I ended up deciding that instead of just writing a how to teach composition book (mainly because there are geniuses with more knowledge than me that have done that) that i would instead write a book which discusses the intricacies of teaching music in the primary school.
At the moment the book includes various pieces of useful material for generalist classroom teachers and the main aim of it is to provide students in rural communities access to a sufficient level of music education. The book includes a total of 7 units of work, 1 for each year group in the primary sector (K-6) as well as various easy-to-understand documents which enhance the understanding of generalist teachers in relation to music pedagogy.
My intention for the book was to create it in a way that music could be taught with the least amount of resources possible. This means that there is a lot of singing involved, a considerabke amount of found-sound projects and lots of hands on creative activities involving body percussion and representing different stimuli.
The intention is for the final copy of the book to be available on iBook as well as in PDF format. Although various media can be embedded into PDF format I wanted to keep the document clear of multiple media resources and online material as many rural schools don’t have access to the internet. I want this book to be able to be downloadable online in a matter of seconds and then able to remain on teacher’s devices that they carry with them whether it be a laptop, tablet or phone or even a printed version.
The project has been created predominantly in iBooks Author. It was my first time using the program and I have learnt a lot and would now consider myself able to use it to aid my teaching in the classroom and even instruct my students on how to use it. The book is nearing its final stages and I am very proud of the work that I have done.
A downloadable copy will become available to preview in the coming days.
LJS Music Education 