Grade Level: 6,7,8
Goals:
*The students will begin to see the connection between music and poetry.
*The students will use their creativity to create their own song about port cities and ocean travel.
*The students will learn about different mediums they can use when teaching their peers.
Materials:
*"Traveling Man" recording and typed lyrics
*Other supplies around classroom that can be used as musical instruments
Content Areas:
*Music
*Language Arts
*Social Studies
Concepts:
*Poetry
*Song writing
*Travel
*Research
Procedure:
1. To begin with, the teacher will ask the students how they feel about poetry. Do they like it/dislike it/are indifferent? Why?
2. Then, the students will be asked if they enjoy music. What is it about music which is enjoyable? Is it the beat? the lyrics?
3. Now, the students will be asked what the similarity is between music and poetry. They will be told that music is poetry and if they enjoy music and write lyrics to a song, then they are enjoying and writing poetry.
4. After this background is given, the students will be asked what a parody is. It will be explained that a parody is changing the lyrics of a song to be about a different topic.
5. The students now will get a chance to use their musical and creative skills to teach the class a lesson about oceans and ocean travel.
6. To begin with, the teacher will play Rick Nelson's "Travelin Man" and hand out a copy of the lyrics to each student.
7. Then the students will be asked to name some songs that have been produced about oceans, marine life, ocean cities, boating, etc. The teacher can record these on the blackboard and perhaps play other songs that they are aware of. Some suggestions might be "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid, "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles, or "Sailing" by Christopher Cross.
8. The students will then be asked to get into groups of 4 to 5 students and create a song. They may choose to write a parody to the tune of another song that is already about ocean travel. Or, they may choose to do a parody to the tune of an entirely different song. They are also allowed to come up with a completely original piece of work. They will be encouraged to use sound effects or musical instruments using supplies in the classroom when presenting their song. They will also be asked to distribute a copy of their lyrics to everyone in the class.
9. The assignment for the song production is simple. In their groups, they will create a song and present it to their classmates. Everyone is their group should play a role in not only the presentation of the song, but in the writing of it as well. They should use their creativity and use props, sound effects, rhythm, etc. to make the presentation even better.
Evaluation: The students will be evaluated using a rubric (see attached sheet). The teacher, as well as each group, will evaluate the group presenting using the rubric. Therefore, they will get approximately 6-7 evaluations. These will all be taken into account when given a grade.
Approximate Time: 3 hours
Resources:
~Barnes, R.G. (ed.). Episodes in five poetic traditions: the sonnet, the pastoral elegy, the ballad, the ode, masks and voices. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 1972. ~Foster, John (ed.). Let's Celebrate: Festival Poems. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
~Mendoza, George. And I Must Hurry for the Sea is Coming In. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
~Perry, John Oliver. The Experience of Poems, a text and anthology. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
Internet Sites:
~http://www.netten.net/~bmassey/
Extensions:
-The students can use their artistic abilities and make a CD jacket for the single that their group made.
Teacher's Note: Reminder that the criteria for successful performance should be set when using the rubric. For example: Student must have all 3s and 4s for an A, etc.
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