M2 Supplemental

M2 Supplemental

Music and the brain

Look at the pictures on page 42

And read the captions

Open Ended

What instrument is the girl playing?

Open Ended

Which part(s) of the brain do you think you use when you sing? Play an instrument? Listen to music?

Open Ended

In what ways do you think music and language are similar?

Skimming

 On the next page, read the title and the headings. Answer the questions below.

Multiple Choice

The word boost in the title probably means?

• improvement

• problem

• system

Multiple Choice

What do you think is the main idea of the reading?

• The brain can be trained to be more musical.

• People with musical training are more successful

• Music can help the brain in many ways

Now read the text "A musical boost"

Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: music boosts certain language abilities in the brain. Here, we look at two examples.

▌Music and Hearing

A recent study by researcher Nina Kraus shows that playing a musical

instrument can improve a person’s hearing ability. As a part of the study, two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room. The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

Musicians hear better, says Kraus, because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds. Think about violinists in an orchestra. When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and ignore the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to concentrate on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.

Music and Speaking

Gottfried Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke1 patients. Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing. Dr. Schlaug was surprised to find that singing words helped his patients to eventually speak. Why does this work? Schlaug isn’t sure. Music seems to activate2 different parts of the brain, including the damaged parts. This somehow helps patients to use that part of the brain again.

▌Understanding the Results

Music improves concentration, memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities. It can even help sick people get better. Playing an instrument or singing, says Nina Kraus, can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp as we get older. Music, she adds, is not only enjoyable, it’s also good for us in many other ways.

Multiple Choice

Another title for the Music and Hearing section could be _____.

• Trained to listen

• How to be a musician

• Playing in an orchestra

• The power of music

Multiple Choice

What two groups did Nina Kraus study?

• noisy people and quiet people

• musicians and non-musicians

• violinists and other musicians

• people with hearing problems and people without hearing problems

Multiple Choice

What does pay attention to mean in line 11?

• enjoy

• make

• listen for

• look for

Multiple Choice

What is true about both Nina Kraus and Gottfried Schlaug?

• They are both medical doctors.

• They both work at Harvard Medical School.

• They both play an instrument in an orchestra

• They are both interested in how music and the brain are connected.

Multiple Choice

In line 13, what does they refer to?

• orchestra musicians

• instruments

• violinists

• the sounds of the orchestra

Multiple Choice

How does Gottfried Schlaug help stroke patients speak?

• by repeating their name and address

• by playing them music

• by asking them to sing words

• by getting them to play an instrument

Multiple Choice

Which type of improvement is NOT mentioned in the reading?

• memory

• school grades

• language ability

• sleep

reading skill - identifying reasons

A reading text may contain one or more reasons why an action happens. Identifying why things happen helps you better understand the relationship between actions in the text. The reason may come before or after the action or effect. Words that signal reasons include because (of), since, and due to. In the following examples, the reason is underlined:

Musicians hear better because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds.

Singing words may help stroke patients since it activates a different part of the brain.

Because of this need to concentrate, musicians hear many sounds better.

Read the text below and identify the words that signal a reason

How has Western music reached every corner of the world? Researchers believe Western music is popular because of its ability to express emotions across cultures. 

Researcher Thomas Fritz played parts of 42 Western songs to members of the Mafa, an ethnic group in  Cameroon. Since he wanted to include a variety of  Western music types, Fritz played classical, rock, pop,  and jazz. He asked the group members to point to pictures of people’s faces to show the emotion the music expressed. 

The Mafa were able to identify the emotions correctly. This was probably due to the fact that the rhythms and melodies of Western music are similar to the emotional features of human speech.

Open Ended

Which 3 phrases in the text signalled a reason?

Open Ended

Complete the sentences with the correct reasons from the passage.

1. Researchers believe Western music is popular

Open Ended

2. Thomas Fritz played classical, rock, pop, and jazz

Open Ended

3. The Mafa probably identified the emotions correctly

Open Ended

Discuss with a partner. Have you ever used music to help you study or to help you learn something? How did music help?

Poll

Do you prefer to use quizzizz or nearpod?

• quizziz

• nearpod