Core Skills Analysis
Music
- Henry noticed the striking difference between Joshua Bell’s masterful violin playing and the few subway commuters who stopped to listen, sharpening his auditory discrimination skills.
- He recognized the powerful emotional response music can evoke, as shown by the child in the picture book who felt joy and wanted adults to hear the violin.
- By watching the documentary and reading the book, Henry practiced sustained listening and comprehension, improving his attention span for both spoken and musical information.
- He began to understand how setting influences how art is perceived, connecting the busy subway environment with the audience’s limited attention to the music.
Tips
To deepen Henry’s musical appreciation, set up a mini "subway concert" at home where family members play simple instruments while others walk by, then discuss who stopped and why. Follow up with a conversation about how music feels in quiet places versus noisy ones, encouraging Henry to describe his emotions using descriptive words. Explore other performance settings—like a park or a classroom—and have Henry predict how the audience might react. Finally, introduce basic rhythm clapping or tapping along to short violin excerpts to help him feel the beat and structure of the music.
Book Recommendations
- The Man with the Violin by Kathy-jo Wiese: A beautifully illustrated retelling of the Joshua Bell subway experiment that shows how music can move a child’s heart.
- Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss: A rhythmic, rhyming introduction to the violin that invites young listeners to feel the beat and explore the instrument’s sounds.
- Violin Dream by Gina Hall: A gentle story about a child’s wish to play the violin, highlighting the joy and patience that learning music can bring.
Learning Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 – With pictures and illustrations, ask and answer questions about the story (The Man with the Violin).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1 – Ask and answer questions about key details from the documentary video.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1 – Participate in collaborative conversations about music and its impact.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.5 – Recognize and produce rhyming and rhythmic patterns in songs (e.g., Zin! Zin! Zin!).
- National Core Arts Standards – MU:Re7: Respond to and analyze music, describing how it makes them feel and how context influences perception.
Try This Next
- Worksheet: Compare Two Listening Environments – draw pictures of a subway and a quiet room, then list how the music sounds and how people react in each.
- Listening Journal Prompt: After hearing a short violin clip, write (or dictate) three words that describe how the music makes Henry feel.
- Family Activity: Create a simple “stop‑and‑listen” game where each family member plays a short tune on a toy instrument; others must pause their activity to listen.
- Quiz Question: Why do you think most people on the subway didn’t stop to listen to Joshua Bell? Choose A) They were in a hurry B) They didn’t hear the music well C) They weren’t interested.