Music

Music texts provide students with information about the different types of musical instruments and about specific music genres. These texts contain information about where musical instruments come from; in what type of genre are the instruments used for, and how the instruments are classified. These texts are great for students who are interested in music or a specific instrument. When I select my books for my classroom library I will look for texts that are appealing because if they are appealing students are more likely to read the books. I will also look for other text features, like font size, illustrations, sidebars that explaining important concepts from the text, and I’ll look for texts that contain complex words which will help my students learn new concepts about music. I plan on using these texts by having class discussions about different instruments, genres, bands or authors, and history of instruments. Also, as I select the books for my classroom library I will look for the ones that are student friendly, which means that are written especially for students to understand and comprehend, as well as having information about the type of music that my generation of students are growing up listening to. 

Laban Carrick Hill, (2013). When the Beat Was Born : DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-hop. New York : Roaring Brook Press. 

Complex level: 

• Fourth & Fifth

Read-aloud level:

• ·    Third & Fourth

The cover of this book is very appealing. The inside of the book has lots of colorful illustrations which seem very realistic. Just by glancing over it, the books seems as if it was a fictional book, but it is actually a biography of DJ Kool, and it provides information about how hip-hop came to be. This book can be used in a history lesson as well since it provides information about how hip-hop was created. This will be an interesting book for my students to read since nowadays hip-hop is one of the most famous genres in the U.S. It contains good text features which make the book fun and engaging to read. It doesn’t contain many complex words which makes it easier for students to understand and comprehend what the book is about.

Wendy Davis, (1997). From Metal to Music. New York : Children's Press. 

Read-aloud level:

• First & Second

Complex level:

• Second & Third
  
  

This book provides information about how musical instruments like trumpets, brass, and other metal instruments are made. The book goes through each step in detail about how these instruments are made. It contains real life photos that go along with the information that is being provided in the text. At the end of the book the text contains a reference page with the different types of brass instruments. Each instrument has an illustration and a short description about the instrument. This book will be great for those students interested in music since it provides information about how instruments are created, and how they are used.  In my classroom I’d use this book in a read aloud and for shared readings.