Olivia Chrisp EDCURRIC 622 943701726

EDCURRIC 622 Music Assessment Task: 15 Points

Select a picture book at your chosen level, and complete the following:

Name the title and the author and illustrator of the book, reader or journal story.
Write a brief synopsis of the story, outlining key ideas. (2 points)

Nonsense Verse by Lewis Carroll. Illustrated by Lorna Hussey

This is a book comprising several of Lewis Carroll’s famous ‘nonsense poems. It includes
popular poems such as Father William and The Walrus and the Carpenter, however, I have
chosen it specifically for the poem Jabberwocky. The poem makes use of nonsense words
throughout such as ‘brillig’ ‘mimsy’ and ‘outgrabe’, with the only clear detail being the
slaying of a Jabberwock. The rest of the poem’s highly inventive and abstract characters and
settings are up for the interpretation of the reader. As Alice concluded after reading the poem
in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, "Somehow it seems to fill my head with
ideas—only I don't exactly know what they are!” (1871).

Justify why you think your chosen book is suitable for developing music
possibilities (300 words). Use at least two different references to support your
justification (5 points).

I chose this book specifically with the view to use Jabberwocky. I chose this particular
book over other books containing Jabberwocky because of its illustrated interpretation
of the poem (see below). There is enough illustration that students get a sense of the
themes but not enough that they cannot also use their imagination to make their own
meaning from the descriptions.
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I believe that this poem has an inherent drama and rhythm that comes from the words
that Carroll invented. The poem allows readers to infer meaning whilst giving almost no
recognisable information for interpretation. It is these features that make the poem an
excellent springboard for developing musical learning experiences, particularly in the
area of progressing literacy understandings and techniques through music.

In being asked to interpret the poem musically students are inadvertently being asked to
interpret it with a literacy lens. To be able to create a piece of music or respond to the
themes in the text musically, students must also determine the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings. They
must analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. They will also
interrogate how the language choices evokes a sense of time and place as well as setting
a tone.

The relationship between music and enhanced literacy learning is supported by

literature. Trinick suggests that ‘it is timely to explore potential connections between
music and non-musical learning’ (2012). Music can be used as a means to enrich
existing literacy programs, both supporting and enhancing language experiences
(Trinick, 2012). I chose Jabberwocky with this relationship in mind and believe it is an
excellent choice for exploring literacy through music.

The poem is freeing in its dismissal of conventional language use and therefore frees
students in their musical exploration of it. There are no ‘right or ‘wrong’ answers as we
can’t be certain of its meaning. Students are free to build their musical skills and
advocate for their interpretations.

Subsequent musical learning experiences will afford students the opportunity to work
individually and collaboratively to explore the themes in the text through ‘the potential
of sounds and technologies for creating, interpreting and representing music ideas’
(Ministry of Education, 2007).
Describe two music learning experiences that may be generated from your chosen
book. (4 points)

1. Soundscapes
 The Jabberwocky is hugely expressive in its language and in its rhythm. I believe it
lends itself to a soundscape learning experience. Students can come up with their
own soundscapes either inspired by the poem as a whole or they can select specifics
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stanzas from which to develop their soundscape.

 Students could use instruments as well as recorded sounds from their environment
to bring their soundscape to life.

 Students will perform their soundscapes to the class along with a reading of their
selected section of the poem.

2. Students will invent a musical theme to represent a particular character or setting

of their choice.
 Students are introduced to several characters in this poem, the Jabberwock, ‘the
slayer’ ‘the Jubjub bird’ ‘the Bandersnatch’ etc.

 Due to the nonsense nature of the poem it can be particularly difficult to tell what
characteristics these characters might possess. Similarly, there are words which could
be attached to any meaning. Who is to say what the definition of ‘borogroves’ is or
what the descriptions in the first stanza might mean?

 Students will create a piece of music individually or in groups. This affords students
rich creative licence to draw their own meaning from these characters/settings and be
thoughtful about how Carroll’s choice of words or combination of words has
provoked an emotional response.

 Students will create a visual piece to accompany their musical interpretation. This
could include symbols of their own creation to represent the dynamics of the piece.

 Students will write a description for their interpretation of their chosen

character/setting and present the three pieces to the class.

These two activities could be used in isolation or could be used to build on one another.
Similarly, there is room for challenge and depth in both activities. They could be stretched to
cover more than one session if required and students can access the activities at different
levels of depth.

From your suggested learning experiences, write two learning intentions relating to
music, and identify the relevant strands from the NZC. (2 points)

LO 1:
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 create soundscapes, using repetition and contrast (PK, DI, UC)

LO 2, 3, 4 (I have included several possible LO’s to fit with the breadth of the
learning experience)
 explore sounds and musical ideas and improvise with them to create moods and effects
in response to a text (PK, DI)

 represent soundscapes as graphic scores. (PK, DI)

 present and discuss their compositions, using appropriate vocabulary (PK, CI)

References: (2 points)

Carroll, L., & Hussey, L. (Illustrator). (2002). Nonsense Verse. London: Bloomsbury
Publishing

Carrol, L. (1871). Through the Looking Glass. London

Ministry of Education. (2007). New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington

Trinick, R. M. (2012). Sound and sight: The use of song to promote language
learning. General Music Today, 25(2), 5-10.