Singing, Chanting, Telling Tales: Arts in the Language Classroom

Written by the originator of Jazz Chants, this innovative volume presents simple, step-by-step instructions on how to write and perform chants, how to create poetry in class, and how to write song lyrics for the ESL classroom. Music and poetry encourage even low-level students to explore their own creativity and express themselves with much more power than traditional texts would allow. Special Features: Offers an enjoyable alternative to pattern practice. Students working with a strong emphasis on rhythms of the spoken language improve their spoken language skills dramatically. Provides sample exercises on how to create chants and examines chants written to reinforce structure, sounds, and functions of American English. Presents outstanding examples of student-created poetry and explains step-by-step how these poems were created. Features samples of song lyrics and suggestions on how a teacher can write original lyrics to familiar melodies.