Using Music To Study
Jimmy Imoehl
09NOV2009
Integrated Music Lesson
Standards:
Music
· 4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
o Students will create original compositions based on popular music incorporating geographical locations in their new lyrics.
Social Studies
· Geography 3: Locate and identify landforms, bodies of water, and cities on world maps.
o Students will be able to locate countries and bodies of water found in the Middle East
Objectives:
· Students will identify rhyming, beat, and syllable patterns given a popular song
· Students will compose an original song using geographic locations as a lyrical base
Why is it important?
· This lesson will help students establish relevance between the music that they listen to in their personal lives and the concepts that they are learning in school. It will help show students that their music is valued as well as introduce them to a new and effective way to learn information. This study method is a useful technique that students can apply in many areas of their lives.
Materials:
· AV equipment to play music selections
· Overhead or computer projector to display writing
· Lyrics to “Owl City: Fireflies”
Background for Teachers:
· This lesson is meant to be a review prior to a test. Students should already have an understanding of the content that is going to be on the test, but may have difficulties remembering particular facts or ideas. Students should bring in the lyrics to their favorite song prior to this lesson.
Steps in the Lesson:
· Introduction
o “Most of you know that tomorrow is our big geography test on the Middle East. I know that some of you are probably nervous about it, so what would you say if I told you that I was going to let you cheat on it? I don’t mean that you can write the answers down and bring them with you, but we’re going to learn something today that will give you a completely unfair advantage. It’s going to make the test so easy for you that you’ll be able to spend all of your study time listening to your favorite song.”
· Body:
o Identify Key Information
§ Ask students to identify important information that they have problems remembering.
o Model Song Writing
§ Display the lyrics to one of your favorite song (Owl City: Fireflies)
§ Ask students what it would be important to know about the lyrics if they were going to rewrite them. Students should note that the rhyming scheme, beat, and number of syllables in the lyrics are important.
§ Ask the students to identify these elements in the sample lyrics.
§ Show the list of concepts that you chose to include in your song
§ Show how you wrote them into the lyrics
§ Model the song for them
o Students write their own songs
§ Have students work individually to analyze the lyrics of the song that they brought to class
§ Have students repeat the process for writing their song
§ This should be an individual project, but could be opened to small groups based on the teacher’s discretion
· Closure:
o Have students share their newly created study songs in small groups or in front of the entire class if the students are comfortable with it.
· Assessment:
o Students will be assessed based on their adherence to the original rhyming pattern and beat of the song that they modeled.
o Students will be assessed based on their integration of geographical content into their lyrics.
Adaptations/Extensions:
· If students are experiencing difficulties writing lyrics to their songs they could also have the option of writing an original song or poem to use as a study guide. Some songs lend themselves more readily than others to this lesson, it is important to understand the struggles that students may encounter as they work on their songs.
Next Steps/Connections to Other Subjects:
· This lesson could be used in any subject as a way of either remembering information or exploring it in greater detail. Groups of students could be responsible for researching a smaller part of a larger topic and then writing a song about it to share with the class. Students would need to conduct in-depth research to write their songs, but all students would benefit from the overview of the larger topic that they would receive by listening to the songs their classmate’s songs.
Jimmy Imoehl
09NOV2009
Integrated Music Lesson
Standards:
Music
· 4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
o Students will create original compositions based on popular music incorporating geographical locations in their new lyrics.
Social Studies
· Geography 3: Locate and identify landforms, bodies of water, and cities on world maps.
o Students will be able to locate countries and bodies of water found in the Middle East
Objectives:
· Students will identify rhyming, beat, and syllable patterns given a popular song
· Students will compose an original song using geographic locations as a lyrical base
Why is it important?
· This lesson will help students establish relevance between the music that they listen to in their personal lives and the concepts that they are learning in school. It will help show students that their music is valued as well as introduce them to a new and effective way to learn information. This study method is a useful technique that students can apply in many areas of their lives.
Materials:
· AV equipment to play music selections
· Overhead or computer projector to display writing
· Lyrics to “Owl City: Fireflies”
Background for Teachers:
· This lesson is meant to be a review prior to a test. Students should already have an understanding of the content that is going to be on the test, but may have difficulties remembering particular facts or ideas. Students should bring in the lyrics to their favorite song prior to this lesson.
Steps in the Lesson:
· Introduction
o “Most of you know that tomorrow is our big geography test on the Middle East. I know that some of you are probably nervous about it, so what would you say if I told you that I was going to let you cheat on it? I don’t mean that you can write the answers down and bring them with you, but we’re going to learn something today that will give you a completely unfair advantage. It’s going to make the test so easy for you that you’ll be able to spend all of your study time listening to your favorite song.”
· Body:
o Identify Key Information
§ Ask students to identify important information that they have problems remembering.
o Model Song Writing
§ Display the lyrics to one of your favorite song (Owl City: Fireflies)
§ Ask students what it would be important to know about the lyrics if they were going to rewrite them. Students should note that the rhyming scheme, beat, and number of syllables in the lyrics are important.
§ Ask the students to identify these elements in the sample lyrics.
§ Show the list of concepts that you chose to include in your song
§ Show how you wrote them into the lyrics
§ Model the song for them
o Students write their own songs
§ Have students work individually to analyze the lyrics of the song that they brought to class
§ Have students repeat the process for writing their song
§ This should be an individual project, but could be opened to small groups based on the teacher’s discretion
· Closure:
o Have students share their newly created study songs in small groups or in front of the entire class if the students are comfortable with it.
· Assessment:
o Students will be assessed based on their adherence to the original rhyming pattern and beat of the song that they modeled.
o Students will be assessed based on their integration of geographical content into their lyrics.
Adaptations/Extensions:
· If students are experiencing difficulties writing lyrics to their songs they could also have the option of writing an original song or poem to use as a study guide. Some songs lend themselves more readily than others to this lesson, it is important to understand the struggles that students may encounter as they work on their songs.
Next Steps/Connections to Other Subjects:
· This lesson could be used in any subject as a way of either remembering information or exploring it in greater detail. Groups of students could be responsible for researching a smaller part of a larger topic and then writing a song about it to share with the class. Students would need to conduct in-depth research to write their songs, but all students would benefit from the overview of the larger topic that they would receive by listening to the songs their classmate’s songs.
