Abstract of

Media Literacy
A Musical Journey Through John Steinbeck's The Pearl: Emotion, Engagement, and Comprehension

Roger Caswell

Research indicates that emotion drives attention, which in turn promotes learning. The use of popular music in literature instruction emotionally engages students with text. The combination of melodies and lyrics aids in connecting text to reader, thus paving the way for comprehension.

With over 125 musical references, John Steinbeck's The Pearl is a natural choice for demonstrating the use of popular music in the classroom. Five student-centered lessons are presented in this column, along with suggestions for alternate lessons. Drawing on this model, teachers can combine other quality literature with selected songs to engage students in their classrooms. A music bibliography and music references are provided.

Abstract from Caswell, R. (2005, September). A Musical Journey Through John Steinbeck's The Pearl: Emotion, Engagement, and Comprehension. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(1), 62–67. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.49.1.7