Digital Book

I discovered Mary Brigid Barrett's short story "Sing to the Stars" on the OER Commons website along with an outline for several lessons that can be used in conjunction with the story in a fourth grade general music lesson. This story can be used to generate discussion about several relevant topics, including the issue of stage fright. A discussion about stage fright would be excellent for my fourth grade students, as fourth grade is the first year during which every student prepares for the spring concert at the end of the year. This story also addresses the healing power of music and the way that music can help people make connections with one another; this is a good way to facilitate a discussion about why we learn music and why music is important to our society.