebrew, but they were allowed
to delve into secular music as well.

Does anyone have any similar activities that they can suggest that might
work for this age group? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It
might be useful to know that the students come to school only once a week,
and have music with me for 20 minutes during a 2-hour afternoon session.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
David

------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------+