Individual Lesson Analyses

Lesson 1 In this lesson, students were given the tools to begin writing their songs. They learned about the important things to consider when selecting a topic for a song as well as the purposes of songwriting. Through completing the songwriting topic list and rhyming words worksheet, students chose meaningful topics for their songs, and worked individually or as a group to begin the songwriting process. This can be seen in the video when two female students discuss ways to use the melodic material from the popular song “Happy,” and make it their own by changing the words and adding additional instrument parts. This process can also be seen in “Examples of Student Work,” found in the “Assessing Student Learning” section of the portfolio, through completed worksheets that focus on laying a foundation for writing a song. I had originally anticipated that most students would be interested in using a rhyme scheme in their song, but many students were not, so I decided that completing the rhyming words worksheet in the student packet would not be a requirement of the project if students did not want to use a rhyme scheme. Because of this, I decided to spend more time talking about rhyme scheme in popular songs during the following lesson to help students decide if rhyme scheme was an element that they wanted to include in their songs. I monitored student learning during the lesson by walking around to each individual or group and talking with them about their individual progress and questions. Lesson 2 In this lesson, students learned about rhyme scheme and near rhyme through listening examples of popular music. Students listened to sections of three popular songs that either use or do not use rhyme scheme, categorized them, and then assessed how songwriters use rhyme scheme in their songs. Evidence of this learning activity can be found in the “Examples of Student Work” section and above in the “Rhyme Scheme Activity,” found under “Lesson Materials.” Students learned about popular song form through a student led discussion about verse and chorus. Students then continued the process of creating their songs. A group of three female students is featured in the video discussing how to incorporate all of their ideas into a song and then deciding the best form for their song so that everyone’s ideas are represented equally and in a logical way. At the end of the lesson, students were asked to chant their song lyrics out loud and determine what meter their song was in. This self-assessment can be seen in “Examples of Student Work” as well. No adjustments were made from the original written plan for this lesson. Student learning was monitored through participation in the rhyme scheme activity as well as individual or group help from myself. During this lesson, students were instructed to focus on writing lyrics before using a ukulele, so no ukuleles were used for this lesson. Many students were eager to use a ukulele to assist in their songwriting and thought that it would help the creative process. During the next lesson, students will be able to use ukuleles during the whole lesson. After assessing student progress by reading Student Songwriting Packets, I decided that most students are ready to move into combining new and already learned musical terms to their songs as many students had a great start with lyrics and other musical ideas. During the next lesson, I will do a demonstration of combining relevant musical terms into an original song so that the students have a model of what this process may look like as a way to support their learning and understanding.

Lesson 3 In this lesson, students learned about key terms in songwriting including melody, melodic phrases and chord progressions, and how they all fit together to make a song. Students learned about common chord progressions found in popular songs and were able to asses and identify songs which fit the chord progressions that they played on the ukuleles. This can be seen in the video when a student identifies the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as a song that fit the chord progression I-V-vi-IV. The students were then given a model on how they can combine meter, melody, melodic phrases, chordal introduction, chord progressions, and strum pattern into a song through teacher demonstration. I modeled creating a melody first then finding a chord progression to fit the melody but explained that there are multiple ways to combine all of the elements. In the video, there are examples of students taking what they learned from the model and applying them to their songs. There are two female students featured in the video working with myself to figure out what chords could be the possible tonic and dominant chords in their song for the introduction, as well as a strum pattern and how to notate it. Two male students are then shown performing a section of their song that they had a melody for and then created an accompanying chord progression, as well as determining melodic phrasing for the rest of the verse. During this lesson, I noticed that students were less comfortable with chord progressions than I had anticipated, so I spent more time talking about this concept and less time talking about melody and melodic phrase, which is different than I had originally planned. I monitored student progress during this lesson by assessing student responses during the discussion at the beginning of the lesson, as well as checking in with each individual or group to make sure that they were able to apply aspects of my example to their songwriting process. At the end of this lesson, many students were finished with their songs or were close to it, but many said they would not feel confident enough performing for the class without more practice, so students will have the first part of the next lesson to review their songs before performing them. Lesson 4 In this lesson, students learned about the importance of reflecting on and assessing their songs. The students completed a self-assessment worksheet, which can be found in “Examples of Student Work.” I talked to the students about having a sense of pride in what they wrote. Students then performed their songs for the group of students who participated in the project, myself, and my cooperating teacher. Students also learned about the power of positive peer feedback, which made all students feel comfortable during the lesson. Two individual students and a group are featured performing their songs in the video as well as receiving feedback from myself and their peers. I was able to monitor student progress from all four lessons by listening to each performance because I knew where each individual or group started, as well as what they struggled with and how they resolved their difficulties. No adjustments were made from the original written plan for this lesson.