Music Survey Results

   According to our survey music is very popular in our classroom. Hip-Hop/Rap and Rock are the most listened to music in our classroom. Country and electronic/dance were tied at 21% each. 14% picked other music so a few people don't like any of these genres which is rare because these genres are some of the most popular genres. 64% of the class listened to music more than two hours a day, which is a lot! More people don't play an instrument by about 7%. 85% of people listen to different genres of music when they are in different moods.  People like guitar and or other types of instruments in our classroom.

Music Survey

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Beat the Band Discussion Question #3

        Compare and contrast Helen with Prudence.

Five Great Facts About Bullying

    Cooper Redmond has feelings mainly towards two girls in the story, Prudence Nash and Helen Harriwick, both of which are extremely different in appearance, but similar underneath. For as long as anyone can remember, Helen Harriwick has been picked on and called names like "Hot Dog Helen" but nobody is sure why; they all just follow the crowd. Prudence seems to be the ring leader of the crowd of bullies as she is usually the first one to call her "Hot Dog Helen" in any situation. Cooper has feelings for both girls for different reasons. As stated in the book, Prudence has a great body and a strangely attractive attitude, consisting mostly of snarky comments and put-downs. Helen, on the other hand, always wears baggy clothing, probably because she has low confidence from all of the rudeness and hatred towards her, but has a very soft, kind personality that is warm and welcoming. But even though Prudence is nothing but rude to her now, she was not always that way. In fact, Prudence and Helen used to be best friends in eighth grade until Prudence claimed Helen stole her boyfriend after he left Prudence for someone else. Prudence, even after learning that Helen did not steal him, continued to call Helen names because it was making herself more popular. While Helen is telling this story to Cooper, she says, "Back then Prudence and I did everything together... We had everything in common: bands, the boys we liked, and even pizza toppings..I just think all of the attention got to her head and made her go crazy"(Calame,335). Helen and Prudence shared a lot in common together, and they probably still do. There is only one difference: Prudence is popular and Helen is not. This one difference, though seemingly small actually makes all the difference. Because of Prudence's popularity, her confidence rises and she spends more time trying to impress others by bullying people like Helen and improving her appearance. And Helen is left, alone and depressed, in her baggy clothing and barely brushed hair with no friends because people are afraid to associate with her. Helen and Prudence, seemingly polar opposites on the outside actually have tons in common. This connects greatly to the theme of not judging a book by it's cover. If people got to know the real Prudence and the real Helen, not just the people they see bullying or being bullied, they would see that they are the same person underneath.

This is a Great Segment From an Episode of the Tyra Banks Show About Bullies and Victims of Bullying.

Beat the Band Discussion Question #2

Explain how Cooper's friends Matt and Sean have changed throughout the story so far.

A Great Quote That Goes Along Well With This Book.

    In the book Beat the Band by Don Calame, Cooper's friends, Matt and Sean, have grown and changed greatly. Cooper has been buddies with Matt and Sean since the beginning of time and each has their own perks, Matt is smart and hardworking while Sean is more "Class Clown" like, but during their sophomore year of high school is when change really begins to happen. Towards the beginning of the book, Matt and Sean are very lazy and do not want to work to improving the band. Matt even tells Cooper, "Two whole songs? You have got to be kidding me! Coop, there is no way, no how we are going to ever be half as good as Prudence's band. I've got to go mow my lawn or something. Later Coopee"(130). Even Matt, the hard worker, knows that they suck and won't get any better. He even makes up an excuse for leaving practice early. Towards the middle of the book, however, is when we start to see a real change come on. After being forced to practice, Arnold Murphy's Bologna Dare, Cooper's band's name, has really picked up steam and is definitely getting a lot better. With this, the whole band's confidence rises. Matt and Sean even start to have fun with the band and were telling each other how much more enjoyable it is when Cooper says, "'Guys, we have been rocking out for 5 hours straight. It's 10 o'clock.' Sean quickly shoots me a look of surprise, 'Oh man, I was supposed to be home an hour ago. I guess I didn't realize how much fun playing an instrument could be!'"(227). Sean's change from the beginning of the book is evident here, as he even says that he changed his mind about playing an instrument. The change is definitely visible by the end of the book, after the competition when Matt asks Cooper, "Could we do this again sometime? You know, the Arnold Murphy's Bologna Date? I could see about getting my uncle to letting us play at his restaurant... I just had a lot of fun playing with you guys and would hate to see it end with this competition"(388). Matt and Sean have not just enjoyed themselves in the few months of band practice: they have had a blast. They both want to continue to play even if there is no upcoming competition. Throughout the story, Matt and Sean have gone from hating the band, to wanting to spend more time and money to keep it going. This is clear evidence of their change. Not only do Matt and Sean learn from this experience, but the reader does as well. This book has a lovely take-away message of not giving up, even if you want to, you just might change your mind.

Matt and Sean Show Great Persistence Throughout the Book.

Beat The Band Discussion Question #1

Hypothesize what will happen with Cooper's band.

A Poster for a Battle of the Bands Competition

         In the book Beat the Band by Don Calame, Cooper's friends, Matt and Sean, will change their mind about being in a band together and quit before the Battle of the Bands competition. Both Matt and Sean are extremely skeptical of the idea of being in a band together before they even join because they cannot play instruments well. Cooper wants them to join his band so they can win the Battle of the Bands competition to regain Cooper's fleeting popularity. In a conversation with Sean and Cooper, Sean shows his disbelief in the idea of the band."'It's pointless, Coop' Sean says...'We stink. And honestly, I don't see us getting any better in 3 months'"(49). Sean tells Cooper how he thinks that it is useless to even try. He knows they suck and that there is no way they can improve by the time of the competition. Matt and Sean's skepticism towards the band makes me think that they won't want to put in either the time or the energy required to get better and win the competition and they will both drop out. If Matt and Sean leave the band, Cooper will be left alone and won't be able to perform in a battle of the bands competition. With only one person left in the group, he will be forced to forfeit, and will probably gain a bad reputation among his peers.

This Video is From a News Broadcast That Explains a Battle of the Bands competition

Tech Friday#2