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Rekha S. Rajan

Born: Hoffman Estates, Illinois January 5
Connection to Illinois: Rajan was born in Hoffman Estates and lives in Chicago.

Biography: Dr. Rekha S. Rajan is a musical theater and operatic performer, early childhood educator, professor, and author of a number of publications on the arts in education. She is the recipient of several grants, including a two-year research grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, has performed in a variety of venues, including Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and sits on various statewide curriculum boards. Rekha specializes in introducing children to the arts. Her debut children’s book, AMAZING LANDMARKS (Scholastic, 2022), is a STEAM compendium of the stories behind how and why 10 iconic landmarks were built. Her parenting book THE READ ALOUD FACTOR (Chicago Review Press, 2022) will provide a modern, inclusive approach to establishing read-aloud routines for busy families, featuring diverse reading lists, using music, working around technology, and addressing multilingual dynamics. Rekha’s work consistently draws from her professional expertise as an educator and performer, her South Asian heritage, and her abiding love of music. Rekha sings everyday with her husband and three children and when she’s not writing, she is playing the djembe, mridangam, trumpet, ukulele, and piano.


Awards:
  • This is Music: Drums Illinois Reads Book Selection, Illinois Reading Council, 2023

Primary Literary Genre(s): Non-Fiction

Primary Audience(s): Children

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RekhaSRajan
Web: https://rekhasrajan.com/


Selected Titles

Amazing Landmarks: Discover the hidden stories behind 10 iconic structures!
ISBN: 1338652494 OCLC: 1243305620

Scholastic 2022

Could you build the world's most iconic landmarks?Could you design the Golden Gate Bridge? Could you construct the Eiffel Tower? Could you decorate the Burj Khalifa? Could you make a budget, draw up the plans, and handle every problem that arises to create something that withstands the test of time?This accessible nonfiction compendium explores the creation of 10 global landmarks, from the first spark of an idea to the final layer of paint. Acclaimed educator Rekha Rajan encourages readers to see themselves as the engineers, builders, architects, and more through interactive stories and a unique structure.Graphic artist Alex Asfour's gorgeous art works seamlessly with engaging photographs to create a standout nonfiction title that will appeal to both kids and educators.Ideal for any grade schooler with an interest in STEAM!

Arts Evaluation and Assessment: Measuring Impact in Schools and Communities
ISBN: 3319877275 OCLC: 1085209596

Springer [Place of publication not identified] 2018

​This book addresses the challenges faced by arts organizations, schools, and community-based settings when designing program evaluations and measuring artistic engagement and experience. With contributions from leaders in the field, this volume is an exemplary collection of complete program evaluations that assess music, theater, dance, multimedia, and the visual arts in a variety of contexts.

Blizzard Rescue: A Branches Book (Disaster Squad #3)
ISBN: 1338828908 OCLC:

Scholastic 2024

The Disaster Squad is ready to save the day in this action-packed early chapter book series perfect for fans of the Magic Tree House series, or for kids who aren’t quite ready to read I Survived! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Meet the Disaster Squad! Leela, Jaden, and the rest of the Jackson family travel the country and respond to natural disasters, helping people in need and rescuing animals along the way. In this third adventure, the Jacksons are called to Minnesota, where a blizzard is sweeping through the area. Snow-filled skies, icy roads, chilly temperatures... There are people and animals in danger! Will the Disaster Squad be able to brave the cold and lend a helping hand? With action-packed adventure and artwork on every page, Disaster Squad is the perfect series for any emerging reader!

Can You Dance Like a Peacock?
ISBN: 1728264235 OCLC:

Sourcebooks Explore 2023

Learn about animals and get grooving with this fun and lively picture book from a renowned STEAM expert and arts educator! Can YOU dance like a peacock? Stand up straight, fluff your feathers, stretch your neck, and STRUT STRUT STRUT! Discover the amazing ways that animals use movement to communicate! Lighthearted text and vibrant illustrations teach readers how honeybees waggle, dolphins splash, and flamingoes march. It even invites kids to get up and try out some animal-inspired dance moves themselves. Perfect for classroom movement breaks!

From Backpacks to Broadway: Children's Experiences in Musical Theatre
ISBN: 1610485602 OCLC: 953575443

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2016

Musical theater is a dynamic, collaborative art form, which encompasses music, theater, dance, and the visual arts. Traditionally associated with adult performers, musicals also have roles designated specifically for children. How then does involvement in musical theater support children’s learning through the performing arts? What do children value from their musical theater experiences and how do these experiences influence children’s personal, social, and artistic lives?Based on a decade of research, this book explores these questions through children’s participation as singers, actors, and dancers, in school-based, community, and professional musical theater. By valuing children’s voices as important in understanding experience, Rajan constructs a framework of musical theater participation, and applies broader educational implications to highlight the unique characteristics of musical theater in children’s lives.

Hurricane Rescue: A Branches Book (Disaster Squad #2)
ISBN: 1338828878 OCLC:

Scholastic 2024

The Disaster Squad is ready to save the day in this action-packed early chapter book series perfect for fans of the Magic Tree House series, or for kids who aren’t quite ready to read I Survived! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Meet the Disaster Squad! Leela, Jaden, and the rest of the Jackson family travel the country and respond to natural disasters, helping people in need and rescuing animals along the way. In this second adventure, the Jacksons are called to Texas, where a hurricane is heading down the coast. Stormy skies, flooding streets, and crowded storm shelters... there are people and animals in danger! Will the Disaster Squad be able to weather the storm and lend a helping hand? With action-packed adventure and artwork on every page, Disaster Squad is the perfect series for any emerging reader!

Integrating the Performing Arts
ISBN: 8132116054 OCLC:

Sage Publishing [Place of publication not identified] 2013

Integrating the Performing Arts in Grades K–5
ISBN: 1452203954 OCLC: 865545107

Corwin Thousand Oaks, Calif. : 2012

Enhance the learning experience by integrating the performing artsResearch documents that the performing arts boost learning, build confidence, and motivate students to participate in class. How do we leverage these benefits in the current age of accountability? Rekha S. Rajan offers a practical solution with standards-aligned, concrete examples that show how to integrate the performing arts into math, science, social studies, and language arts. Key features include:Step-by-step examples of how to include the performing arts in all aspects of the curriculumWays to impact students′ learning in the cognitive, social, and artistic domainsActivities that can be implemented immediately and easilyStandards-based lesson plans

Musical Theater in Schools: Purpose, Process, Performance
ISBN: 0190603208 OCLC: 1040073826

Oxford University Press 2019

Musical Theater in Schools: Purpose, Process, and Performance is a comprehensive resource for general classroom teachers, music and drama educators. The book is the first of its kind to provide strategies for including musical theater across the K-12 curriculum, inviting teachers and arts specialists to utilize musical theater as an interdisciplinary art form within their own classrooms, or as collaborative projects throughout the school community. Typically relegated to after-school activities, musical theater can have a strong place both as an avenue for performance, creativity, and self-expression, or as a pathway for student learning about academic subjects.Drawing upon musical theater terminology, the book is organized into three distinct acts. The first section gives an overview of how this popular art form developed and how its stories reflect our culture and community, with descriptions of musical theater as a profession for adults, and for children. This section also discusses musical theater's compromised position within the arts, often relegated to theater departments even though repertoire and songs are available to music teachers, and argues for musicals as a form of interdisciplinary education. The second section outlines ways of integrating musical theater into the curriculum with considerations for the National Core Arts Standards. The third section provides suggestions for auditions, casting, rehearsing, and presenting a complete production, with a specific focus on student-centered performances.Based on the author's own experiences as a professional musical theater performer, coupled with teaching and research in classroom settings, the book reasons that you do not have to be a Broadway star to teach or perform musical theater. This unique and innovative book supports educators through the process of bringing musical theater into the biggest and most important performance space - the classroom stage.

Rekha: The Untold Story
ISBN: 8193284186 OCLC: 958457498

Juggernaut 2016

In the 1970s, Rekha was Bollywoods most glamorous sex symbol. But her outspoken attitude and sexual openness rattled people and Bollywood tried desperately to suppress her. This book tells the truth about her relationship with the reigning superstar of the time, her many other love affairs, the tragic suicide of her husband and her curious relationship with her secretary Farzana.

The Art of Educational Evaluation: a personal view 1984 Hardcover. Edition published by the Falmer Press
ISBN: B07FC7FJB7 OCLC:

The Falmer Press 1984

The Read Aloud Factor: How to Create the Habit That Boosts Your Baby's Brain
ISBN: 1641607661 OCLC: 1294287374

Parenting Press 2022

We have always known that reading aloud is an important way to bond with your baby and develop language skills.Now neuroscience research is showing us the long-term benefit that reading aloud has for children—all the way into adulthood. Author Rekha S. Rajan was part of current research that shows individuals who were read to more frequently as children had a measurably healthier brain in old age.This innovative and accessible book incorporates the latest research on brain development, describes how reading aloud supports language and social-emotional development, and gives parents and caretakers what they need to make read alouds a regular and enjoyable part of the family routine.

This Is Ballet: And Other Classical Dances
ISBN: 0593754166 OCLC: [S.l.] :

Rise x Penguin Workshop [S.l.] : 2025

The first in a series that introduces three major dance families: ballet, hip-hop, and jazz, from a world-renowned early childhood educator and performer. This first introduction to classical dance begins with a simple explanation of what defines a classical dancer. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of different classical dances, from ballet to synchronized swimming to Kabuki; the ways dancers move; and who they move with. This encouraging dance series will inspire young children to dance in their home or in their community, in socks or ballet shoes, and alone or with others.

This Is Music: Drums
ISBN: 0593387007 OCLC: 1285575183

Rise x Penguin Workshop 2022

Make music with this hands-on introduction to the four instrument families: drums, horns, strings, and voice in this new board book series by a world-renown music educator. What do a set of bongos, a tambourine, and a cooking pot have in common? They are all drums! This first introduction to instruments in the drum family begins with a simple explanation of what defines a drum. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of a variety of percussive instruments and are encouraged to find drums of their own in the world around them. Each title in the THIS IS MUSIC series features an interactive novelty musical element that invites the reader to "play" the book!

This Is Music: Horns
ISBN: 0593387023 OCLC: 1285558426

Rise x Penguin Workshop 2022

Make music with this hands-on introduction to the four instrument families: drums, horns, strings, and voice in this new board book series by a world-renown music educator. What do a trumpet, a tuba, and a conch shell have in common? They are all horns! This first introduction to instruments in the horn family begins with a simple explanation of what defines a horn. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of a variety of brass and wind instruments and are encouraged to find horns of their own in the world around them. Each title in the THIS IS MUSIC series features an interactive novelty musical element that invites the reader to "play" the book!

This Is Music: Strings
ISBN: 059338704X OCLC: 1348140371

Rise x Penguin Workshop [S.l.] : 2023

Make music with this hands-on introduction to the four instrument families—drums, horns, strings, and voice—in this board book series by a world-renown music educator. What do a guitar, a harp, and a piano have in common? They are all strings! This first introduction begins with a simple explanation of what defines a string instrument. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of a variety of different stringed instruments and are encouraged to find strings of their own in the world around them. Includes a bound-in string to strum, and a visual glossary. Each title in the THIS IS MUSIC series features an interactive novelty musical element that invites the reader to "play" the book!

This Is Music: Voice
ISBN: 0593387066 OCLC:

Rise x Penguin Workshop 2023

Make music with this hands-on introduction to the four instrument families – drums, horns, strings, and voice – in this board book series by a world-renowned music educator. What do a choir, a rapper, and a yodeler all have in common? They all use voice to make music! This first introduction begins with a simple explanation of what defines a musical voice. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of a variety of different vocal musicians, and then encouraged to use their voice in the world around them. Complete with a mirror for observing their own mouths!

Wildfire Rescue: A Branches Book (Disaster Squad #1)
ISBN: 1338828843 OCLC:

Scholastic 2024

The Disaster Squad is ready to save the day in this action-packed early chapter book series perfect for fans of the Magic Tree House series, or for kids who aren’t quite ready to read I Survived! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Meet the Disaster Squad! Leela, Jaden, and the rest of the Jackson family travel the country and respond to natural disasters, helping people in need and rescuing animals along the way. In this first adventure, the Jacksons are called to Northern California, where wildfires are raging through the forests. Smoke-filled skies, trapped animals, evacuation mandates... There are people and animals in danger! Will the Disaster Squad be able to keep their cool and lend a helping hand? With action-packed adventure and artwork on every page, Disaster Squad is the perfect series for any newly independent reader!

 

 

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