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Why We Should Learn To Sing and Sing To Learn! 

Debra Diaz-Sleeter   

“I believe that a nation that allows music to be expendable
is in danger of becoming expendable itself.”
Richard Dreyfuss, star of Mr. Holland’s Opus,
At the 1996 Grammy Awards  

Academic Setting 

School Setting 

This unit will be used at S.Y. Jackson Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. S.Y.Jackson is located in the far northeast heights section of the city. The school is made up primarily of middle to upper middle class students. We are a SQS school as well as a Baldrige School. Our school attendance is on average 96%.  The population includes 8.7% of students who receive a free lunch or reduced lunch. The make-up of the student population is 79.9% Anglo, 14.2% Hispanic, 2.1% Asian, 1.2% African American, 1.2% Native American and 1.4 % other. 

Our school receives insufficient art and music classes through APS. Currently, art and music instruction are available on an annual rotating basis (Art one year, music the next year, and so on).  We receive services for about 6-12 weeks out of the school year. As a school we do offer free extracurricular courses in the arts. Classes offered this year include chorus, band, orchestra (beginning and intermediate), and drama. Outside sources offered dance for a nominal fee. 

Classroom Setting 

I currently teach kindergarten but I think the specific lessons I am including would also work well with pre-schoolers, first graders, ESL students, and non-English speakers. I believe the method would work for elementary, mid-school and high school students. I usually have no more than 20 students in my class and have a full time assistant. 

Context and Background 

Why Music? 

The word music is derived from the Greek root muse. Greek mythology teaches us that there were originally nine muses or celestial sisters presiding over poetry, art, science and song. These sisters were born of Zeus, King of the Gods, and Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory. So, historically, music is a combination of heavenly order and memory. In fact, many of the things we remember from our childhood education are related to music. Songs, or even mnemonic devices used to study for a test, remain with us long after other material, perhaps even more important material, is forgotten.  I still remember, for example, the colors of the rainbow by the mnemonic device Roy G. Biv.  

Music is Biological  

There is evidence to support the idea that music is not only a cultural add-on but is a biological imperative. Norman Weinberger, in his article, Matters of Opinion, uses scientific literature to argue that music is a biological function.  

First, Weinberger argues that behaviors closely related to biology are universal. For example, all humans must sleep to survive and whether we sleep on a bed, a mat, or a hammock is irrelevant. The fact that all people sleep makes it biological; the way we sleep makes is cultural. Music meets his criterion and the fields of anthropology and ethnomusicology concur that the presence and use of music is extremely widespread. 

Music is a universal language central to every culture of the world. It has been used to entertain, communicate, educate, inspire and instill a sense of social and communal understanding. Rhyme, rhythm, song and movement have historically been used as powerful teaching tools that have infused the values, mores and customs of cultures and societies (Brown). 

Weinberger then explains that although music uses may vary in both the present and the past it still has a place in all societies (Weinberger).  

Howard Gardner, in his book Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice, writes that “music apparently played an important unifying role in Stone Age (Paleolithic) societies” (18).   Panpipes, an instrument with high lilting sounds are traced back to the end of the Paleolithic times. The sound is older than any surviving language (Marcus 112).  Gardner’s research of various cultures supports the theory that music is a “universal faculty” (Gardner, 1997 18).  There is corroboration that suggests that dance, utterance and song even may have paved the way for speech. Cilia, the thousands of minuscule hairs in the inner ear, reverberate only at the higher frequencies of sound. These “musical” frequencies suggest that at one time humans probably communicated largely through song or tone (Campbell 134). 

Second, before cultural factors exercise a strong influence, biologically based behaviors can be revealed early in life. “The fields of developmental psychology and cognitive sciences have discovered that pre-school children spontaneously exhibit music behaviors, using music in their play and communication” (Weinberger).  Gardner supports this view by addressing the subject of child prodigies. “Leonard Bernstein had lots of it: Mozart, presumably, had even more” (Gardner, 1997 9). Recent studies reveal that musical capabilities exist in infants, neonates, and even possibly in the prenatal stage (Weinberger). 

Third, if music has a strong biological component, then fundamental building blocks of music would be found in animals. According to Weinberger this seems to be the case. Monkeys and other animals can form musical abstractions, such as determining the fundamental frequency of a harmonic series in which only the higher harmonics are presented (Weinberger). Interestingly enough, nature also seems to respond to music. Dorothy Retallack, a graduate student at Temple Beull College in Denver, experimented with plants and music. She played different types of music to plants in four chambers. A control group, in a fifth chamber, had no music piped in. The results were quite interesting. She played Bach, Indian, rock and roll, and country music. Plants grew dramatically and flowered more abundantly with the Bach and Indian music. The rock and roll plants didn’t seem to “want to grow” and the country plants proved no different than the control group (Campbell 83). 

 Fourth, the human brain has what is well known as a “division of labor” between the left “language” and right “music” hemispheres (Weinberger). Weinberger continues by including researchers who believe that learning through the use of music helps to change the brain’s wiring, leading to new connections within both hemispheres. “Another intriguing finding is that the highest level of the human auditory system called the auditory cortex, is organized not to process raw sound frequencies but rather to process a psychological abstraction that is a foundational musical element—pitch” (Weinberger). 

Finally, there is no such thing as silence. Our bodies are made up of more than 70 percent water and as such are “a perfect conductor of vibration.” (Brown)  

Silence is simply unintended sound. These sounds constitute what Cage regarded as music. He used the example of his visit to an anechoic chamber which was supposed to produce a silent environment. “I entered one at Harvard University several years ago and heard two sounds, one high and one low. When I described them to the engineer in charge, he informed me that the high one was my nervous system in operation, the low one was my blood in circulation. Until I die there will be sounds. And they will continue following my death. One need not fear about the future of musicGo to top of page. (Shultis 171). 

I would argue that genetically, we are made for music. “Rhythmic patterns and sound waves have profound effects on the body and emotional states” (Brown).  Even martial artists use sound to create an “energy” when making certain moves.  

 Hans Jenny, a Swiss engineer and doctor, has shown how sound and vibration interact with matter. He has created vibrations in crystals with electrical impulses. Based on the changing pitch, the harmonics of the tone, and the material that is vibrating, the results can be either beautiful or chaotic (Campbell 33). Can you imagine the effects music then must have on a body that is so naturally a conductor of sound? 

Music can change metabolism, reduce mental exhaustion, calm nervousness, focus thinking, raise energy or lower the heart rate and greatly impacts imagination and sympathy. This can be seen on the “big screen.”  Movies use music to indicate what is about to happen. Songs may be loud and rhythmic in anticipation of a coming action scene or soft and slow to give the audience time to relax. Think about how certain songs remind us of experiences in life. A moment can be relived by listening to music (commencement, wedding songs, sad movies). 

If it is the case that music is in our genes, a biological necessity, then it is obvious that the importance of music has been highly underestimated. 

Music is an “Intelligence” 

A psychologist named Alfred Binet created the IQ test in the 1920s. This test, requested by the “city fathers” of Paris, was formed primarily as a method of predicting which youngsters would fail in Paris’s primary grades. This test was of such great importance that it crossed the ocean, coming to the United States, where it was only moderately successful until used by the military to measure intelligence in one million American military recruits. After that it became a truly psychological success-“a genuinely useful scientific tool” (Gardner, 1997 5). As the search for a bigger and better test continued, more refined versions popped up. One of them, The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), measures only two types of intelligence, linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. Howard Gardner in his book Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice makes the bold statement that there are more than two intelligences. He believes the whole concept of IQ and the unitary views of intelligence need to be replaced. Society today, as evidenced in standards based schools, seems to feel that if it cannot be tested it is not valuable. Howard would argue, and I agree, that we should spend more time trying to help people and less time “ranking” them. Western values place a priority on these tests. Gardner contends that we should look at intelligence as “Olympian.”  We should interpret all seven (now eight) intelligences as equally valid. 

Gardner’s definition of intelligence diverges from conventional definitions. Traditionally, intelligence was measured by the ability to answer items on tests of intelligence.  

The inference from the test scores to some underlying ability is supported by statistical techniques that compare responses of subjects at various ages, the apparent correlation of these test scores across ages and across different tests corroborates the notion that the general faculty of intelligence does not change much with age, training or experience. Multiple intelligences theory however pluralizes traditional concepts. Intelligence entails the ability to solve problems or fashion products that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting or community (Gardner, 1997 15). Gardner’s problem solving approach allows for biological origins of deciphering skills yet he includes the possibility of cultural solutions. Given Gardner’s view that language is a universal skill, it can however, manifest itself differently in different cultures. Language can be developed in an oratorical, print or even as a covert form of communication (Gardner, 1997 21). Deaf children will create their own sign language before being introduced to a more formal language such as American Sign Language (ASL).  

 Howard Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences was always a theory that allowed for more intelligences to be included as they met his above criteria. [There were originally seven intelligences but he subsequently revised them to eight.]  

The following definitions are taken from White and Blythe (1992) who modified Gardner’s definitions from his book Frames of Mind. These examples are in no way complete. Instead, they are a means of understanding each intelligence. 

Linguistic intelligence allows individuals to communicate and make sense of the world through language. Poets exemplify this intelligence in its mature form. Students who enjoy playing with rhymes, who pun, who always have a story to tell, who quickly acquire other languages—including sign language—all exhibit linguistic intelligence. 

Logical-mathematical intelligence enables individuals to use and appreciate abstract relations. Scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers all rely on this intelligence, so do the students who “live” baseball statistics or who carefully analyze the components of problems—either personal or school-related—before systematically testing solutions. 

Spatial intelligence makes it possible for people to perceive visual or spatial information, to transform this information, and to recreate visual images from memory. Well- developed special capacities are needed for the work of architects, sculptors, and engineers. The students who first turn to graphs, charts, and pictures in their textbooks, who like to “web” their ideas before writing a paper, who fill in the blank space around their notes with intricate patterns are also using their spatial intelligence. While usually tied to visual modality, spatial intelligence can also be exercised to a high level by individuals who are visually impaired. 

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence allows individuals to use all or part of the body to create products or solve problems. Athletes, surgeons, dancers, choreographers, and crafts people all use bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. The capacity is also evident in students who relish gym class, and school dances, who prefer to carry out class projects by making models rather than writing reports, and who toss crumbled paper with frequency and accuracy into wastebaskets across the room. 

Interpersonal intelligence enables individuals to recognize and make distinctions about others’ feelings and intentions. Teachers, parents, politicians, psychologists, and salespeople rely on interpersonal intelligence. Students exhibit this intelligence when they thrive on small-group work, when they notice and react to the moods of their friends and classmates, and when they tactfully convince the teacher of their need for extra time to complete the homework assignment. 

Intrapersonal intelligence helps individuals to distinguish among their own feelings, to build accurate mental models of themselves, and to draw on these models to make decisions about their lives. Although it is difficult to assess who has this capacity and to what degree, evidence can be sought in students’ uses of their other intelligences—how well they seem to be capitalizing on their strengths, how cognizant they are of their weaknesses, and how thoughtful they are about the decisions and choices they make. 

Naturalist intelligence allows people to distinguish among, classify, and use features of the environment. Farmers, gardeners, botanists, geologists, florists, and archaeologists all exhibit this intelligence, as do students who can name and describe the features of every make of car around them. 

Musical intelligence allows people to create, communicate, and understand meanings made out of sound. While composers and instrumentalists clearly exhibit this intelligence, so do the students who seem particularly attracted by the birds singing outside the classroom window or whoGo to top of page. constantly tap out intricate rhythms on the desk with their pencils. 

While I will focus on musical intelligence for the purpose of this paper, Gardner would contend that no intelligence deserves any rank or emphasis. All intelligences are and should be considered equally important. Sophisticated problem solving will always meld several intelligences together. 

 Gardner claims that intelligences work in concert with each other but gives illustrations of the independence of some intelligences. A musical example of this would be autistic individuals, who can play an instrument beautifully but cannot speak. This is an indicator that music, in and of itself, is valuable. 

Music as part of the Educational Process 

“If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to…
listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use.” 

Charles Darwin’s Autobiography 

While I support the idea that music has a place in society for its intrinsic value alone I believe music benefits the overall development of students. Non-musicians are still musical beings. Connections are made inside the head without conscious effort just by listening to music. Imagine the benefits of including music in the educational process. Research indicates that more than 80 percent of all the information we process by the brain comes in through our ears. Our lives are filled with rhymes, rhythms, and mnemonics. When you consider the above statistic, music becomes an extremely effective way to teach because it is completely brain compatible. It stimulates and unifies cognitive function and automatically touches three of four modalities. Music is auditory, involves movement and draws out emotion (Brown). In fact, playing music at home can create an environment that balances the more logical left with the intuitive right hemisphere, “An interplay thought to be the basis for creativity” (Campbell 66). 

We already know that a response to music can be emotional. Songs, like Queen’s We Will Rock You, are used at sporting events to get the crowd excited. Lullabies are played in babies’ rooms to help calm and pacify them. Emotion is a vital part of the educational process because it drives attention. Attention in turn drives memory (Sylwester 72), and the inclusion of music as a method of teaching reading is a useful technique. We know for example that a reader’s listening vocabulary is usually much larger than his/her reading vocabulary (Stone 15). Parents teach their kids to sing their ABCs long before they recognize the letters of the alphabet. Children comprehend the meaning of words by listening to the order of sounds. They notice the variation of tones and the emotion that is conveyed with each word. Two year olds know the word “NO” and pre-schoolers can always count to three. They understand the variation in your voice. That variation is called “prosody.” Creative educators pay attention to the development of skills in children since it is generally true that the more exposure to music, poetry, and literature in childhood the better-off the voice will become (Campbell 88). Until a major leap takes place in the development of the elementary school years, learning occurs through movement and quick emotional connections. Music is an ideal method to help students make those associations. By using music as a tool to teach, you are helping students’ brains to “neural code.”   Neural coding is the connection process of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This gives children an opportunity to make connections easier later in life. 

Cambpell maintains that music extends our stamina when exercising. It would then be reasonable to expect the same results when studying. Dr. Georgi Lozanov’s method of including music to enhance memory is well known. His in-depth use of music to accelerate learning was originated for adults studying foreign languages. His method, Suggestopedia, is based on the study that brainwaves receive new material in relaxed as well as highly stimulated states. He concluded that when information is “coded” in both the conscious and unconscious minds, access to memory is superior. “In a single day, students reportedly learned half the working vocabulary, or up to a thousand words or phrases, in a foreign language, with an average of 97 percent retention” (Campbell 183).  

Music’s ability to cross over to other intelligences is not surprising. A Texas study concluded that students who partake in orchestra have SAT scores that are higher than the national average (Campbell 176). New research supports the positive effects of music on students.  The College Entrance Examination Board reported that, in 1996, students with experience in musical performance scored fifty-one points higher on the verbal part of the SAT and thirty-nine points higher on the math section than the national average. “Study in music and other arts generally seems to have a cumulative effect and is undeniably correlated with improvement over time in students’ standardized test scores,” concluded Edward J Kvet, director of the School of Music at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant (Campbell 177). 

Campbell continues to cite studies that confirmed the crucial role music has played in inner city schools. A 1993 study found that African-American high school students acknowledged their music teacher to be their primary role models (36 percent). The list continues with English teachers (28 percent), history and social studies teachers (14 percent), and finally coaches or P.E. teachers (7 percent). Other studies have found that elementary school attendance and behavior are affected positively by the inclusion of music in the classroom and even on the school bus. Early music instruction in the schools influenced the choice of high school students not to drop out of school later in life. 

Music research is finding its way into all sorts of unaccustomed venues these days. Well intentioned adults frequently underestimate the aesthetic capabilities of children and thus offer them experiences far below their capacity to enjoy and understand. In 1962, Dr. Lee Salk demonstrated that a fetus is aware of its mother’s heartbeat and embryologists now agree that the ear is the first organ to develop in embryo and is functional after eighteen weeks. Even more amazing is that it listens actively from twenty-four weeks on (Campbell 23). You only have to hear a child humming themes from Mozart or the contemporary jazz group Weather Report to realize how rigid is the adult conception of what constitutes “children’s music” (Sharon, Lois, and Bram).  I find that children enjoy and listen to many different types of music. I play Vivaldi in class as background music when we are working quietly. I explain to my students that I am letting them “be adults” when they listen to this music. They in turn request Vivaldi throughout the school year.  

Students enjoy music. They learn and attend better with the inclusion of music in their education. Isn’t time we added music back to a curriculum that is sorely lacking in this necessity? 

Implementation 

How can we include music in the language arts part of our curriculum? 

I used the State Department of Education Web site at (http://sde.state.nm.us) to find the content standards for K-4. I am also including a connection to the Kindergarten Developmental Progress Report (KDPR). Assessments can be found within the KDPR booklet.  Go to top of page.

General Outline for lessons-As needed.  

I am creating lessons that include music. These lessons can be used as other material is covered. I am not numbering these lessons as you could use them at different times of the year to complement your existing curriculum. While I believe music would be beneficial in all subject areas I choose to focus on the language arts because it is such a large part of the KDPR (Kindergarten Developmental Progress Report). 

Language Arts lesson: Colors 

Language Arts Standard: The student employs appropriate reading strategies to read and interpret increasingly complex texts for a variety of purposes. 

KDPR #32 

Materials- multicultural crayons, poster board, pre-made color words and colors, A Color of His Own by Leo  Lionni , water colors, paper, music by various artists.

I would start with the introduction of the colors to students.  

Activity #1: We would look for colors around the room, playground, and school. We would come back to class and make a list of colors to hang in our classroom. (I would have a poster pre-made with colors and color words I could add to it.)

Activity #2: Read the story A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni. After listening to this story have students draw self portraits using multicultural crayons to truly attempt to use a color that matches their color. (These crayons are available at most educational stores.) 

Color Books

Activity #3: There is a variety of music available specific to colors or about many colors. I have the students listen to some of these songs and draw the picture the artist is singing about. 

Color Music

Language Arts Lesson: Repeats and Follows one-step directions 

Language Arts Standard: The student demonstrates, analyzes, evaluates, and reflects upon the skills and processes used to communicate by listening to and viewing a variety of auditory and visual works. 

KDPR #42 

Activity #1 I start by reading the book Copy Me, Copycub by Richard Edwards. Then we discuss the way the cub copied his mother. I then ask the students to copy me. Later the students may take turns being the leader and as a class we copy them. 

Activity #2: I partner my students up and have them face each other as if one student were a mirror. They take turns being the mirror and “echo moving” with their partner. 

Activity #3: I would then include music. There are numerous songs which require students to repeat words, movements, or both. Here is a small list of possible choices. 

Echoing Vocabulary

Echoing Movements

Language Arts Lesson: Body Parts 

Language Arts Standard: The student employs appropriate reading strategies to read and interpret increasingly complex texts for a variety of purposes. 

KDPR #33 

Materials- chalk, music 

I would start with the introduction of body parts. 

Activity #1: We play Simon Says using body parts as our activity. 

Activity #2: We go outside and trace each other’s body with chalk. This can also be done on butcher paper with markers if you wanted a more permanent project.  

Activity #3: There are numerous songs to sing that talk about parts of the body. You could use these songs in a music lesson or at the beginning or ending of each lesson about the body.

Language Arts Lesson:  Reciting Nursery Rhymes, Chants and Poems 

Language Arts Standard: The student responds to, examines, and critiques historically and culturally significant issues and events portrayed in literature that both illustrate and affect people, society, and individuals. 

KDPR #39 

Materials-Poetry books, rhythm instruments poster board.

We talk about what a nursery rhyme is and then I introduce each rhyme as we are going to learn it.

Activity #1: Start by memorizing nursery rhymes, chants and poems. I use the poem Jack and Jill. You “mommy speak” when teaching this unit. The more “sing songy” it is the more likely it is children will remember the verse they are working on. 

Activity #2:  Take apart a nursery rhyme sentence by sentence and have each child illustrate one sentence. As a class or in small groups have the children sequence the nursery rhymes in their correct order. 

Activity #3: Discuss rhyming words within nursery rhymes. Give each child a rhythm instrument. Have them use the instrument every time they hear a rhyming word. For example,  

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water,
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after. 

I would put this poem on a chart with the rhyming words in bold letters. I would point to the poem as we said it together as a class. Even children who do not read will recognize when to play their rhythm instrument. If rhythm instruments are not available children can clap their hands, pat their legs, play drums on their desks. This activity could be done very easily with simple songs as well.

Language Arts Lesson: Developing Phonemic Awareness 

Language Arts Standard: The student employs appropriate reading strategies to read and interpret increasingly complex texts for a variety of purposes. 

KDPR #40 and 46 

The largest amount of time in kindergarten is spent on phonemes. I spend approximately one week studying each phoneme. Within each phoneme unit I create I include a drawing, physical, musical and literacy component. I use Jim Stone’s series, Animated Literacy Series as a guideline. This series includes all these components. You can use the whole series or create your own materials. I also found an alphabet series by Grolier and another series called Elfin’s Adventure in Alphabet Town by Children’s Press. 

Activity #1 The phoneme “p” 

Materials- spiral notebook, thin markers or ball point pens (students are not supposed to erase), books which focus on the phoneme of the week, and music which focuses on he phoneme of the week. 

Monday: I introduce the phoneme p with a story that includes a lot of “p” sounds. As a class we discuss the story and then I ask the students simple questions about the story. Answers will begin with the “p” sound. Notice I have not introduced the letter p only the sound it makes. 

Activity #2 

Tuesday: We review the “p” sound and add a musical component to it. Jim Stone’s Series includes songs pre-made. You could make up your own or find another song with an emphasis on the phoneme you are working on. Whatever song we sing will include movements. Students are required to move with the music even if they do not sing the songs.  

Activity #3 

Wednesday: We again review the “p” sound and students echo drawing a “p” word. If as a group we draw a pig, I draw a pig on the board first. I draw one part at a time. As I draw I elicit responses as to what the picture might be. I remind them what sound we are drawing. After I have completed the drawing and the students know what the object is, I erase the board and start over. The students must draw each part after I have drawn that part on the board. This is called echo drawing. Then we label our pictures. I do this in a spiral notebook and send it home at the end of the year. I date every page to show progress throughout the year. 

Language Arts Lesson: Using pictures and written symbols to represent ideas and events 

Language Arts Standard: The student demonstrates, analyzes, evaluates, and reflects upon the skills and processes used to communicate by listening to and viewing a variety of auditory and visual works. 

KDPR # 48 

I choose music without lyrics to encourage creativity and “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong to end the unit. 

Activity #1:  I play a piece of music for students to listen to. We talk a little about the piece and discuss what it makes us think . We draw on the chalk board, taking turns, adding to our picture as we listen to the music again. 

Activity #2 Take art work by famous artists and have students pick a song they know that would go with the art. I use Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry, Starry Night and most kids will come up with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” 

Activity #3: Have students use water colors to paint a picture that goes with music. As they paint a picture they listen to the piece again and again. The next time you do this activity save the discussion for after the artwork is completed. This will increase the chance for creativity on the student’s part. I would do this activity once a month during the school year. We might listen to

I write the name of the piece of music and artist on the back of the artwork and create a book for the students to have at the end of the year. I would use Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” as a starting or ending point to this unit. 

Documentation 

Books for Teachers 

Campbell, Don. The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit. New York, New York: Avon Books, 1997. 

Gardener, Howard. Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the lives of Freud, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. New York, New York: Basicbooks, 1993. 

---. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York, New York:  Basicbooks, 1993. 

Marcus, Greil. Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes. New York, New York: Henry Hott and Company Inc., 1997. 

 Moncure, Jane Beth. My “b” Book. Danbury, CT: Child’s World Inc., 1991. 

Stone, Jim.  The Animated-Alphabet Story, Song, and Action Book. La Mesa, California: J. Stone Creations, 1998. 

Sylwester, Robert. A Celebration of Neurons: an Educator’s Guide to the Human Brain. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1995. 

Articles for Teachers

Shultis, Christopher. “Saying Nothing: John Cage and Henry David Thoreau’s Aesthetics of Co-Existence.” TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR MUZIEKTHEORIE, 1998. 169-177. 

Internet Sources 

Brown, Ron and Nancy. “Why Music?” Intelli-Tunes 2001

Weinberger, Norman M. and the Regents of the University of California. “A Few Notes on Pitch,” Volume 1 Issue 1 Spring1994 www.musica.uci.edu 

---. “Matters of Opinion.” 1994.  

---. “Music and Cognitive Achievement in Children.” 1994. 

---. “Musical Building Blocks in the Brain.” 1994. 

---.“The Musical Infant Studies Show Infants are Musical.” 1994. 

Books for Students 

Alden, Laura. Elfin’s Adventures in Alphabet Town. New York: Children’s Press, 1992. 

Black, Harley. A Magic Color Book. New York, New York: Pinwheel Limited, 2000.  

Boynton, Sandra. Blue Hat, Green Hat. New York, New York: Little Simon, 1995.  

dePaola, Tomie. Mice Squeak, We Speak. New York, New York: World Book, Inc., 1984.  

Dr. Seuss.  The Foot Book. New York, New York: Random House, 1968. 

Edwards, Richard. Copy Me Copycub. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 

Joosse, Barbara M. I Love You the Purplest. San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books, 1996.  

Lionni, Leo.  A Color of his Own. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1975.  

Shannon, David.  A Bad Case of the Stripes. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1998. 

Music for Teachers 

The Beatles. 1, 2000 Apple Corps Ltd.  

The Green Chili Jam Band. Magic Bike, Squeaky Wheel Productions Inc., 1991. http://www.greenchilijam.com/kidzmusic/ 

The Green Chili Jam Band. Starfishing, Meerkat Music, 1993. (505)899-8227 

Greg and Steve. Kidding Around with Greg and Steve, Youngheart Records, 1985. 

Greg and Steve. We All Live Together, Volume 3, Youngheart Records, 1979. 1-800-444-4287 

Greg and Steve. We All Live Together, Volume 5, Youngheart Music, 1994. 

Leto, Frank. Time for Music II, Frank Leto Musical Adventures, 1987. 

Radio Disney. Jams Volume 4, Walt Disney Records, 2001. 

Raffi. The Corner Grocery Store, Troubadour Records Ltd. 1979. www.raffinews.com 

Raffi, Let’s Play, Troubadour Records Ltd., 2002. www.raffinews.com 

Schoolhouse Rock, America Rock, American Broadcasting Companies Inc., 1997. www.rhino.com 

Sharon, Lois and Bram. One Elephant, Deux Elephants, Elephant Records, 1978. 

Sharon, Lois and Bram. One, Two, Three, Four, Look Who’s Coming Through The Door! Elephant Records, 1982. 

Stone, Jim. The Animated-Alphabet Songs, J. Stone Creations, 1985. jstonecr@home.com Go to top of page.