Willy Wood is a longtime Columbia, MO, educational consultant, teacher, and author who has developed classroom techniques that reflect the way in which the brain processes information. Respected in his field, Willy Wood authored the afterword of Recontextualized: A Framework for Teaching English with Music.
Authored by a number of teachers, the book encourages teachers to discover techniques for fully engaging students through music in ways that reinforce rigorous standards while enhancing creativity. The book came out through difficulties experienced by a Boston Public School teacher trying to get ninth-grade students enthused about well-worn required reading.
With Romeo and Juliet considered uninteresting by students in its textural form, the teacher brought in music such as the West Side Story’s I Feel Pretty and presented the song in a variety of contexts, from remixes to parodies, to generate discussion. The end result was that previously apathetic students began actively considering the meaning of Shakespeare’s play in a context that related directly to their own 21st-century realities.
Authored by a number of teachers, the book encourages teachers to discover techniques for fully engaging students through music in ways that reinforce rigorous standards while enhancing creativity. The book came out through difficulties experienced by a Boston Public School teacher trying to get ninth-grade students enthused about well-worn required reading.
With Romeo and Juliet considered uninteresting by students in its textural form, the teacher brought in music such as the West Side Story’s I Feel Pretty and presented the song in a variety of contexts, from remixes to parodies, to generate discussion. The end result was that previously apathetic students began actively considering the meaning of Shakespeare’s play in a context that related directly to their own 21st-century realities.