Background
High School students in tenth grade will focus on the songs of the Civil War period. The students are studying the Civil War in American History. This lesson is an extension coordinated between the History Department and the Music Department which seeks to include Multiple Intelligences in instruction. This lesson will emphasize the Musical and Linguistic spheres of Multiple Intelligences.
The students will come to this lesson with a general overview of the Civil War’s timeline, major events, and significance in American History. The students have previously studied music composition and are able to use a MIDI and a music sequencing program. The students are academically average to above average and are computer literate.
Lesson Description
Students will examine several songs from the Civil War era and discuss how each handles its particular topic. Students will then choose an event or concept from the period and compose a song with musical accompaniment about their choice using a MIDI and a sequencing program.
Objectives / Goals
• Have students expand their language usage through writing lyrics to a song.
• Have students utilize their musical skills through composing an appropriate melody and accompaniment to their song.
• Have students refine their computer skills by creating a language arts/music product which uses MIDI and music sequencing technology.
Grade Level
Grade 10 students
Concepts
• Content Area: Music, Language Arts, Technology
• Teaching Methods: presentation and discussion of Civil War songs
group discussion and choice of Civil War event/concept
group composition of lyrics, melody, and accompaniment
student presentations of compositions
Materials / Equipment
• handouts of Civil War songs
• CD player
• computer workstation with keyboard, MIDI, and a sequencing program (e.g. Performer 4.2)
Procedures
• Teacher presents Civil War songs to students using handouts, keyboard, and CD player.
• Students will discuss how each song handles its topic and what mood the lyrics are trying to convey.
• Students will decide if the melodies/accompaniments express the text of the song appropriately. .
• Students will construct two rubrics for evaluating the songs they have examined. One rubric for lyrics and one for melodies/accompaniments.
• Students will divide into groups and choose a Civil War topic they find interesting.
• Students will write lyrics about their chosen topic.
• Students will compose an appropriate melody and accompaniment for their lyrics using a MIDI. They will construct an appropriate harmonic accompaniment using a sequencing program.
Assessment
• Linguistic: Students will present their lyrics to the class and will receive feedback from the other students based on the lyrics rubric designed in class.
Students’ lyrics will be evaluated by the teacher based on the lyrics rubric.
• Musical: Students will present their melodies/accompaniments to the class and will receive feedback from the other students based on the music rubric.
Students’ melodies/accompaniments will be evaluated by the teacher based on the music rubric.
Questions for Students
1. What is the historical / social significance of the Civil War topic you chose for your song?
2. What is the mood of the text? Is it serious? Humorous? Melancholy? Joyful? Other?
3. Does your song tell a story such as a ballad, or does it express a specific emotion or idea?
4. Would your song most likely be sung by Union or Confederate soldiers? Would these soldiers have laughed or cried while they sang it?
5. How well do the melody and accompaniment of your song express the text?
Related Activities
• Take a field trip to a Civil War historical site.
• Watch a historical drama such as “Gettysburg”.
• Do some personal research and find out why the song “O Christmas Tree” is significant to the Civil War era and in particular to the state of Maryland.
Site Directory
Inter / Intra Personal Lesson Plan
Body / Kinesthetic & Visual / Spatial Lesson Plan
Multiple Intelligences Overview