When students are asked to connect music to characters or events, they are thinking critically. They are ...
examining songs to determine context and relevance.
comparing and contrasting the meaning or mood of the music to the character or event.
practicing abstraction by creating a story or conveying a mood with music.
Developing a system for naming, storing, and organizing the songs gives students the opportunity to exercise their problem-solving skills. This project would be most conveniently carried out in a digital environment.
Students could work collaboratively on adding to the collection and organizing it.
You might assign the curation of an audio playlist when...
you want students to demonstrate their understanding of a concept or event.
you want students to connect their cultural interests to the learning or topic at hand.
you want students to practice research skills in locating relevant music.
you want students to use different perspectives and empathy.
you want to enhance or replace an assignment that asks students to examine tone, mood, or theme.
Examples