Im about to start teaching "The Freedom Writers Diary" again with my English 101 students. One of my biggest challenges with my students is that they are from a small town and don't have the prior knowledge to fully understand the everyday troubles of the students they will soon be reading about. Additionally, the book is set in the 90s, about a billion years in the past in my students' minds. So.... to deal with this issue, I've decided to create a reading soundtrack for my students first reading day with the novel.
My plan is to play 90s hip hop and rap songs (CLEAN VERSIONS ONLY!) for my students who might not know who Dr Dre is or who 2pac is.
When you watch a movie, what helps you figure out the mood and the setting of the story? The music! I'm going to play music in the background of my students reading in hopes of helping them visualize, feel, and create the setting of the novel, and to get the tone of the time. Maybe it will be like subliminal messaging, or maybe it will flop. But I think it's worth a shot!
Here are links to youtube videos of the songs I'm planning on playing so far. I;m not going to show the video, but youtube was the easiest way for me to find clean versions of the songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5XPV5mDm3g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwdeypwNOg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDdIKSA54eY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUB86wHz658
(California love)
Enjoy!
My plan is to play 90s hip hop and rap songs (CLEAN VERSIONS ONLY!) for my students who might not know who Dr Dre is or who 2pac is.
When you watch a movie, what helps you figure out the mood and the setting of the story? The music! I'm going to play music in the background of my students reading in hopes of helping them visualize, feel, and create the setting of the novel, and to get the tone of the time. Maybe it will be like subliminal messaging, or maybe it will flop. But I think it's worth a shot!
Here are links to youtube videos of the songs I'm planning on playing so far. I;m not going to show the video, but youtube was the easiest way for me to find clean versions of the songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5XPV5mDm3g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwdeypwNOg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDdIKSA54eY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUB86wHz658
(California love)
Enjoy!