The suggestions that we propose here are ideas for didactics. Anyone can make their own, using the texts and music.

­ One possible way of going through a text:I

0. Audition of music and text

Propose the text with its music.

Ask your students to jot down their first impression.

Let the ones who have something to say, speak.

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Submit the text and music again.

Break up your audition into short sequences and through simple questions, step by step,

make them reconstruct the story line.

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Let them listen to the text again, fragment after fragment.

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New audition of text and music.

Option: Give the text directly on a sheet and listen only once. Brighter students might

prefer this.

II

Start the Search

1. Present the Approach

If your students are quick to understand, you can go faster through this section. The

questions here might be too simple for some, and you can go to the next section if they

have understood the (circumscription of the) Question. The questions can be treated to

the whole class without separate groups.

2. Go to the Exploration

Probe more deeply into the text with one, some or all the Exploration questions. Keep in

mind that the multiple choice questions are not to be considered as right or wrong

exercises. Each element is meant to be discussed briefly. Ask them to critically

appreciate the contents of each element and to select the answer they think more

profound.

The Exploration can be treated to the whole class without separate groups.

3. Themes

Here you could divide the class into several groups, according to the number of themes

or according to what is practical relevant to the size of your class. Give a theme to each

group. Give them some (5) minutes to discuss about the theme in relation to the text

and to themselves and to synthesize their findings.

Let a spokesman present the conclusion of their research.

Interesting discussions with the whole class are possible after each presentation. Here

and there you might have to expose some ideas that they might have overlooked.

III

4. After the search, confront the text with an illustration.

Let them read or sum it up. Let the students confront it with the text: has the

illustration something to do with the text?

1. Make them consider these more general questions::

­ In which ways is the text illustrated by the story?

­ How would you personally interprete the link between text and story?

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­ Maybe the students would like to voice their views about the text as a whole?

­ What do you think of the music? What did it make you feel? What did it reveal about

the text in general? About its individual fragments?

2 . Make them answer the questions on the sheet.

­ Other possible ways and suggestions of going through a text:

– Make your own questions. The teacher is free to compose his own searches and

illustrations with questions. Only the opening texts and music are fixed.

– Combine the approach, exploration, themes and illustration. Although there is a

buildup in the sequence towards greater depth, each block can be used independently

from the others, but only when the teacher thinks it is right to do so or the level of

his class suggests so. A theme could be used for a socratic conversation, or an

exploration or illustration for a class discussion. Sometimes, due to your school

schedule, the blocks will have to be spreaded over different lessons or some blocks

will have to be selected.

Also, (parts of a) block(s) can be omitted according to the comprehension reached, or

the level of the group. One could choose parts of the approach, questions of the

exploration or some of the themes. The sequence here is proposed as basic, that the

teacher can use with variation and improvisation.

– Let the students write an essay on the text.

– It is helpful if the teacher him/herself has an attitude of wonder, in order to check if

the students' attitude has changed.

– The teacher should be attentive to the speed and pace of the music. It has been

composed many years ago and can nowadays be sometimes too slow for todays' fast

rhythm of life. When the class really gets impatient, we suggest to use the 'fast

forward' button of your player here and there. We do not like saying this, because we

think that text and music are the fixed elements of the method. Improvisation by the

teacher can be done with the questioning. But we noticed, that the class process

should stay workable. We therefore are trying to come up with a new edition of the

music later.

– Always keep an element of surprise in the lessons. It is part of wonder.

Give the sheets one by one. This will ensure the same focus of discussion in the

whole class and will keep the element of surprise.

Per lesson:

– The students can receive the text on a sheet of paper, or having to listen to the

text without a sheet.

– The students can receive the questions on a sheet of paper, or having to answer

the questions without a sheet.

– We suggest to use this method once a month in the philosophy class, or whenever a

fruitful atmosphere can be felt.

– The method has no end or rather an open end. It is meant to let the students take off

into a journey.

– Ask feedback from your students, in order to adjust the way you use the questions.

This will also give you insight in the way that the students learn. It will teach you

how their learning process has been, how they have learned from it and what you

can do to improve it.

– Another suggestion is to let the students write a story or essay following a text,

theme or illustration!

– Let them formulate their conclusion in the form of a proposition.

– This method has no end. As said, it is a starting point and meant to let the student

take off into outer space.