[HANASHIR:4276] Re: Song Selection

[ALICEWINE <ALICEWINE...>]

In a message dated 10/26/99 12:21:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com writes:

Dear Karen and Meris - 

I established a music curriculum for our school (when I was in that job at 
Suburban Temple) in consultation with both the school director and the rabbi, 
based on the classroom curricula for each grade.  In that way, I developed a 
spiraled program of liturgy based on the different service levels (K-2, 3-5, 
6-8), spiralling holiday song selections with increasing difficulty, songs 
targeted at what the students were studying in Judaics at each grade level, 
and Hebrew songs that also increased in difficulty with each grade level.

After the targeted areas were identified, I put together the music selections 
to include "old stand-bys" that were the favorites, some of the "new folk 
music" genre, and, especially in the liturgy section, some of the 
"congregational" melodies that  the rabbi felt it important that the students 
know so they are comfortable when attending adult services.  

There was no way to include everything that I would have liked to teach.  I 
had to cull through and include what was feasible for the 20-25 minute music 
segments that were part of the morning schedule and that were acceptable to th
e boss!!  

What was the primary underlying principle was that everything that was taught 
was usable for the students, not repetitive year after year, and that the 
Judaic and Hebrew components were reinforcing and enhancing to their 
classroom work.  That often meant that my personal preferences just didn't 
have a very big vote!

BTW - the curriculum is available.  E-mail me privately for more info.

B'shalom,
Alice

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