The BME of Literacy (and Music)
Posted on August 17, 2011 by Elizabeth Peterson in Integration Ideas, Literacy.
If there is one thing my students learn early on in the school year, it’s the BME Rule. I have a sign in my classroom that states: “The BME Rule – All Good Writing is Following It!”
It has to do with the fact that all good pieces of literature have a beginning, a middle and an end. But in my class, students get this concept drilled into their heads as we listen to music each day during our Active Listening time. When I talk about the BME Rule, I always mention music very simply like this: “All good pieces of writing (and music!) follow the BME Rule!”
And it’s true! Music is a composition that needs to be pleasing to the human ear, just as a story, an article or a poem needs to be as well. Our brains love organization and even the most abstract piece of music will still have some B, M and E!
If you listen to any piece of music, you can find its beginning, middle and end. Sometimes the beginning may be short and the ending can be abrupt, but they are there just the same. Paralleling the BME in music to the stories, reports and poems we write can be yet another effective way to show students an important aspect of good writing.
And you can take it further too. Ask students what makes a good beginning, middle and end in a piece of music:
B – Does it grab the listener’s attention? Does it introduce anything? (instruments/character, themes, foreshadowing)
M – Does it have details? (layers of sound) Does it tell a story? (with various themes or lyrics)
E – Is it exciting/subdued/abrupt? Why and what does that do for the listener? Does the ending wrap things up? How? Does it bring back a familiar theme (ABA form) or introduce something somewhat new (coda)?
This can then be applied to your students’ writing and story creation on Big Universe as they use the writing feature on the site. Their beginning story page will not only introduce their setting and character in words but with the many images they can piece together. Their middles will contain the sequencing of details in words and pictures and their endings will need to be well thought out to make the point they want at the conclusion of their story.
Integrating all these pieces together: music, story, images and creation on Big Universe is a sure fire way to emphasize and utilize the BME Rule!
[...] you can use with your students to teach some of these things. For example, these songs have a beginning, middle and end. Their beginnings draw you in by setting a scene, introducing a character and/or grabbing your [...]