Title: Analyzing Political Music

Type of Teaching Unit: Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 8^th grade

Time frame: 2 days

 

Teacher Information:

Joshua Sterns

Shiloh Village School

AAM affiliation: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

jsterns@shi85.org

 

Lesson plan description and rationale:

 

Students will analyze a musical spreadsheet to determine what the message of the song is.  After studying the parts of what make up a song, the students will then create their own song focusing on a political issue.  This will enhance the student’s knowledge on researching primary source documents as well as relating how various mediums are used to convey ideas for or against topics.

 

State Standards:

 

STATE GOAL 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.

 

16A.-Apply skills of historical analysis and interpretations.

16B.-Understand the development of significant political events

16D.-Understand Illinois, United States and world social history.

 

STATE GOAL 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

 

18A. Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature, the arts, traditions and institutions.

18B. Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

 

Objectives:

• Students will be able to examine primary source documents and make historical inferences from them.
• Students will become familiarized with a song from the women’s suffrage movement.
• Students will use American Memory website to conduct research.
• Students will compose their own song that contains a political message.

 

Resources:

 

Website that the students will be seeing:

 

Horne, Kate “Womans right; A right good ballad rightly illustrating womans rights”. 1853.  Historical American sheet music 1850-1920. [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/dukesm:@field(DOCID+@lit(ncdhasm.n0034))] [M1.A12V vol. 57 Case Class original bound volumes](April, 2004)

 

Methods:

Anticipatory Set:

This lesson will take place in the computer lab.

Students will be asked about what their favorite songs are and why they like those songs.

The discussion should last roughly five minutes, the instructor should be sure to conclude the discussion by explaining that songs are not just used for entertainment purposes but can also be a powerful way to share thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

 

1. Students will be given a handout to analyze Kate Horns’ song for women’s rights.  The handout contains 9 research questions for the students to fill out.
2. The students will log onto American Memory and read the lyrics of Kate Horns’ song and answering the research questions on their handout.
3. After completing the first 9 questions of the hand out the students and instructor will discuss what was learned from Kate Horns’ song lyrics.

 

Evaluation:

On a separate piece of paper the students will write a song about a political topic, it must have at least 2 verses and a chorus.  The students may work with a partner if they wish.  The students will then share their song with the rest of the class.  Students will then try to identify what the political message is of the students that are presenting their song. 

 

Keywords for this lesson:

Primary Source, Sheet Music.