“…this year in honors English I learned how to write an essay much better and more efficiently with the help of Mr. Viskanta. All the paragraph outline worksheets helped me a lot. I used to not really know in what order to put my sentences; sometimes I didn’t even know how or what to write what I wanted to say. The outlines helped me to guide me in the right direction to a better essay and/or paragraph.”1
Student Soundtrack Assignment
Project Overview
A broad and extensive body of research regarding successful teaching pedagogy has found that it is important to connect classroom content to students’ lives (Bernard, 2010; Egbert & Roe, 2014; McWhirter et. al., 2000; Rosebrough & Leverett, 2011). This is especially true in high school, where students are beginning to consider future choices regarding education and career.
High school students can be especially attached to their music, and secondary teachers recognize the many different genres that are represented in a single classroom. The “Soundtrack Assignment” allows students to explore their understanding of a text with an assignment that requires students to envision themselves as a music supervisor of a movie. The assignment especially challenges students’ to use various elements of extended thinking to develop a creative product. The text used in the portfolio example is the 11th and 12th grade novel by J. D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye. The text is an interesting choice for the assignment as it has never been adapted to a movie, requiring students to imagine a film without previously existing examples.
The assignment is identified with an existing profession by discussing how one becomes a music supervisor. The professional organization Guild of Music Supervisors explains that a music supervisor is “A qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games and any other existing or emerging visual media platforms as required” (Guild of Music Supervisors, 2022). By introducing the profession, students better understand the variety of careers available to them, work that often goes unnoticed. Teachers can further develop the assignment by showing examples of unique or successful music supervisory choices in addition to allowing students to share their favorite musical selections from media they are familiar with or watching. Students can also present several selections from their soundtrack to the class as presentation and public speaking practice. Another way in which the assignment can be developed is by inviting the campus work experience staff to introduce students to the vast resources available to them from that office, support students often fail to take full advantage of. For example, here is one high school work experience website: Van Nuys High School Work Experience
Bernard, S. (2010, December 1). Science shows making lessons relevant really matters: Personal relevance is as vital to the learning brain as it is to the person learning. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-learning-real-relevant-and-relatable
Egbert, J., & Roe, M. F. (2014). The power of why: Connecting curriculum to students’ lives. Childhood Education, 90(4), 251-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2014.933665
Guild of Music Supervisors. (2022, May). What is a music supervisor? https://www.guildofmusicsupervisors.com/what-is-a-music-supervisor
McWhirter, E. H., Crothers, M., & Rasheed, S. (2000). The effects of high school career education on social-cognitive variables. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(3), 330-341. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.3.330
Rosebrough, T. R., & Leverett, R. G. (2011). Transformational teaching in the information age: Making why and how we teach relevant to students. ASCD.
Testimonials
“I have learned that what we learn in English happens in every day life. During the time we were reading 1984, the conspiracy of Edward Snowden was happening and even a couple weeks ago, with the injustice of Donald Sterling while reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Many things have influenced the way we learn English.”1
RA 2014
“…I’ve really tried to make my writing more than just the assignment. I enhanced it with variations of sentence structure and word choice. I think the Kreuger Park paper was a turning point for me this year. … This assignment helped me to create realistic descriptions and setting. … I know there is still room for me to improve in my writing, but I feel that I made major strides this school year. … Overall, this class helped me to acquire skills in English that I didn’t learn earlier on in school. I feel better prepared to take AP Literature next year. Thank you.”1
GI
“My experience in English class this year has been unforgettable. I will always remember the novel “Tortilla Curtain” for I enjoyed reading it the most out of all the books this year. Also, I had a pleasure being involved in our classroom discussions and contributing different ideas on the board especially for “Life of Pi.” Overall, I enjoyed Honors English and I am looking forward to AP Literature next year.”1
SJ 2014
“Writing different prompts, at least once a week, has helped me improve my writing skills and also made me a better writer. Reading the book “Tortilla Curtain”* by T.C Boyle; helped me with the concept and the use of compare and contrast which benefitted me to have a better understanding of the book.”1
ES 2014
“My honors English class has taught me to flourish immensely as a writer. … I gained confidence in the way I was writing. I learned how to successfully analyze a book as well as a short story to great depths. Writing and analyzing a piece of work weather it is a poem or an article has become second nature to me. I was taught that a story may not only have one main idea or purpose, but in fact have several.”1
MK 2014
“…I’m most proud of learning how to use details and sensory language in my writing. The prompts I wrote in class every Monday allowed me to expand my imagination and include the detail my writing needed in order to improve. … I used to keep everything nice and simple but from this class I have learned that detail is very important in writing. … This year has been very fun and I’m looking forward for your AP Literature class next year.”1