Using music media in the everyday classroom

[Sean Owens]

During this TTP conference we learned from many different presenters how to use the media in the classroom. I think this applies to music videos as well. For my project I chose to do 2 lessons on the songs Beat It and Ain't Too Proud to Beg using the MindBlue Template. Teasleys presentation pointed out some core areas that I felt we should introduce to students and they are:
Media are constructions
Media contains ideological and value messages.
Media has social and political implications.
Form and content are related in media

As teachers it is our responsibility to challenge our students to critically analyze media and other texts that they view. One media that students are familiar with and may not analyze is the music video.

Music videos are usually a snapshot of culture and often contain a social message. And they have the further benefit of being short, which makes them handy in a classroom setting with limited time for viewing.

The attached lesson plans aim to show this. It appeals to multiple intelligences as well both in allowing students to analyze the written lyrics and the visual messages of the video itself, to discover the contextual importance of the song in its own time and to make cross curricular and historical connections.