[HANASHIR:7943] Re: Help with 7th Graders...

[justeyes <justeyes...>]

You might try having them write their own music.  Let them write songs with
Jewish themes....I have had some great rap music come from 7th graders.  Or
let them do musical skits.  You can ask them if they would like to do drama
too and incorporate music into it.  I hope that helps a bit.

Nancy Levy-Schnider
Music Specialist
Temple Dor Dorim
Weston, Florida
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Weisz" <dweisz (at) brandeis(dot)edu>
To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 8:05 PM
Subject: [HANASHIR:7941] Help with 7th Graders...


> 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
>
>

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