SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER i
To the University of Wyoming:
The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Kara K. Smith presented on
April 22, 2019.
Dr. Leslie Susan Rush, Chairperson
Dr. Jenna Min Shim
Dr. Nicole C. LaMartine
APPROVED:
Dr. Leslie Susan Rush, Director, School of Teacher Education
Dr. Peter Moran, Director, Curriculum and Instruction
Dr. Suzanne Young, Associate Dean, Graduate Programs
ABSTRACT
Students from two sixth-grade general music classes provided the base for exploring the question of whether a collaborative, project-based, songwriting curriculum unit might enhance the engagement of learners in the general music classroom. A seven-week Songwriter’s Workshop unit plan, developed by the teacher/researcher, was implemented and evaluated for its effectiveness. Quantitative and qualitative data gathered through pre- and post-project student surveys, along with teacher observations and anecdotal data based on student work indicates this type of curriculum can indeed increase engagement in the classroom. Recommendations for future implementations are included by the author/teacher/researcher.
Running Head: SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER
Songwriting and the 6th Grader: A Creative Endeavor toward Enhanced Student Engagement in
6th Grade General Music
An action research and curriculum development capstone project submitted to
The College of Education and The Graduate School of the University of Wyoming
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
in Curriculum and Instruction
By Kara K. Smith
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
April 2019
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My heart is grateful for the many people who have encouraged, supported and often prodded me to finish the course of this program and this project. Dr. Leslie Rush stepped in to chair to my committee, and I am indebted to her leadership. Dr. Jenna Shim has also served on my committee with her insight as a seasoned musician. Dr. Nicole Lamartine, a valued colleague serving as my outside committee member, continues to encourage and inspire me through her musical pursuits and her investment in music educators.
My family sustained me throughout this venture, and with their encouragement, I find myself with the finish line in sight. I especially want to thank my husband, Merle Smith, for pulling me through the times when I was ready to abandon ship. He stepped in and took over everyday tasks to free up time for me to write, continually reminding me this is simply a season of perseverance.
I am grateful to the many friends and colleagues for their wisdom and empathy and perspective. I would be remiss if I did not include Sue Smith, her colleagues and their dedication to help aspiring songwriters to become more excellent at their craft. I am also thankful for the students who embarked on this endeavor with me. Their candid input and creative output keep reminding me how the search for best practices begins and continues with them. My hope is the outcome of this season will be a blessing to all who contributed their time, energy and to make this project happen.
Creativity is a gift given to us as image bearers of our Creator. I believe it is our duty and privilege as teachers to foster creative minds, hands and voices in the students we serve. I lift these thankful hands, mind, heart and voice to Jesus, to Him be the glory!
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………………………………...i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………....ii
LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………....iv
LIST OF APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………….v
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW………………………………………..1
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES...... 13
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS………………………………………………………………..35
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS………………………………………………………………….42
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………..55
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………..64
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………...70
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Preferred activities in music class…………………………………………………...... 43
Figure 2: Music involvement outside of regular music class……………………………………44
Figure 3: Preferences for project group work……………………………………………………45
Figure 4: Most challenging part of the project…………………………………………………...47
Figure 5: Easiest part of song unit to accomplish……………………………………….……….47
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER v
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A:
Wyoming Fine and Performing Arts Content and Performance Standards for Music.….70
Appendix B:
LCSD #1 Elementary Music Quarterly GVC-6th Grade only……………...... 75
Appendix C:
Active Listening Rubric………………………...... ……………...... ………….78
Appendix D:
Sample of Proficiency Scale for 6th Grade Music Benchmark…………...... 80
Appendix E:
Preliminary Student Survey Questions…………………………………...... 82
Appendix F:
Post-Songwriting Unit Survey Questions………………………………...... …84
Appendix G:
Songwriter’s Workshop: Student Workbook……………………………...... 86
Appendix H:
Wyoming FPA Music Benchmarks by Workshop Assignment...... 124
Appendix I:
Group Grade Sheet...... 126
Individual Grade Sheet...... 127
Appendix J:
Power Point Slides...... 129
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER vi
Appendix K:
Building Principal Approval...... 160
IRB Approval...... 161
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 1
Chapter One: Introduction
My journey as a music teacher in public school encompasses experiences that diverge and intersect at fascinating points. As an aspiring music education major, I envisioned myself in a high school with over-achieving choirs, fantastic music theater productions and inspired students who would go on to become professional musicians or future music educators. My first
“real” job as a middle-school general music and choir teacher quickly humbled my delusions of grandeur and introduced me to the challenges of pre-adolescent students. My career pathway continued to intersect with sixth-grade learners at critical junctures along the way. I am now in a position with half of each teaching day spent with sixth-grade learners, and despite all of my years of experience, still find them incredibly challenging to engage in the music learning process.
This project is based on the continuing pursuit of finding best practices to engage this population of learners in the general music classroom. In order to provide context and the setting for my project, I outline the current structure of the music curriculum in our district, as well as the Wyoming State Standards for the Fine and Performing Arts. I also include the setting and logistics of the school in which I currently teach. Within this context, I present the overview of the action research and the curriculum design for the Songwriter’s Workshop project I’ve implemented in the 6th grade General Music classroom.
Music Curriculum in my Current District
Music Curriculum in Laramie County School District #1 (LCSD#1) encompasses a broad scope of offerings and opportunities for students K-12. Music Specialists provide General Music for all students K-6, as well as several developing Pre-K programs in the district. Itinerant instrumental teachers provide additional pull-out instruction in strings and band for elementary SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 2 school students. Secondary schools offer music electives in performance groups for vocal, strings, and band. There are also opportunities for students to elect guitar classes at various levels. Occasionally, there are additional offerings for “Exploring Music” at the junior high level, the closest thing to the “general music” curriculum this study explores. Music theory/composition has also been an elective offering in the past at the high school level, but similar to Exploring Music, is offered only when elective enrollment numbers are sufficient to justify offering the course.
Documentation of the music curriculum for LCSD#1 can be accessed through the district website at laramie1.org. The documents include proficiency scales, Guaranteed and Viable
Curriculum (GVC) Maps, course descriptions and course syllabi, when provided. Suggested common assessments as well as district assessments and rubrics are also available in this link.
Unfortunately, not all of the curriculum folders are yet fully populated, so particular information on secondary general music offerings is unavailable.
The elementary general music curriculum was revised in the summer of 2018 by a team of elementary music teachers, including myself. The supporting documentation was updated and is available to teachers through Canvas Webpages in our district. Portions of these documents and samples are included in the Appendix.
Wyoming Fine and Performing Arts Contents and Performance Standards
The Wyoming Fine and Performing Arts Contents and Performance Standards were updated in 2013. These standards encompass visual arts, music, theater and dance. In this document, a standard is defined as a general strand of fine and performing arts content and processes that students are expected to know and be able to do. (2013 Wyoming Fine and
Performing Arts Standards, p. 3) SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 3
Four standards provide the structure for the content and performance criteria:
Creative Expression Through Production: Students create, perform, exhibit or participate
in the arts
Aesthetic Perception: Students respond to, analyze, and make informed judgments about
the arts
Historical and cultural context: Students demonstrate an understanding of the arts in
relation to history, cultures, and contemporary society
Artistic Connections: Students relate the arts to other disciplines, careers and everyday
life
From these four foundational standards, each discipline derives the benchmarks specific to their concentration. Additionally, the grade spans are divided so that benchmarks are grouped developmentally and based on the organization of Wyoming schools. These grade spans include
K-4, 5-8 and 9-11. Coding the standards and benchmarks for instructional reference is then recognizable by these delineations. For example, FPA 8.1.M.4 references the Fine and
Performing Arts Standard for 8th grade, Standard 1, Music, Benchmark 4, which reads: “Students compose and arrange music within specified guidelines”. (See Appendix A)
For the purposes of this study, the grade level benchmarks appropriate for alignment fall into the span of 5th - 8th grade. Standard 1 provides the bulk of priority benchmarks for developing instruction for students in the general music arena for LCSD#1, and the five benchmarks for this standard encompass performance, creativity and music literacy.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 4
Priority Standard Benchmarks and Proficiency Scales
In the curriculum work based on the FPA standards, priority benchmarks were established for the differing levels and content areas of music instruction. For sixth grade, the proficiency scales reflect the priority benchmarks of Standards 1.1; 1.2; 2.3; 3.2; 3.3; 4.1 and 4.3.
The proficiency scales reflect the district templates developed from Marzano models. I have included a sample of the music proficiency scales for 6th grade in Appendix D. The scales include broad terms and cover a variety of ways students might demonstrate the benchmark for the standard. Success criteria is delineated by rubric levels.
Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC)
LCSD#1 has developed curriculum maps based on the concept of Guaranteed and Viable
Curriculum, or GVC:
A guaranteed and viable curriculum (GVC) ensures that all students have an equal
opportunity to learn (OTL). Each student will have access to an effective or highly
effective teacher, and access to the same content, knowledge and skills in each section or
class (slide from presentation based on Marzano, 2003).
The district elementary music GVC is outlined by quarter and grade, delineated by the type of skill or knowledge covered, and references the standards and which common assessment rubric to use with the instruction. The categories used in this particular GVC include
Foundational, Artful, Beatful and Tuneful, terminology based on the methodological work of
John Feirabend, implemented previously by the elementary music team in the district. Although I participated in district trainings with Dr. Feirabend when I first returned to teaching in this district in 1999 and the following six years, I was teaching at the secondary level when these terms were chosen to categorize our elementary GVC. The meanings of the terms “Artful, SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 5
Beatful and Tuneful” are intuitive, but I am not familiar with the specific details of this approach.
My inclination is to perceive them as part of the K-5 elementary teaching language, and although
I include these activities required by the GVC, I feel they are not as appropriate for 6th grade learners as they are for the K-5 students.
The GVC provides the basic structure for providing fundamental instruction for all students at a particular level, but at the same time leaves the choice of which instructional approaches and resources to use up to the individual teacher, unless it is a district assessment. For example, the sixth-grade music GVC for First Quarter includes:
Artful- Student will create movements to reflect the style of music (Rubric D) 1.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.2, 4.1
Beatful- Student will play in an instrumental ensemble (Rubric F) 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, 4.1
Tuneful- Student will sing in an ensemble (Rubric B) 1.1, 1.2, 2.3, 4.1
(LCSD#1 Elementary General Music GVC, revised August 2018)
Since none of these first quarter assessments are district assessments, the teacher is able to decide which music selections best fit the needs of their particular students in regard to style and skill levels in playing and singing. Recommended activities are included in the resources.
Marzano (2003) describes this flexibility as classroom curriculum design (p. 106), where the teacher is responsible for the decisions regarding sequencing, pacing and experiences to best meet the particular needs of the class. Common rubrics developed for the GVC provide a consistent tool to evaluate students on their musical development in the assessed categories.
Standards coding is minimized in the LCSD#1 elementary GVC documents by simply referring SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 6 to the standard and the benchmark, since the map is already delineated by grade level and is naturally situated within the music content and performance standards.
Learning Targets, “I Can” Statements and Success Criteria
At the building level, teachers are required to post the overarching intent and purpose of the class lesson in language students are familiar with and can reiterate to an observer or bystander
(an administrator, for example). The terminology common to the elementary level includes
Learning Targets (LT), “I Can” Statements and Success Criteria.
For example, if my lesson includes a two-part canon and the LT is for my students to be able to sing and hold their part (in the group), I need to write on the board: “I CAN: Sing my part in a two-part canon”. The success criteria include holding steady while singing on the group’s given part while the other groups sings against them canonically. However, that’s too much verbiage for a 6th grader. Realistically, the LT and the success criteria are more likely to appear together to read: “I CAN sing and hold my part in a two-part canon.” Ultimately, the student version of the lesson objective, or LT, should reflect the standard/benchmark and/or the GVC goal encompassed in the lesson plan.
Current Elementary Music Curriculum Materials
The materials most recently adopted for the elementary general music curriculum is a series developed by presenters and practitioners Randy DeLelles and Jeff Kriske titled “Game
Plan.” The materials include a teacher’s guide and sets of visuals and manipulative for grades K-
5. Listening examples and supplementary reading materials and ensemble materials are listed, but not provided. Instrumental activities are designed for classrooms equipped with Orff-style
Instrumentation. This “curriculum” is activity based and is organized by the school weeks, followed by most schools using a traditional nine-month calendar. Each grade level is laid out SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 7 with learning objectives in the categories of rhythm, melody, harmony, form and timbre, with specific concepts covered each month. Activities include rhythmic reading, speech pieces, movement, songs with instruments, listening and folk dance. Optional simple written assessments are included in the back of the teacher’s guide.
Analysis and Insights regarding the LCSD #1 General Music Curriculum
The structure of curriculum in LCSD #1 is primarily based upon the adopted state standards. Dr. Stephen Newton, Director of Instruction for this district phrased the definition of curriculum work as the “thoughtful unwrapping and unpacking of the adopted content state standards.” (personal interview, Sept. 12, 2018) Over the last several years, LCSD #1 has utilized the professional development offered by Marzano Research to rewrite and restructure curriculum documentation to align with the adopted standards. Included in that curriculum work is the aforementioned GVC, a term coined by Marzano. The questions behind establishing the criteria GVC include “how do we ensure that all kids have access to it and that it’s viable?”
(Newton, 2018). According to Dr. Newton, the templates used by the district for assembling the documentation of curriculum are derived from the work of Wiggins and McTighe in
Understanding by Design (2005). He also mentioned the work of Jacobs (2004) in helping organize people for doing the work of curriculum development.
From a theoretical level, Dr. Newton ascribes his personal viewpoints founded in the work of
Vygotsky, especially with the ideas of gradual release of responsibility, keeping kids in the zone of proximal development, and working with a more knowledgeable “other”. This theoretical perspective is quite conducive to the work substantiated in the music curriculum work and instructional practice of the general music teachers in our district. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 8
The general curriculum is aligned to the FPA Music Standards, with the heaviest emphasis on Standard 1, followed by Standard 4, with less emphasis on Standards 2 and 3 at the elementary level. The specific work of curriculum development for general music at the elementary level is primarily accomplished by those in the trenches. According to Sean
Ambrose, the LCSD#1 Music Coordinator:
Our practice has been for our local music staff, as our experts in general music, to be the
creators of, and the vettors of our elementary general music curriculum, as the committee
that develops, adjusts and implements, and then our district policy is then to take that to a
curriculum council once the music specialists have created or modified it. (personal
interview, Sept. 12, 2018).
The Game Plan materials were adopted in the last review cycle of curriculum materials. I find it interesting that the authors sub-title the materials “An Activity Based Curriculum.” Dr.
Newton noted the discrepancy in the varied perceptions of the term “curriculum”…
One mistake we make is to make the terms “curriculum” and “materials” synonymous.
Materials are tools…the tool is never the point…deeper learning must be our objective.
Good instructional design helps us find the way to do something more important.
They walk together but they are absolutely separate things. (2018)
I also find it interesting that in the adoption of these materials, the committee apparently did not consider the extended and developmental needs of sixth-grade learners. (I make this assumption only because I was not teaching at the elementary level during that adoption cycle).
The materials only cover grades K-5. The curriculum documents, particularly the GVC, treats sixth grade merely as an extension of the fifth-grade curriculum. I asked Mr. Ambrose specifically how the district curriculum addresses the middle-level learner, and he readily SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 9 admitted, “not very well” (Ambrose, 2018). He described how in the eastern seaboard region of the United States, music is typically a requirement in grades 6-8, but also set in a secondary or middle-school configuration, with some elements of choice for the student. Since LCSD #1 schools are set up with K-6 in the elementary level, sixth grade is perceived as the capstone of elementary, rather than the introduction to, or bridge to the secondary experience.
As a result of this configuration, music remains compulsory for the sixth-grade students, but due to the constraints of the elementary schedule, students are not offered choices within that general music experience. Furthermore, with the current unique situation of the only upper- elementary school in the district (grades 5 and 6), the concept of 6th grade music as a capstone experience of elementary music is somewhat thwarted since the depth of the students’ elementary experience took place in the students’ K-4 schools.
The gap for middle-level learners is also evident in the lack of curriculum considerations specific to their developmental level. The materials for K-5 elementary general music often become ill-suited for the physical, emotional and social development of pre-teen students. The activities in the Game Plan series lack the connection to life outside of the music room, so the individual teacher must find ways to supplement the materials without compromising the requirements of meeting the benchmarks for the standards or for the GVC. Instructional design using the LT’s and “I Can” Statements lean toward behaviorism, and do not infuse many of the social cognitivism or social constructivism characteristics that might make the curriculum more relevant to the middle-level learner.
6th Grade General Music in My School
In my current teaching assignment at Eagle Rock Elementary (pseudonym), I serve as the general music specialist at the only upper-elementary school in our district. This school houses SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 10 eleven 5th grade classes and eleven 6th grade classes in the current school year. Since the specialist schedule is built for twenty classroom sections, the extra section at each level collapses into five of the other classes, bringing the class population for half of my classes to an average of
30 students. The 6th grade classes currently meet in the afternoon. The general music classroom is a small room in the center of the building, adjoining the cafeteria. Designed as a “cafetorium,” the wall dividing the cafeteria and the music room is a soft wall, intended for the capability to open and serve as a small stage area. Two additional rooms flank both sides of the music classroom. These rooms are used for band rehearsals two days a week. The afternoon classes overlap one lunch period in the cafeteria by ten minutes. Behind the music classroom is a storage area with instrument lockers. Background noise is unavoidable in this set-up, so distraction is one major factor challenging the engagement of learners in the music classroom. Additional environmental challenges include a facility design issue with the air conditioning/air flow in the music room. This is especially noticeable as 6th grade general music meets back-to-back with PE classes, so half of the students arrive to the music room hot and sweaty.
Given these logistical challenges alongside the developmental hurdles of students at this level, making strategic curricular choices is vital to creating a learning culture conducive to increasing engagement with learners at this level.
Project Overview
For my capstone, I titled my project: Songwriting and the 6th grader: A creative endeavor toward enhanced student engagement in 6th grade general music. This project essentially worked on two levels. The first component was an action research case study. Data collection included a short, preliminary computer survey of the students two selected 6th Grade classes (See Appendix E). This survey established a baseline of student interest and attitudes SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 11 toward General Music, as well as the intent of the student(s) to continue in music classes or in music activities past the sixth grade. Additional space was provided for students who wished to include longer responses. During the project, I kept a journal of student behaviors, comments and questions as they progressed through the steps of creating their songs. I also included my own perceptions of how the unit progressed.
Toward the end of the project, students took a post-unit survey (See Appendix F). This allowed me to compare data from the pre-unit survey, as I looked for patterns of growth in interest and engagement, as well as indicators to determine whether the project provided the means to help students find a better connection to the content of the 6th grade General Music class.
The second component of this capstone required developing, implementing and evaluating a beginner-level songwriting unit for my 6th grade General Music classes. Titled
“Songwriter’s Workshop”, the unit consisted of five weeks of instruction, practice and application, followed by a week for student performances of their songs and an additional week for reflection and assessment.
The unit framework included the following learning targets and sequence of lessons:
Learning Targets:
As students work collaboratively in pairs, small groups, or independently they will:
1) Write or revise a song lyric with at least one verse and one chorus
2) Add melody
3) Add at least two chords of harmony to the melody
4) Arrange the song
5) Practice and Perform the song for class SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 12
6) Review and Reflect on the performance and the process
This project took approximately seven weeks to complete.
In keeping with conclusions from the literature, the project included student choice within given parameters. The project also included collaboration between students, and students chose the size of their group (up to six people), as well as with whom they worked. This project followed immediately after an introductory guitar unit, so students had basic harmony instrumentation available for use in their song projects. Students also had the option to use keyboards and/or mallet instruments for harmonization. Student groups performed their song projects in class. Due to the constraint of time available for creation and rehearsal, the minimum requirement for each group was to create and perform one verse and one chorus of an original song. Student groups wishing to go above and beyond this requirement were encouraged to work outside of class time to complete a fuller song structure. Genre was student choice, as long as the basic requirements of form were fulfilled and lyrics were deemed school appropriate.
At the conclusion of the songwriting project, student performances were video-recorded, giving students the means to observe, self-reflect and assess their progress as a group and as individuals. The actual video recordings were not included in the research data. Content from student reflections, incidental remarks and samples from student lyrics are included as contributions to the qualitative data.
Data collection included information from both surveys, my observation journal notes, and student self-evaluations. In the Appendices, I include the Student Workbook, Power Point presentation slides and rubrics developed for evaluating the song projects, as well as documentation of the Wyoming Fine and Performing Arts Music Standards/benchmarks covered in the unit. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 13
Chapter Two: Review of Literature and Theoretical Perspectives
Introduction
I don’t remember much from my childhood elementary music classes. In fact, all I remember from my 6th grade experience is sitting at a cafeteria table with a music series book open and given the “privilege” of playing the claves along with our class singing whatever song was in the book. I’m pretty sure I was assigned to play the claves so I would stay awake. I don’t remember my teacher’s name. In truth, the only positive musical memory I have from that year was singing in the talent show, which I don’t think was even connected with my music class.
Thankfully, my grandmother made sure I took private piano lessons, which was my saving grace for life-long involvement with music. Music class as a sixth-grader was not something I enjoyed or looked forward to, even though I was a dedicated young musician.
My attitude toward general music was not unlike other learners at this age. As early as the mid-70’s, Shaw and Tomcala (1976) noted a lack of published testing instruments to measure the attitude of elementary school students toward music, so they developed the Music Attitude
Inventory (MAI). Pogonowski (1985) summarized the research of Shaw and Tomcala, as well as several other researchers with the disparaging findings that attitudes toward classroom music grow more negative with increasing grade levels, especially amongst males. Boswell (1991) conducted another comparative study using the MAI and another instrument, the Music Class
Attitude Index (MCAI), which helped to identify the preference in activities of the students she studied. Results indicated students favor playing instruments over singing and describing activities, and preferred activities with an element of “choice”.
The problematic issue of negative attitudes toward school music continues into the 21st century, as DeVries (2010) noted that according to Stavrou (2006), music was “nominated as one SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 14 of the least favourite [sic] school subjects.” Stemming from an invitation extended by a frustrated music teacher who was discouraged by the disengagement of her year six (last year of primary school) students, DeVries researched the issue. DeVries conducted an ethnographic study with a group of 12 to 13-year-old students in their final year of an urban primary school in
Australia to examine the preferences of music for this age group, the role music plays in their lives, and the impact school music experiences have on their engagement with music. His findings, consistent with others that will be presented in following sections, showed students
“like music, that music plays a significant role in their lives, and that they want to be engaged in relevant, student-centered music experiences at school” (DeVries, p. 15). That’s the good news.
The challenge is how to make that engaging connection for students between what they like and what they do in school music.
Dictionary.com provides a definition (partial results used here) for the word “engage” as:
“to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons); to attract and hold fast”. If we, as general music educators, are to engage our upper-elementary or middle-level students in classroom music, we must be purposeful as we develop curriculum. These considerations include the physical, cognitive and social development of learners in this group, the setting in which they learn, and the approaches we take to their learning experiences.
In her book, Engaging Children: Igniting a Drive for Deeper Learning, Keene (2018), delves into the descriptors of engagement. Behaviors such as compliance and participation may pass off on an observation checklist as ‘engagement’, and internal motivation may also play a part of those behaviors. However, true engagement involves more--a synthesis of markers, such as anticipation, a need to know, a loss of a sense of time, a hyperawareness of emotion, a sense of cognitive dissonance, intense focus and concentration, and a fervent “seeking for more” (pp. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 15
23-24). These descriptors are more difficult to measure, but certainly exciting to observe as students truly engage in learning.
Although our responsibilities include the guidance of our state standards and meeting our local curriculum requirements, our first responsibility should be to ensure our students have a meaningful, memorable and engaging musical experience in our classrooms.
What Is Curriculum?
McCutcheon (1997) writes that curriculum can “be thought of as what students have an opportunity to learn under the auspices of schools.” She goes on to delineate between the overt, the hidden and the null curriculum. Overt curriculum is typically the formal, and perhaps mandated curriculum adopted by a school district. Hidden curriculum is more a reflection of the teacher delivery of the curriculum, influenced by the teacher’s personality, passions and biases.
Null curriculum describes what students do not have the opportunity to learn. This lack of opportunity can be due to several factors, including lack of resources or the boundaries of place in which the learners reside.
Overt, or formal curriculum traditionally reflects a positivist approach that plans instruction from a linear model. According to Ornstein and Hunkins (2017), Tyler and Taba popularized this linear approach to curriculum as a plan for achieving goals.
“The planned, formal curriculum focuses on goals, objectives, subject matter, and organization of instruction”(Ornstein, p. 9). This linear approach to curriculum is steeped in tradition.
Traditional, positivist curriculum is either teacher or subject-centered and takes a top-down approach. (Hanley & Montgomery, 2005). Even current models of planning, such as Backward
Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) and Curriculum Mapping (Jacobs, 2004), utilize an outcomes-based, scientific, technical-rational approach to curriculum design. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 16
The foundation of these designs is the four-step process designed by Tyler (as cited in
Elliot, 2015):
1) State the objectives (or ends) of learning in specific terms
2) Select learning activities (or means) in relation to one’s objectives
3) Organize learning activities in relation to objectives
4) Develop means of evaluation in relation to one’s objectives
Regarding the design of a formal music curriculum, Conway (2002) recommends the following elements be included: the music department philosophy; the overall program goals and beliefs; a list of developmental skills or benchmarks; required resources; sample teaching strategies; sample assessment strategies; and suggested curricular resources. Conway recognizes that forcing a music curriculum into a linear model such as objectives-based curriculum is a compromise, especially as multi-dimensional as the music classroom should be. She recommends a combination of designs to “ensure that the curriculum is meaningful to teachers.”
(Conway, p. 56).
Barrett (2005), as well as Hanley and Montgomery (2005) challenge music teachers to re- think the traditional approach to curriculum development and consider a reconceptualized view of curriculum. This model is presented from a postmodern orientation and is founded upon learner-centered experience. The approach shifts planning from closed and predictive to open- ended and responsive. Teacher planning is more of a framework, with the intent of a cyclical revision as student understanding develops. Intended outcomes of this approach is connecting the musical experience a student has in school to their experiences outside of school, with the intent of lifelong engagement in music, as well as making musical experiences meaningful in the classroom. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 17
Determining the best approach to designing curriculum specific to middle-level music students begins with taking a look at who these students are, what they want and what they need to make their connection to music meaningful.
What’s a “Tween”?
Regelski (2004) describes youth in the transescence stage of development-the years prior to pubescence through adolescence as the “tween” years, somewhere between childhood and full adolescence. This typically encompasses those from as early as age nine through about age 14.
This nickname is quite fitting and will be used frequently to denote the middle-level learner throughout the rest of this writing. I highly recommend Regelski’s chapter, ‘Tween-agers, Their
School and Their Teachers (Regelski, pp. 29-51), which provides a wealth of specific information on the physical, cognitive and social development of students and the implications for teaching general music to students at this level. Regelski separates developmental details further into two groups: Intermediate (grades 4-6); and Middle school (grades 6-8). Note that 6th grade is included in both groups, as different communities locate this grade differently. For the purposes of this study, I highlight a few of the details he includes in this chapter concerning the intermediate grade characteristics, as they are most relevant to the student population with whom
I currently work. I also include a few of the implications listed for each of these areas:
Physically, development at this stage includes continuous height and weight gains, and a
significant brain spurt begins to make connections from the motor areas of the back of the
brain to the frontal lobes, where abstract thinking can develop. Girls’ brains typically
develop more quickly and are earlier to develop verbal skills and abstract thinking, while
boys are more physical and overt. Fine motor skills improve in coordination, as well as
reaction time. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 18
Implications: Students are developing and progressing at different rates and
need to be monitored for their musical independence. Some prior skills may
regress, and students are very sensitive in the areas of self-esteem, self-concept
and the teacher must be aware of the impact of perceived continued “failure”.
Cognitively, logical thinking is prevalent (Piaget’s concrete operational stage), but they
begin to see things from multiple perspectives. They are also able to focus more on
problem solving details. Girls are earlier to develop abstract thinking, and boys need
more hands-on, action-focused lessons.
Implications: Concrete musical actions, reflective abstraction and opportunities
for acting adaptively are needed. Memory for details is context dependent.
Problem-based learning is best for engaging learners.
Socially, groups become more important, and social acceptance becomes a very
important part of their identity.
Implications: Need for achievement is high. Students who “do” well and enjoy
music include music in their sense of identity. Cooperative learning is beneficial
at this age.
According to McCoy (2012), as students mature and progress toward Piaget’s formal operational stage, they are able to employ two cognitive strategies important in their musical growth: metacognition and audiation. Metacognition is the type of thinking in which learners think about their own thinking (Benton, 2013). Instructional strategies that employ metacognition can help young musicians reflect and self-assess. Audiation (Gordon, 2007), is the cognitive process of hearing and comprehending in one’s mind the sound of music that is not, or may never have been, physically present. Audiation provides the opportunity to “think it SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 19 through” musically before performing or creating something aurally. This is similar to Bruner’s iconic representation of knowledge (Schunk, p. 458), but with the images of sound rather than objects.
Motivation is another area linked to development. “As children develop specific interests and feel competent about them, these are the activities in when they engage…Whatever children feel competent to do, they work at and develop skills, and their perceptions of better performance increase self-efficacy and motivation” (Bandura’s work as cited in Schunk, 2012). This is important to remember as we design music curriculum for this age group. Motivation is key to engagement and continued involvement with music in and out of the classroom.
The Educational Setting
The music experience of a middle-level learner may be affected by the educational setting. For many students, middle-level general music is a required component of their school experience, so it becomes a critical window of opportunity to influence whether they will pursue an involvement beyond the required year of participation. (Gerrity, 2009; Davis, 2011)
Particularly, sixth-grade may be the last year where music is a compulsory class. A sixth-grader may be in general music in a traditional elementary setting, in an intermediate or upper- elementary building, as a first-year middle school student, or in a more traditional junior high school setting. Although their physical and cognitive development may be the same regardless of setting, their social development, as well as their behaviors play out differently. Regelski comments, “It is important to note, however, that as the oldest in elementary school, sixth- graders act somewhat differently than they do when they are the youngest in middle school!” (p.
30). SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 20
One of the differences is schedule. If a sixth-grader is still in an elementary building, music is typically scheduled once or twice a week, for about an hour a week of instruction. If a sixth-grader is attending a middle school, they may have music for a full class period each day, but for only a quarter or semester at a time, depending on the exploratory rotation schedule. In a more traditional junior high setting, if general music is even offered as an elective, students attend class either for a semester or a full year, and either on a daily basis or on a block schedule, depending on the district schedule. Another variable with the educational setting is class size and the demographics of the class. In elementary school, the students almost always stay with their homeroom class members, the numbers are consistent for the most part with the classroom, and the students are already familiar with one another. In a secondary setting, the class size can vary, and students who enroll are more likely to be non-performers, since those already engaged in band, orchestra or choir classes are more likely to opt for the performing groups. These variables can influence what type of structure the teacher determines will best suit the needs of the class, including how much time can be devoted to problem-based or creative learning projects.
Approaches to Middle-Level Music Curriculum
Traditional approaches to general music in the elementary school often center around a methodology, or a mix of methodologies including those inspired by Orff, Kodály, Dalcroze,
Gordon, and others (Hanley & Montgomery, 2005). Music series books adopted by district music curriculum committees also provide concept, theme or skill-based lessons teachers can use to plan their lessons out far in advance. These approaches can be very successfully implemented in the early elementary grades and can also be helpful to teachers as they strive to align their lessons with state and local standards. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 21
Even so, with the developmental changes that begin in the middle years, these approaches may not be able to sustain a learner’s interest in participating in music class. Considering a more learner-centered approach, founded in constructivism (a theoretical approach that will be discussed more thoroughly in the following section), may provide the direction needed to keep middle-level learners engaged in the general music class. (Hanley & Montgomery, 2005).
According to Barrett (2005), focusing on students’ musical understanding should be the center of this reconceptualized view of curriculum:
“A curriculum centered on meaning provides time for students and teachers to reflect on
music and its value, uses an array of instructional strategies to promote inquiry, features
varied settings to promote independence, and offers plentiful avenues for exploring
diverse musics in school and community settings” (p. 23).
Gerrity (2009) gives several recommendations in working with students in the middle years, including fostering a student-centered learning environment, problem-based learning, organizing instruction around generative, thematic units, and music-creating activities. Davis
(2011) describes three needs for middle school general music: active, hands-on learning experiences, in-depth exploration of active listening and opportunities for social connection.
Tobias, Campbell and Greco (2015) provide rationale and strategies for integrating project-based learning in music classes, including the tie-in to standards and assessment considerations.
Informal Learning
Student preferences for popular music cannot be ignored (DeVries 2010). Mills (2000) writes, “The need for relevance in education is critical to maintaining students’ interest and having them see the connections between the world of school the “real” world that they experience daily.” Helping students learn music the way popular musicians do is referred to as SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 22
“informal” pedagogy approach. Green (2008) explains the five fundamental principles she formed in her pedagogical project of informal learning in the classroom:
1) Learners choose the music for themselves
2) Learners acquire the skills by copying recordings by ear
3) Learning takes place alone and alongside friends through self-directed, peer-directed
and group learning.
4) Skills and knowledge assimilate in haphazard, idiosyncratic and holistic ways
5) Usually involve a deep integration of listening, performing, improvising and
composing throughout the learning process, with an emphasis on personal creativity.
Hewitt (2018) provides strategies for incorporating informal music learning in the elementary classroom. In order to provide more scaffolding than the “deep end” approach Green describes above; Hewitt designs a combination of teacher-guided and student-generated puzzles to help the learners determine what specific things need to be learned in order to play the songs like the recordings (p 48).
Rescansky (2017) discusses how he incorporated informal pedagogy in the middle-school guitar classes he teaches. He used a combination of formal and informal strategies, guided by essential questions in the National Core Arts Standards (2014) and the Understanding by Design framework (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). He dubbed his curricular design the “Rock Band Lite” model, with goals for students to perform a cover song and compose an original song for performance.
Wright (2016) further describes and explores informal music and its applications in the general music classroom, providing vignettes of informal learning in different settings. She also SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 23 discusses the challenges and limitations of informal learning, including space and resources, instruments available, time, the role of the teacher, authenticity, teacher confidence and skill development and losing sight of the historical and theoretical elements of music education. She provides additional website resources to explore.
Creative-Based Assignments
Helping students to develop their musical creativity can span the formal to informal learning continuum with applications in improvisation, arranging and composition. Guderian
(2012), describes an approach to embed these creative assignments in a standards-based, sequentially designed curriculum. He asserts that “it is possible for students to develop domain knowledge in music and creative thinking in music for the most part simultaneously when students are given opportunities to apply what they are learning in creative ways.” (in Guderian,
2008). Guderian’s rationale developed from an array of research and theoretical backgrounds.
He states: “The goal, the point, the purpose, is to make music—that is, to create sounds that satisfy as only music can. That is what needs to drive our instruction: the search for creative musical meaning” (p.3).
Bush (2007), another proponent of composition and arrangement as meaningful learning for middle-level learners provides some sequential steps a teacher can implement to guide the students in these activities, as well as a sample rubric for assessment. Menard (2013) describes the creative process in a middle school general music class using the Webster Model of creative thinking. Menard’s Music Creations class was developed as a more successful model to revive the 6th grade general music elective offering in an Ohio middle school. Menard writes, “Active participation may be the most important component of a middle school general music program…In the middle school general music class, where students of differing levels of musical SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 24 experience limit opportunities for performance, composition can become the means for engagement” (p. 5).
Strand and Newberry (2007) share practical advice on incorporating composition in the music classroom, but also provide supporting rationale for why composition is important and what students can learn by composing. They discuss designing composition tasks to apply conceptual learning in a creative context, designing tasks to practice musical skills, and designing tasks to develop and encourage creative expression (p. 17).
Songwriting can add another dimension to the creative endeavors of middle-level learners. According to Wiggins (2015), first-time songwriters often find lyrics the most comfortable point of entry into the process. Songwriting can provide an outlet for the student who prefers to work alone but is also an effective project for students to work collaboratively.
Wiggins suggests that once a song is complete, another class period can be used to develop an arrangement of the work. Recording and performing original student works also provide endless opportunities to encourage young composers. Kaschub and Smith (2012) advocate that songwriting is a good match for learners of this age because it allows for personal exploration and expression within a safe context. (p. 198)
World Music Pedagogy
Another consideration in the realm of designing an engaging middle-learner curriculum is the inclusion and the impact of world music. Campbell (2016) describes the intent of World
Music Pedagogy (WMP) to “provide students with an understanding of music as a culturally differentiated human expression” (p. 94). She describes five phases of Teaching Music Globally
(Campbell, 2004) as:
Attentive Listening: Multiple listening experiences focused on structures SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 25
Engaged Listening: Active Participation while listening
Enactive Listening: Continued listening to performance level
Creating World Music: Invention of extensions, improvisations, experiences
Integrating World Music: Connection of music to life and curriculum
In her 2004 text, Campbell provides modules that can be used to incorporate WMP into the general music classroom. These modules could also possibly integrate with co-curricular thematic units with classroom and art teachers. Connecting with local or visiting “culture- bearers” (skilled practitioners of traditional arts) and having them visit and/or perform in the school help give a fuller experience to the culture being studied (Campbell, p. 106).
Integrating music from a multicultural perspective can be as broad as exploring the
Gamelan music from Bali, or close to home as discovering the music used during Native
American ceremonies. (Anderson & Campbell, 1989) Tracing the lineage of America’s genre of jazz while learning to play or sing the blues is an authentic approach to blending listening, history, style and creative application, and an excellent place to begin this perspective with middle-level learners.
Technology
The impact of technology on music teaching and learning is another topic that warrants discussion, albeit a brief one for this particular study. Digital technology in particular is interwoven into the lives of ‘tweens, and new technologies play a vital role in students’ engagement with music (Devries, p. 7). Access the Internet provides to music in both audio and video formats provides a plethora of choices for students from any computer or personal device.
The ability to share music is another advantage of digital music today. Access to this vast amount of music simply would not have been available to students in generations past. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 26
According to DeVries (2010), music plays multiple roles in the lives of students, including listening, relaxing, singing, dancing, talking on the phone, playing computer games, doing homework, doing household chores, and as an accompaniment to exercise. (p. 7). Ruthmann
(2012) writes: “Our students’ lives revolve around their relationships with each other. They are simultaneously exploring and hiding from the world, testing the waters of friendships and their own self-expression, while negotiating their changing identities. Music, mediated by all kinds of technologies, performs a key role in this process” (p. 177).
Technology in the music classroom can be a tool and a resource for strengthening the engagement of the middle-level learner. Ruthmann (2012) suggests it can be a platform for creating, sharing, interacting, performing, assessing and reflecting on the music we make with our students (p. 190). Digital technology also expands the ability our students have to interact and create musically. Popular applications such as Garage Band or Noteflight take composition, arranging and notation to new levels (Clements, 2016). Performing ensembles can utilize electronic instruments with a plethora of digitized sounds alongside their traditional instruments in performance.
The potential of integrating technology in general music classrooms is essentially limitless. “Technology will continue to be an important and driving force in addressing the need for improved teaching methods.” (Moore 1994, p. 94) The difficulty with including technology as an “approach” is the rapid nature in which the devices and the software change. This should not discourage a music classroom teacher in the implementation of technology, but rather an encouragement to research what best works for the individual teacher and classroom based on the availability, support and budget.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 27
Theoretical Perspectives
Music education philosophies and the learning theories that provide the basis for music curriculum development are accessible with sufficient scouting. There is a gap in the literature of theoretical perspectives particular to the general music curriculum at the middle level, with the exception of the work by Regelski (2004) and his colleagues. There is also a difference in approach to the perspectives of middle school versus elementary music classes from the readings that are available. The theoretical framework guiding this project comes from a synthesis of the concept of audiation from Gordon’s Music Learning Theory(2007), the social constructivist approach of Wiggins (2015), a hint of Green’s informal learning (2008), and the praxial approach of Regelski (2004) and Elliot (2009).
Music Learning Theories
When I first began to research music learning theories, I found it difficult, at best, to find a list of names of “theorists” to examine. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory (MLT) was one of the few that hit the database search results with any regularity. I continued to dig and came up with a few others, but more often than not, found that most of the music theorists based their frameworks on the works of general psychologists, adaptations of current curricular trends or on specific methodologies to learning music. Even so, I pressed on in my readings and have chosen to present a synopsis of a few music educators who have made an impact on perspectives of the learning of music. What I have chosen not to do is revisit the work of those who have a major presence in elementary music, namely Orff, Kodály, and Dalcroze. I made this choice based on the focal point of my studies, that is, engaging learners who are in the years of transition between elementary and adolescent frameworks of learning. These three influences are still prevalent, powerful and valid, yet I feel their approaches are better implemented with the longitudinal time SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 28 available for K-5 teachers using these methods with their students. I will, however, touch lightly on Gordon’s work, simply because he was so invested in developing his theory of music learning, and a few of his principles transfer to teaching the ‘tweens.
Gordon’s Music Learning Theory (MLT)
The following section is an excerpt from my unpublished research paper, Edwin E.
Gordon’s Music Learning Theory (2018):
Gordon’s theory, concurrent with other significant music educators, takes a rote-before- note approach. Gordon draws from the research of Gagne and Bruner as he describes music learning as a similar process to learning language. Taggart (2016) summarizes three fundamental assumptions in Gordon’s theory: the concept of audiation; all children are musical; and children learn by doing. His approach includes learning readiness in three stages of Preparatory
Audiation, and perceptual and conceptual frameworks for formal learning in Discrimination and
Inference learning. His content learning sequence provides an order in which musical content is presented and scaffolding for student learning including tonal content; rhythmic content; and music reading.
At the core of Gordon’s theory is the concept of audiation. Gordon coined this term to describe the ability to hear music without it being physically present. It provides a term that describes the cognitive process of constructing meaning in music:
Audiation is the process of assimilating and comprehending (not simply rehearing) music
we have just heard performed or have heard performed sometime in the past. We also
audiate when we assimilate and comprehend in our minds music we may or may not
have heard but are reading in notation or composing or improvising (Gordon, 2007). SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 29
Gordon’s approaches fit into the philosophical realm of essentialism, given its structural framework and ties to Bruner’s approach to scaffolding. He is, however, progressive in his approach to individualized learning for each student based on their aptitude. He also promotes creative activities within the classroom, and his later works highly encourage the use of improvisation.
Gordon’s central belief regarding audiation puts him in the camp of cognitive psychology, perhaps even in the camp of constructivism, since constructivism deals with the nature of learning (Ornstein & Hunkins, p. 113). Gordon likens the learning of music to the learning of language. Musical developmental levels parallel the idea of language learning, although not necessarily at the same age. This can be influenced by the environment a child experiences before entering the school experience. (Smith, pp. 6-7)
Wiggins and Social Constructivist Perspective
From the roots of cognitivism, the contemporary perspective of constructivism has grown. In the constructivist perspective, learning is the construction of conceptual understanding.
(Wiggins, 2015, p. 2). Wiggins presents understanding as schema, as metaphor, as image and as embodied. The implications of these understandings are that we understand new experiences in relation to our understandings of prior experience, that it is a holistic process and that learning more likely to take place when learners have a context for understanding with new ideas. She also talks about the importance of context for learning; whereas basic concepts can be learned individually, we learn more complex ideas through engaging with others, either directly or indirectly. Thus, Wiggins identifies her perspective with a social constructivist vision of learning
(p. 13). SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 30
According to Wiggins, teaching is “enabling individuals to learn and supporting them as they do.” (In Abril, 2016, p.52) Whether the learning situations are formal or informal, she suggests that “real-life” (holistic and contextual) qualities make learning more authentic. The environment for learning must be safe and supportive, with time and space for learners to figure things out (p. 56). She also supports Bruner’s metaphor of scaffolding learning as many of the prior theorists did as well. Planning for peer interaction is part of the process for the success of learning in this perspective, where interaction builds a shared understanding and builds a learning community. Wiggins provides a synopsis of this vision:
A social constructivist vision of learning and teaching music means establishing an
interactive music learning community that engenders, fosters, and supports the music
learning efforts of its members, enabling the growth of learners’ musical understanding
and capacity to engage as musicians, based on that understanding. (p. 59)
In this approach, learning also has requirements of the learner: initiative; active, mindful engagement; risk taking; learner agency (both personal and musical).
Musical authenticity is one of the key qualities of a social constructivist learning experience. (Wiggins, 2016 p. 64). She explains,
Learners in classroom settings must be engaged in legitimate performing, creating, and
listening to music in as authentic contexts as possible…The music should be authentic-
real music that lives somewhere outside the classroom in addition to inside-and it should
be performed, created, or listened to as authentically as possible. (p. 65)
Informal learning
Informal learning is one “real-life” approach. It serves as the basis of the work of Green
(2002, 2008), who brought to the classroom the “processes” of how pop musicians learn. As SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 31 described earlier, Green’s five principles for at the heart of informal learning are: learners choose the music themselves; the main method of skill-acquisition involves copying recordings by ear; learning takes place through self-directed learning, peer-directed learning and group learning; skills and knowledge tend to be assimilated in haphazard, idiosyncratic and holistic ways; and it involves a deep integration of listening, performing, improvising and composing throughout the learning process, with an emphasis on personal creativity. (p. 10)
Wright (2016), in reference to the continued debate of engaging students in general music, designed a case study for the general music classroom (Canadian grades 7 & 8) based on this model. This qualitative study involved more teacher scaffolding than Green’s projects, but still promoted the student-led learning. The students worked in small groups, similar to mini- garage bands, and had to figure out and perform the parts for themselves. The teacher designed an ongoing rubric assessment to monitor progress throughout the project. This switch to the informal approach naturally had its challenges in organization and behaviors, but the outcomes showed an increase in motivation and engagement. (pp. 213-237)
One advantage for the students in this project was their access to new, good-quality electronic and digital instruments, provided by scholarships and sponsors (p. 216). This is not a very realistic scenario for most general music teachers. Wright and her co-researchers were transparent in the limitations and the challenges of the research, but still made impressive inroads with engagement of students involved in the study.
Action Learning
Another approach to “real-life” learning in general music is developed in Regelski’s
Action Learning. Based on action theory and the influence of Piaget, Action Learning makes a clear distinction between activity-based lessons and action-learning. The activities approach SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 32 focuses on teaching concepts via activities but can fall into two problems: teaching activities for the sake of activity; and even though it’s active, a student can still be passive in participation.
(Regelski, 1981, 1313-14). From this perspective, activities are based on behavior, which can be mindless, versus action, which is guided by intention. (Regelski, 2004, p 24).
According to Regelski (2004), Action Learning involves the learner as a mindful, purposeful agent with musical intentions for musical results. The philosophical background for
Action Learning includes pragmatism, utilitarianism, humanistic and existential philosophies.
(pp. 16-17). Action learning espouses a praxial music theory, considering the contexts in which music is found, expressive affordances, and developing a life-long amateur interest and involvement in musicking (p. 23). Action Learning takes a holistic, cognitive approach to teaching musicianship skills rather than isolated musical concepts, and musicianship is practiced- in-action rather than “skill-drill” or rote learning (p. 25).
The focus of Action Learning is to inspire students to want to and to be able to live life
more fully through musicking of some kind. The real-life models on which curriculum
focuses inspire student intentionality. General music, thus, becomes not a ‘survey’ of
music in general, or a “discipline” studied for its own sake; it is taught and learned for
personal use. Meaning and value, then, are seen in use. (Regelski, 2004, p. 20)
Regelski’s work is by far the most substantial I have encountered that is specific to middle-level learners, or the ‘tweens. In Teaching General Music in Grades 4-8, he provides relevant background in the physical, cognitive and social development (Chapter 2), very practical guidelines in establishing classroom approaches to Action Learning, and in the Appendix, a paradigm for curriculum development. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 33
Elliot (2009) provides additional support for a praxial approach to music curriculum development. He proposes an alternative for making music education a “practical curriculum inquiry”. This alternative replaces the top-down approach with reflective practice, situated knowledge instead of contextual objectives, and multi-dimensional forms of authentic assessment instead of behavioral measurements and standardized testing. (pp. 168-169). From his perspective, “Music education is not only concerned with developing musicianship and musical creativity in the present. Equally essential is teaching students how to continue developing their musicianship in the future.” (p. 171) According to Elliot, the praxial music curriculum is “deliberately organized to engage learners in musical actions, interactions and transactions with close approximations of real musical style-cultures.” (p. 172) He also stresses the need for formative assessment and treating learners as reflective musical practitioners solving musical problems. For a more thorough look at his approach to music curriculum making, I refer the reader to part III of Music Matters (2015), Elliot’s very in-depth approach to music philosophy and its applications.
Conclusion
In his address to the Music Educators National Conference in 1990, Christopher Small said of music,
…I offer you a simple conceptual tool. It’s a word you may have noticed I used just now,
the word “musicking,” spelled with a ck, which is the present participle of the verb “to
music…If we think a little about what the word means, we shall find that it’s quite rich in
its implications. Musicking is something that people do together; all those present are
taking part in it, and the fact the one verb covers everything that is going on in the
performance space means that it recognizes no essential difference between what the SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 34
performers are doing and what the rest are doing, and makes no essential separation
between them…What it is we’re doing, I believe, is making meanings and giving
structure to our experience. (in Walser (2016), pp. 88-89).
Elliot (2015) uses a nearly identical term, musicing, as a contraction of music making.
“By musicing we mean all forms of music making…in all types of cultural situations” (p. 16).
Both of these concepts create the vision of people engaged in music. Whether it be listening, dancing, singing, playing, creating or performing, music is an action verb. To provide for our students the most viable opportunities to “musick” in our classrooms and make the connections with them to their lifelong communities of musical engagement, our curriculum must reflect the thoughtful preparation of activities that will help them build musical understanding and meaning in their lives.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 35
Chapter Three: Methodology
According to Mills (2014), action research is defined as:
any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers…to gather information
about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their
students learn. This information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight,
developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school
environment (and educational practices in general), and improving student
outcomes and the lives of those involved. (p. 8).
The research portion of this project is certainly qualified to live under the umbrella of action research, as it took place in my classroom, with the intent of effecting positive change in educational practices and includes reflective practice with the desire of improving student outcomes. Mills (2014) identifies a four-step process for action research:
1. Identify an area of focus
2. Collect data
3. Analyze and interpret data
4. Develop an action plan (p. 8)
The area of focus for this research is enhancing the engagement of 6th grade learners in the music classroom. I developed two student surveys, as well as kept a journal for daily observations in my data collection. The component of this project that lands just outside of Mills’ formula is the “action plan” I developed in the form of the Songwriter’s Workshop curriculum.
The curriculum was implemented as part of the data collection process. Evaluating the curriculum is part of the analysis process. The discussion of the findings also includes considerations for future implementations of this project. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 36
Data collection is both quantitative and qualitative. The two student surveys provide descriptive quantitative data, as well as qualitative responses. Teacher observation, anecdotal notes and interaction with the students provides additional qualitative data. Using both approaches provides triangulation of the information. It also provides ample information to draw from and help determine whether the fledgling curriculum is an effective way to help 6th grade learners become more engaged in the General Music classroom.
Research Participants
Eagle Rock Elementary (pseudonym) currently has eleven classroom units for 6th Grade.
In the scheduled rotation of specialists, the eleventh class is collapsed into five other classes, so there are ten “classes” scheduled to meet twice a week for 35 minutes each in a normal school week. This brings the class size for the first half of the afternoon to an average of 30-31 students.
The classes meet after their lunch period, beginning at 12:45 p.m., while another lunch rotation is finishing in the cafeteria for another ten minutes. The second half of the afternoon classes include the regular homeroom classes without additional students.
I selected two classrooms to participate in the data collection. The first class meets at
12:45 p.m. (right after lunch) on the first day of the five-day rotation, and at 1:20 p.m. (after
P.E.) on the third day of the five-day rotation. The homeroom class is unique in its make-up because it is the only class in the school that participates in advanced math instruction. Five additional students from another class join this class for music instruction at these times.
The second class meets at the end of the day at 2:35 p.m. (after P.E.) on both the second and the fifth days of the five-day rotation. This class is much smaller than the first, as the students are only from the homeroom. There are often students missing from class due to parents picking them up for appointments before school releases for the day. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 37
Between the 55 students who participate in the two classes, I received 44 parent consent and student assent forms. The 44 students were sent invitations to the preliminary survey.
Data Collection Methods
In order to ensure I had ample data to compare student perceptions and opinions as well as my personal perceptions and observations, I chose to incorporate the following data collection methods for this project: two student surveys; my personal journal for observations and reflections; plus additional student samples and reflections from the end of the project.
Surveys. I created two surveys using Microsoft Forms to collect quantitative and qualitative data directly from students. (See Appendices E & F for the survey questions). Results from the analysis of data collected through these two surveys are provided in Chapter Four. The preliminary survey included one Likert scale, star-rating question and a question for students to explain their ratings. The rest of the questions were multiple-choice; for several questions, students could choose more than one answer if applicable. The second survey included another
Likert scale, star-rating with an opportunity for explanation, additional multiple-choice questions and one optional space for additional comments. I set both survey settings for anonymous responses to assure students of their opportunity to be candid.
The preliminary survey was opened on January 4, 2019 and closed on January 22, 2019.
Students had the opportunity to take the survey during their “tech” time, a designated time in the weekly schedule in which they work with the technology paraprofessional on individual laptops.
Students were also able to access the survey remotely with the link included in the survey invitation on their school email. Responses were anonymous unless students chose to identify themselves in the written answers. No students identified themselves in the preliminary surveys.
One student self-identified in the second survey. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 38
The invitation with the survey link for the post-project survey was sent to student email for March 18, 2019. Students were given opportunity during tech time March 18-28 to complete the survey. They also had the capability to access the survey remotely with the survey link in their student email until March 28th. The second survey was also anonymous. I was not present with any students as they took either survey.
Observational data. Each time I met with the classes participating in the research, I jotted down anecdotal notes and reflected on the progress and process of the class at the end of each of those days. I then transferred my notes to a running document on my computer to make it easier to analyze and store securely. Along with my personal observation notes, I was able to review certain aspects of the group progress, process and dynamics as I watched the performance videos.
I was absent from class twice in February due to illness and one afternoon in March due to a previously scheduled music event, so my notes on those dates relied on the information given to me by my substitute teachers. We also had school cancellation March 13-14 due to a hazardous blizzard, as well as no classes on March 15 for a previously scheduled Professional
Development day.
Reflective data on the curriculum. In addition to anecdotal notes on the students, I kept notes on the lessons during the implementation of the curriculum and which elements seemed most productive, as well as things that need to be modified if the unit is to be used again in the future. This includes elements from graphics or sound samples used on the Power Point presentation, to formatting changes needed in the printed materials.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 39
Data Analysis
Although my primary focus for this project was qualitative, I included a portion of quantitative data collection in the surveys. The following sections describe the specifics of how I analyzed the separate portions of the data collected.
Surveys. The use of Microsoft Forms provided easy access to the information I was seeking through the use of the survey. The results in Forms include graphics (pie charts and graphs), as well as efficient organization of the longer responses. Users can also transfer the results to an Excel document if desired. The overall results, including averaging the time for students to take the survey, are automatically calculated as each survey is submitted, and also once the survey is closed. The survey creator is also able to access the results from each individual survey for further analysis.
I examined the results from the surveys through both quantitative and qualitative lenses.
The preliminary survey quantitative questions included rating student interest in music class and specific activities associated with it; music activities the student participates in outside of regular music class; intent to participate in music after elementary school; interest in learning to write a song; how students prefer to work (alone, with others, etc.). The only qualitative question on the preliminary survey was to explain their interest rating in regular music class. This provided rich data from both negative and positive perspectives and were quite consistent with the findings included in my review of literature. I developed a thematic coding system to categorize the qualitative statements into positive and negative statements, as well as listing qualifiers and causal phrases. I also examined the individual surveys to look for general connections between students who participate in music outside of the regular class and the overall tone of their interest in music class. These results will be discussed further in Chapter Four. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 40
The second survey was similar, but not identical to the first survey. Students again rated their interest, but this time specific to the songwriting project, with space to explain in the following question. Students identified the size of group they worked in; the part of the project the found most challenging; the part of the project they found easiest to accomplish. They also had to decide whether the project increased their interest in music class. The last two quantitative questions revisited the questions from the first survey regarding their intent to take a music class in junior high school or be involved in music activities outside of school after 6th grade. The final question was optional and provided space for students to express any other thoughts or opinions regarding the songwriting experience.
I developed new coding themes for the qualitative data in the second survey. I identified three prevailing themes and related sub-themes as lenses for the student responses. The overall themes included the songwriting process; working with others; and perceptions of their performance experience. Each of these themes had positive and negative comments, or a blend thereof. These will also be discussed in more detail in Chapter Four.
Observational data. My journal, which I titled “The Songwriting Project:
Implementation notes,” consisted of a full page of introductory notes concerning the plans, process and particulars of the study as it began. I described the classes chosen for the research, as well as some of the choices I made as I developed the surveys.
My journal notes included 31 dated entries. Two of those dates included two entries in one day. The first entry was on February 4, and the final entry was on March 30th. 14 entries were specific to the class that meets on “A” and “C” days. I will refer to this as class “A” in my data reporting and discussion. Class “B”, which meets on “B” and “E” days, only had 11 entries. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 41
Other entries included notes about surveys, calendar days missed, thoughts on the curriculum itself, challenges of implementing a new curriculum, challenges faced in the process of doing research, my own emotional ups and downs during the implementation, and additional notes while working with the curriculum in the other classes not included in the data. Several of these entries will connect well with the student survey data and provide support for those themes. This will reinforce the reliability and validity of the data through triangulation.
Anecdotal notations. Throughout the process of implementation, I made note of special moments and things that students said that I felt were significant in the journey through this songwriting experience. I feel these “aha” moments, as well as the thoughts expressed in the student reflections, their surveys, and in their songs, are the flecks of gold in the mining process.
These anecdotal notations will be scattered throughout the findings and discussion.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 42
Chapter Four: Findings
The primary purpose for implementing the Songwriting Workshop project with the 6th grade students in this action research was to determine whether a creative, project-based songwriting unit would enhance the engagement of these learners in the general music classroom. In order to provide sufficient data for valid and reliable triangulation, I designed a pre-and post-project survey for the students using Microsoft Forms. I also kept observational notes each day I met with the classes, as well as reflections on the curriculum materials and implementation. I included my personal thoughts and emotions as part of the experience. I kept all of these notes together in a digital journal. This chapter presents the findings of the surveys as well as the qualitative data found in the student responses and my journal entries.
Preliminary Survey
Overall results. The first survey was completed by 35 students out of the 55 students enrolled in two selected classes and the 44 students who had parent consent/student assent forms on file. The average time to complete the survey was five minutes and 19 seconds. The first question asked students to rate their interest in regular music class at school using a Likert scale, with a response of 1 indicating a low interest and a response of 5 indicating a high interest. The average rating was a 3.71. The second question asked students to explain that rating, and students provided answers one to two sentences in length. I will discuss these narrative answers later in this section.
Question three (see Figure 1) asked students to mark the activities they enjoy in music class. They could choose one to all of the activities, which included Singing; Movement; Playing instruments; Creating musical compositions; Listening to or watching professional music SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 43 performances; or Preparing for and performing grade-level programs. The highest marks went to playing instruments and the lowest preparing for and performing grade-level programs.
Figure 1. Preferred activities in music class.
Question four (see Figure 2) asked students to mark any of the music activities they are involved in, whether they are at school or outside of school. The results showed an almost even split between students involved in music activities and those who were not. Of the 35 respondents, 15 marked they were involved in school performing groups such as band, orchestra or choir. Two indicated they were in community groups, two in private lessons, and one in dance. No students indicated they were involved in theater. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 44
Figure 2. Music involvement outside of regular music class.
Question five asked students if they plan to take a music class in junior high school. Of the 35 respondents, 12 responded yes, 9 responded no, and 14 responded maybe. The 6th question was similar, asking if they planned to participate in music activities outside of school after 6th grade. Positive responses were provided by 15 students, 9 students responded negatively, and 16 responded maybe. Question seven asked if students would be interested in learning how to write a song. Fifteen responded yes, 4 responded no, and 16 responded maybe.
Question eight (see Figure 3) asked how students prefer to work on a musical project. Not one student indicated they prefer to work alone, but 13 students indicated they prefer to work with one other person and 22 students indicated they prefer to work in a group. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 45
Figure 3. Preferences for project group work.
Qualitative Data. The short answers students completed for Question Two provided rich data to support student interest and attitudes toward the regular music classroom. I developed a coding strategy based on positive versus negative statements, with a column for qualifiers such as “but, even though, except, however”. Key phrases for positive statements included: I like; I enjoy; I love; I hope; fun; engaged; I feel comfortable; I am interested; express myself. Negative statements were tagged by words and phrases such as: not; don’t; I wish; I don’t like; not engaged; isn’t my thing; fail to respect; hard to focus; distracting; not interesting; I don’t understand; boring.
Causal reasons given by students for negative statements focused mainly on other students and global circumstances. Several students indicated that talking, yelling and messing around by students in the class make it hard to learn and engage. Six students indicated it was boring. Several students identified specific things they found boring, including singing, more structured activities, and sitting still. One student indicated they felt music was a complete waste of time. One of the frustrations a few students mentioned was pacing--indicating they felt there wasn’t sufficient time to learn before testing (specifically concerning the preceding guitar unit). SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 46
Interestingly, the positive statements were more specific, with more use of musical terms, and students identified themselves rather than their classmates. Specifics like instruments, rhythm, guitar, songwriting, movement, creating and teamwork were included in positive comments. One student said, “I like singing and music because it lets me express myself.”
Another student shared a positive statement about a prior creative project: “I like music class when we do things like when we did the Stomp dance. That was fun and that engaged me to really want to come to music. That was one of the coolest things about my day that day.”
Post-Project Survey
The second survey was open from March 18-28. The majority of students took the survey with their class. One class took the survey on March 22 and the other on March 26. Since I knew which class was taking the survey during these times, it was helpful to compare some of the students’ perceptions based on the class they were in. Even though none of the final data were class-specific, it helped me to think through some of the comments with more clarity and context.
Overall results. The post-project survey was completed by 38 students. The Likert star- rating scale average was 3.71 for interest in the songwriting project. This was an interesting parallel to the 3.71 average rating in the preliminary survey for overall interest in general music class. Questions 2 & 9 provided qualitative data which will be discussed at the end of these results. Question 3 showed that all 38 respondents worked with two or more other students for the project.
Question 4 (see Figure 4) asked students which component of the project was most challenging for them. Over half of the students responded that practicing and performing the SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 47 song was the biggest challenge (53%). More discussion on this component will take place in
Chapter 5.
Figure 4. Most challenging part of the project.
Question 5 asked students which component was the easiest for them to accomplish. Over half (58%) of the respondents indicated that writing a lyric was the easiest for them, followed by another 26% of students indicating making the lyric and melody fit together was easiest.
Figure 5. Easiest part of the project to accomplish.
Question 6 was one of the most important questions of the data for the project. The question was whether the songwriting project increased the student’s interest in music class.
Only 10 students responded negatively, while 11 chose maybe and 17 students, 45% of the respondents, chose yes. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 48
Question 7 took an interesting twist. The question asked about intent for the student to take a music class in junior high school. In the preliminary survey, 26% of the students indicated they were not planning to take a music class. In the post-survey, 53% of the students indicated they were not planning to take a music class. Question 8 asked about intent to participate in music outside of school. The results were more similar to the preliminary survey, with 29% of the students indicating they did intend to participate, 34% chose maybe and 37% chose no.
Qualitative data. Similar to the first survey, Question 2 asked students to explain the rating they chose on the Likert scale. An additional question was optional at the end of the survey to allow students to share more reflections about the songwriting experience. Each of these opportunities for students to share their perspective on the project provided significant qualitative data.
Three significant themes emerged from the student responses: Songwriting and the process; Working with others; and Performing. These themes intertwined naturally, but the student responses were valuable in evaluating these particular areas of the curriculum and its implementation.
Songwriting. Almost half of the students surveyed expressed that they enjoyed the songwriting itself. The word fun occurred 11 times in positive responses. Other positive phrases included enjoy, liked, great, loved, and good learning experience. A representative sample of the data from a student expressing enjoying songwriting is as follows:
This songwriting unit was a very informative and entertaining unit. It was very fun to
create our own songs from scratch with very little direction. This was a chance for our
class to be independent and create something that interests all of us. I personally had so
much fun during this unit. (student, Post-project survey, 2019) SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 49
Those students who responded negatively attributed their response to songwriting being stressful or not liking the slides or the workbook. Several of the responses contained qualifiers; for instance, a student liked songwriting, but didn’t like performing. Some of the negative comments had more to do with the less structured environment of the work time and the noise and chaos it created. The biggest complaint was not having enough time to finish preparing their presentation.
Working with others. This topic was the double-edged sword of the project. Many students appreciated the opportunity to work in groups and that they were able to choose their teams. For example, one student responded:
Again, I enjoyed this unit so much and not only was it a chance to get more involved in
the world of music but it was an opportunity to bond with friends within music” (Post-
project survey 2019).
Other positive comments on working with others included “a [sic] opportunity to work with people you don’t hang out with” and “it was fun because I got to do it with my friends.”
Perhaps the most touching comment reads: “At first I worked alone because no one wanted to work with me but Mrs. Smith helped me find some people.”
Working in groups also had its challenges. Respondents complained about people in their group who would not work and just messed around, or tension in the group and not much work ethic. Some groups had difficulty working together. One student phrased it, “I think people would have liked it more if we could have worked things out between people and conflict.”
Performance. Of the three significant themes, Performance received the most negative input from students. Overall, students did not enjoy performing for their peers. For several of the students, they felt they were not prepared to perform yet, so they felt rushed and not confident. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 50
For others, social anxiety and stage fright made it very difficult for them to perform. This was intensified when the audience peers laughed or made fun of the group. One student suggested a smaller setting, such as lunch recess to perform their songs. There were no comments in the survey in support of the performance component of the project.
Journal Entries: Observations and Reflections
I started my digital journal with an introduction and overview for the project, so that as I added daily observations and notes, I could look back to how it got started. I kept a date book at school to note classroom observations on the days my classes participating in the research met, so the thoughts would stay fresh. I then transferred them to the digital journal and decided to title the document “The Songwriting Project Implementation Notes.” It seemed appropriate and professional at the time, and certainly has those elements, but like any journal contains a wide array of noticings, opinions and emotions. By the time the project concluded, I had almost 13 pages of single-spaced notes, with entries from early February through the end of March.
Examining this documentation, I developed the following categories: Curriculum Project and Process; Student Interactions and Engagement; and Personal Impact.
Curriculum project and process. Implementing a new and “experimental” curriculum can be exciting, but not without fear and trembling. Several times throughout the project, I reminded myself that I needed to be flexible, give myself grace and remember that the focus was on the process. About midway through the project I wrote:
I need to remember that the process is still more important than the product. The
synthesis of skills, the collaboration, the stimulating of the creative nerve…all of those
elements are present in the PROCESS and seem to be engaging the kids, which IS, after
all, the goal. (Smith, 2019) SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 51
Several entries were dedicated to topics I will discuss more thoroughly in Chapter Five.
These topics include planning, pacing and flexibility; prerequisite skills; revising materials and lesson presentations; developing formative and summative assessments.
Other entries described the challenges and reflections of doing research with students. It took longer to obtain IRB approval than I had planned on. I was somewhat surprised with the total number of parent consent/student assent forms I gathered. I had hoped for at least ten more students to contribute to the data. Even with 44 students who turned in consent forms, only 35 students took the first survey and 38 took the second. The other challenge I noted more than once was the timing of the project--this type of project is definitely cumulative in nature, and I felt third quarter was too early to introduce it. Nonetheless, it was timing that could not be avoided due to the inherent deadlines for submitting and defending the project.
Several entries included decisions I wrestled with throughout the implementation of the project. Many of these decisions arose due to interruptions in the calendar. A few days of personal illness and one music event required a substitute teacher in the classroom, and a major blizzard shut down school for two days, followed by a scheduled day of professional development for teachers resulted in three days without time to work on the projects. As a result of the loss of class time, I had to condense some lessons and revise the formal assessment requirements. I also decided to cancel the Songwriter Showcase that was originally scheduled the last week of the quarter to feature some of the students’ creations. I was thankful in the end that I did cancel, especially after the blizzard closure, as students were already feeling the stress of not having enough time to prepare their performances.
Student interactions and engagement. This topic formed a significant portion of the journal entries throughout the project. How students interacted with one another impacted how SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 52 productive they were with their project. Many of my entries parallel the reflections shared by students in the surveys and in the student reflections for the final assignment for their project.
The concept of students working together collaboratively is very positive conceptually in the minds of the students themselves, as evidenced by their choice to do so. Even so, the presence of social and emotional skills required to work together over a course of several weeks turned out to be a determining factor in how successful they were at completing their projects. “I am amazed at how kids have so much trouble getting along. And if they can’t get along, they can’t be productive” (Smith, 2019).
Although there were several tough days regarding student collaboration, my journal notations still provided evidence of increasing student engagement. In Keen’s (2018) markers of engagement, she includes eager anticipation, intense focus and concentration and a loss of a sense of time (p. 24). In my notes for class A, there were several references to the positive energy in the room, which I referred to with phrases like abuzz, happy buzz, good independent energy, and crazy cacophony. I described how much I enjoyed giving that particular class a bit of direction and then they were self-propelled, leaving me in the delightful position of being the guide-on-the-side. I had multiple entries for class B that indicated the loss of a sense of time.
This was the last class of the day each time they met, so it was humorous to have to “PROD them to finish up & clean up because we are OUT OF TIME” (Smith, 2019).
Personal impact. My journal occasionally served as a place to vent my frustrations, fears, and tears as we made our way through the project. There were days I felt overwhelmed and had to remind myself again that songwriting is messy and I needed to keep perspective. I surmised that had I only been working with the two research classes on the implementation of the project, I might have been less stressed by some of the circumstances that came as part of the SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 53 package. Since I had eight other classes with which I was also piloting this project, the dynamics were multiplied greatly. About halfway through the project, I wrote:
Today was one of those days I wonder if my efforts to provide more meaningful and
relevant curriculum for 6th graders are going to be a bust. Thankfully, it’s not one of my
“research” days, per se. Even so, it’s pretty tough to push through four classes in a row
that are just not interested in pursuing songwriting, or music at all for that matter. (Broad,
general statement--there are students who are the exception to it naturally…) One of the
things I already know about the struggles I have on this particular day of the week is a
combination of some very bad behaviors and a genuine lack of prerequisite skills.
(Smith, 2019)
Conversely, I wondered if the reason the two “research” classes provided somewhat of a placebo effect, because they certainly seemed more invested, and overall my relationship with those two classes as a whole was stronger than with most of the others. I realized maybe that’s why I chose them--but then I also realized several students in both of those classes are also part of the student choir, which is a volunteer group I organized that meets before school twice a week. This choir activity allows me to build a stronger relationship with those students, and I think this could be a factor in why I felt this project was overall more successful for those two classes than others.
I found my joy in the journey on the days that students were deeply engaged in their projects and I could simply serve as a resource. The performance days were hard for most students, especially when we simply ran out of preparation time. Even so, there were several songs that demonstrated musical growth and were quite entertaining!
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 54
Summary
Two sixth-grade classes provided the base for exploring the question of whether a collaborative, project-based, songwriting curriculum unit might enhance the engagement of learners in the general music classroom. Quantitative and qualitative data gathered through a preliminary and a post-project survey, along with teacher observations and anecdotal data provided by student work indicates this type of curriculum can indeed increase engagement in the classroom. In Chapter Five, I discuss the considerations using the outcomes of the data, as well as recommendations for further implementation of the Songwriter’s Workshop curriculum developed for this project.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 55
Chapter Five: Discussion
The action research process works in a cyclical manner for the teacher researcher. Mills
(2014) writes,
In doing action research, teacher researchers have developed solutions to their own
problems and as such are the authoritative voices as to what works in their particular
settings. They exhibit a professional disposition that is encapsulated in their willingness
to challenge the taken-for-granted assumptions that influence their daily instructional
practices. (p. 182)
The focus of my action research was to determine whether a creative songwriting project might enhance the engagement of learning with my 6th grade students. The Songwriter’s
Workshop for 6th grade students proved to be a significant undertaking in my own classroom.
Developing a new unit of curriculum for this very challenging age group provided plenty of opportunity to observe, reflect, flex, adjust, and contemplate changes for future implementation.
Throughout the experience, I was reminded that research in the classroom, very much like songwriting itself, can be messy at times.
My instructional goal was to provide a simple sequence of steps to help students experience the process of creating an original song. The components I included seemed basic and simple enough to give my 6th grade students access to the process of beginning to write their own songs in a contemporary song structure. Some students relished the opportunity to work independently and creatively. Other students struggled with the process. Those who flourished were those who valued musical experiences, worked well with their teammates and were proud to present their work. Those who struggled were those who lacked prerequisite skills, especially SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 56 interpersonal skills for collaborative work. The song presentations of these students exhibited a lack of confidence and cooperation.
Examining the data, both quantitative and qualitative, revealed that the project did indeed enhance and increase the engagement of these learners overall. Many students indicated they liked working with their peers. Not one student expressed the desire to work alone. Several students indicated they enjoyed the process of learning to write a song, and a few indicated it was harder than they thought it would be. Although the process of creating a song was a positive and fun for the majority of students, there were factors that distracted and lessened the positive outlook for some. In the following paragraphs, I examine these factors and propose possible solutions for the future.
Student Performances
The most significant negative component for students was the performance aspect of the project. There were very few students who enjoyed performing for their peers. Many of the comments about the performance aspect included not having enough time to practice, not being able to hear themselves when they practiced (because of the noisy environment in the room), and the anxiety of performing in front of their peers.
Circumstances impacting the performance component of the project included missed class time due to an unforeseen school cancellation, but there was also less time to practice for performance because students were behind on the other assignments in the project. It will be very important in the future to build in additional time for students to prepare and rehearse more thoroughly if the performance component is to remain in the project.
Not only was time a factor, but the ability to practice in an environment that allows students to hear one another was a big challenge. My classroom is very small, and although there SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 57 are a few spaces in a hallway behind my room and the stage outside of my room where students can work, it creates a situation where my supervision of students is stretched thin. On the days band meets, these spaces are unavailable and the background noise is intensified. Space and noise issues continue to be challenges to the learning environment and I will need to continue to pursue creative solutions to them to help students have a better setting to prepare their work for presentation.
One potential expansion of the project might be to incorporate a studio-like set up
(possibly in the storage room behind my classroom), where the groups could record their songs privately with a camera and/or an iPad. This would help to eliminate the big audience atmosphere that causes anxiety for several of the students. Their performance could then be shared by video rather than live. This would require seeking some innovative grant monies, but the investment might be well worth the effort.
Planning and Pacing
Songwriter’s Workshop is a curricular endeavor that is inherently comprehensive in nature. The 6th graders at Eagle Rock Elementary spent approximately seven weeks in this unit, and some students expressed that they felt stressed or rushed to finish their projects. The initial introduction and lyric writing lessons took much more time to cover than I originally planned, which pushed the other lessons out a week or more. Expanding the unit to a full quarter might help to provide the extra time and flexibility needed to help students pace themselves better and provide the time to help the students who need additional assistance in the process. Planning the project for the final quarter of the instructional year would also benefit students by giving them more time to become more proficient in the prerequisite skills needed to accomplish the SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 58 components of this unit. This, of course, requires backward planning by the instructor to include those skills in the weeks preceding the implementation of this unit.
Prerequisite Skills
One of the challenges my students faced as they progressed through the Songwriter’s
Workshop was a lack of essential skills needed to move forward musically and work together collaboratively.
Musical skills. I discovered in the process of implementing this curriculum that many students do not have a basic toolbox of musical skills that make songwriting more accessible. I realized I cannot presume that all of my students have the elementary musical experiences our district seeks to provide our students through the curriculum up through 5th grade. I was honestly a little shocked, for instance, at how many times I had to explain the concept of melody to some of my students. Several students performed their songs by speaking, rather than singing their lyric, so reinforcing basic musical skills like singing is vital. This is a challenge, as evidenced in the preliminary survey, because 6th graders as a whole do not like to sing in public.
Another prerequisite skill is for students to be able to support their melody with a harmony instrument. I already teach a very basic guitar unit in 6th grade, but my hope is to expand the guitar unit by a few weeks and incorporate a keyboard unit as well. Many of my students have some experience with barred Orff instruments, but to make the songwriting unit more authentic, I desire for my students to be able to use the kind of instruments real songwriters use. In addition to these instruments, I would love for my students to have access to iPads for creating harmonies and arranging their songs. That technology piece is not currently accessible for my classroom, but that is another grant-writing endeavor for the future. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 59
Relational skills. The biggest skill set I found lacking with many of my students is the ability to work together collaboratively over an extended period of time. Although students wanted to work with their peers, there was a great deal of drama that impacted their ability to move forward with their projects. My training with collaborative learning strategies proved helpful for short-term activities, but I will need to do more research and incorporate more opportunities for students to practice the collaborative skills for a group to work together for several weeks. My students do another creative project in the fall semester with students we call
Stompositions. These are rhythmic compositions based on the work of the performing group
Stomp, but that project only takes about three weeks, so students are more successful in keeping their group together in that shorter time period. Building skills in listening to one another, compromise and conflict resolution consistently over the school year might make this project more successful for more students. I plan to consult with the Instructional Facilitator and the
Behavior Intervention Specialist in my building to help me with resources in this area.
Instructional Materials and Presentation
I developed the curriculum materials primarily from a songwriting unit I taught as a junior high school choir teacher. I simplified a great deal of the material, trying to capture the bare essence of the songwriting experience, but after teaching this in the 6th grade classroom, there is still more revision that needs to take place to make the concepts accessible to this age group.
Student workbook. The workbook itself seemed to be pretty good idea, but it felt clunky at times. If I use the workbook with students again, I will make it more sturdy-perhaps with a laminated cardstock cover or spiral bindings. It helped a lot to have the final copy turned in as a single page rather than in the workbook, so I will need to sort out what needs to stay in the SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 60 workbook vs. what needs to be separate. I used my own lyric as a sample for analysis, since I didn’t have to worry about copyright issues, but more familiar song lyrics might make the activity more enjoyable for the students.
Power Point Presentation. The Power Point slides essentially parallel the workbook lessons, but with a few additional links to song and lyric samples. I only included these links in the Power Point so that the samples can be changed if other songs provide stronger examples of the concepts, or if other teachers use it, they can choose songs that make a better cultural connection with their student population.
One additional resource I would like to incorporate more fully in this unit is a book titled
Adventures in Songwriting: A guide for kids and anyone who wants to write songs by Gina Boe
& Sue C. Smith. I referenced this resource a few times in the Power Point presentation, as the authors have taken care to make the concepts kid-friendly and realistic. The book is not a curriculum nor a textbook but provides great information and how-to’s for kids. I know both writers personally, and what they have to share as professional songwriters is genuinely valuable to kids who have an interest in writing songs. It might be helpful to have a set of these books to use in the classroom during this unit and for students who want to pursue songwriting further on their own time.
Instructional Process. The process I used with my students was to start each class with a mini-lesson on the concept and skill we were working on that day, with the use of the Power
Point slides. I found that if the presentation went over five or six minutes, it was very difficult to get through, and my students were very restless. So, in the process of revising the curriculum, I will definitely keep the pacing of presentation in perspective and eliminate any unnecessary slides. I intended it to be interactive and an opportunity for practicing skills (including SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 61 listening!), but found the kids just wanted to get to work and write. My desire is to help them focus that energy, so determining what information is critical to their learning and what information is helpful but not necessary will aid in the paring down of the presentation slides.
Following the mini-lesson, students broke up into their groups with the intent of working on the assignment in the workbook that corresponded with the mini-lesson that day. This is where some of the groups got lost, especially those who got behind on the lyric writing.
Along with the mini-lesson and work time routine, I also incorporated two class-level activities. The co-writer interview session and the brainstorming activity we did as a class. It helped students with taking initiative and leadership early in the unit, and it got them off their seat and on their feet.
Assessments
Assignments one through five were essentially formative activities to help them create, edit and practice the components they needed to put their song together. Although they were only required to do one verse and one chorus, this was much easier said than done! I opted not to grade these assignments, as the sheer volume of the final project was daunting enough. These earlier assignment layouts did provide a guide for those who were beginners, but for a few groups who were more advanced, I let them use their own format, whether it be lead sheets, typing their own lyric and chords or whatever format showed the structure of the lyric and form of the song clearly. I provided a formatted sheet for the groups to copy their final lyric to turn in for me to reference as I graded their video presentations, using the Group Grade Sheet (Appendix
I). The final task the students completed was to fill out the reflection sheet as or after they watched their video-taped performances. This reflection was an individual grade. I may consider adding a “grade yourself” rubric to this assignment for the next time. SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 62
Conclusions
Designing engaging curriculum for the 6th grade learner in the elementary general music classroom is an ongoing pursuit. Incorporating creative project-based, collaborative learning units is one approach to meeting the needs of this unique developmental age group. In hopes of helping students make a connection between the music classroom and the world outside of the school walls, I designed and implemented a Songwriter’s Workshop unit. My approach in developing this curriculum incorporates the findings of several authors found in Chapter Two, the review of literature. Revisiting a few these writers, DeVries (2010) found students “like music, that music plays a significant role in their lives, and that they want to be engaged in relevant, student-centered music experiences at school” (DeVries, p. 15). Guderian’s (2012) rational for creative-based assignments states: “The goal, the point, the purpose, is to make music—that is, to create sounds that satisfy as only music can. That is what needs to drive our instruction: the search for creative musical meaning” (p.3).
Regelski (2004) reminds us of the developmental considerations of this age group: that socially, groups become more important, and social acceptance becomes a very important part of their identity. Cooperative learning is beneficial at this age. (pp. 29-51)
According to Wiggins (2015), first-time songwriters often find lyrics the most comfortable point of entry into the process. Songwriting can provide an outlet for the student who prefers to work alone but is also an effective project for students to work collaboratively.
The Songwriter’s Workshop is a seven-lesson unit, incorporating lyric and melody writing, adding harmony, arranging, rehearsing, performing and reflecting on the process. The overall results showed the engagement of students increased during the unit. Although this indicates success for the goal of the project, several challenges remain to be addressed, and SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 63 certain components will need revision before the unit is used in the future. Some of these challenges include pacing and flexibility, as well as establishing prerequisite skills in basic music and interpersonal skills.
Implications for future studies
Contemplating next steps for researching the impact of this type of project on enhancing engagement for 6th grade learners in the general music classroom, I would consider adding one of two changes to the curriculum at a time and examining the impact. The first addition, which I consider most important, would be a strategic plan for the social challenges the collaborative groups faced during this implementation’s process. I would enlist the help of our Behavior
Intervention Specialist to create the plan and implement it first in the shorter composition projects we do earlier in the year. I would be curious to see whether the strategies help students work together for longer periods of time.
The second addition, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, would require finding funding through innovative grants to implement more hands-on technology as part of the project. I envision an iPad cart with programs such as Garage Band to help students get started creating from a digital standpoint. I would also like to set up the “studio” mentioned previously for students to be able to record themselves during the process, or at least as a means of presenting their songwriting projects with less social pressure as they perform. I would be able to determine whether the addition of technology tools enhance or detract from the songwriting process as well as the level of engagement for the students.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 64
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SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 70
Appendix A
Wyoming Fine and Performing Arts Content and Performance Standards for Music
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 71
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 72
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 73
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 74
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 75
Appendix B
LCSD #1 Elementary Music Quarterly GVC-6th Grade only
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SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 78
Appendix C
LCSD #1 GVC Active Listening Rubric
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SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 80
Appendix D
Sample of Proficiency Scale for 6th Grade Music Benchmarks
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 81
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 82
Appendix E
Preliminary Student Survey Questions
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 83
1. Please rate your interest in your regular music class at school. 1 is low, 5 is high (star rating)
2. Please explain the rating you gave yourself: What kind of things affect your interest and engagement in music class? (long answer)
3. Please mark the activities you enjoy in music class Listening to or watching professional music performances Movement (Dance, Creative Movement) Playing Instruments Creating Musical Compositions Preparing for and performing an all grade-level program Singing
4. Please mark any of the musical activities you are involved in at school or outside of school Musical Theater Community groups such as Youth Symphony, All-City Children's Chorus, etc. Dance Private Music Lessons None School Band, School Orchestra, School Choir
5. Do you plan to take a music class in junior high school? Maybe No Yes
6. Do you plan to participate in music activities outside of school after 6th grade? Yes Maybe No
7. Would you be interested in learning how to write a song? Maybe Yes No
8. When you have a musical project to work on, how do you prefer to work? By myself With one other person In a group SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 84
Appendix F
Post-Songwriting Unit Survey Questions
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 85
1. Please rate your interest in the songwriting project, 1 is low, 5 is high (star rating)
2. Please explain your rating. (long answer)
3. For the songwriting project, I worked with... One other person Two or more people By myself
4. Which part of the project did you find most challenging? Writing a Lyric Making the lyric and the melody fit together Adding harmony to the song Arranging the song for instruments and voice Practicing and performing the song
5. Which part of the project did you find the easiest to accomplish? Writing a Lyric Making the lyric and the melody fit together Adding harmony to the song Arranging the song for instruments and voice Practicing and performing the song
6. Do you think this project increased your interest in music class? Yes No Maybe
7. Do you plan to take a music class in junior high school? Yes No Maybe
8. Do you plan to be involved in music activities outside of school after 6th grade? Maybe Yes No
9. Do you have any additional thoughts or opinions about the songwriting experience you would like to share? (long answer)
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 86
Appendix G
Songwriter’s Workshop: Student Workbook
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 87
A Creative Endeavor for 6th Grade General Music
THIS WORKBOOK IS FOR THE SONGWRITING TEAM:
______
FROM THE CLASS OF: ______
SONGWRITER NAMES:
______
______
______SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 88
Introduction: Why are we writing songs?
Let’s face it. Some of you are very invested musicians. You’re in band or orchestra or choir, so music class is fine with you on most days. On the other hand, some of you are amazing athletes. Or scientists. Or mathematicians. Or artists. Some of you just like to curl up with a good book. I know a few of you just want to hang out and play video games. Music class isn’t always on the top of your favorite list of things to do. It makes for an interesting combination of people when it comes to making music together.
I’m guessing most of you like listening to music. Whether it’s on your electronic device, background music to a fun event, or maybe even a live concert, I’m pretty sure listening to songs is a regular part of your life. You probably have a favorite artist or band you like to listen to, and you most likely prefer certain kinds of styles, or genres, over others. Music can help you study or fall asleep, or even keep you energized for a good workout.
Since songs play such an important part of our lives, I think you should see how they are put together, so we are going to dissect a song or two and see what they are made of. As you learn about the structure and the strategy in how a song is put together, you will have a chance to practice getting started on a song of your own.
There is a lot to writing a good song, and this unit will be a little bit like trying the sample sized bites of ice cream at your favorite creamery. We won’t have time to get your song ready for the radio or for a competition, but if you SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 89 and your co-writers get together outside of class, you might just get a whole song finished before the time for the project is over.
My hope is that as you experience the journey of writing a song, you will see how all of the things you learn in music class have a connection to the world you live in. It might help you to really pay attention to the music you listen to. It might inspire you to keep writing songs or encourage you to practice your instrument, your singing or your dancing. At the very least, I hope it will help you to enjoy your sixth-grade year in music class.
The Workshop Plan:
This unit will take the whole quarter to accomplish. Here’s what we’ll be learning and doing in the next several weeks:
Lesson 1: This is an important first session. It may take us more than one week!
Co-writing
Song Form
Lyric Writing
Lesson 2: Melody: Writing the Pitch-Perfect Match
Lesson 3: Harmony: Keys, Chords and Maps
Lesson 4: Arranging: Rhythm section, instrumentation and vocals
Lesson 5: Practice for Performance: Revise and Rehearse
Lesson 6: Show-Time: Groups perform for Class
Lesson 7: Review and Reflect SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 90
Lesson One: Co-Writing, Song Form and Lyric Writing
Part One: Co-Writing
Songwriting can be a lot of fun. It’s also a lot of work, so prepare to dig in and do your best. Many great songs are written by more than one person. When two or more people write together, it’s called “Co-writing”. Co-writing helps songwriters bring more ideas and more strengths to the songwriting process.
Becoming a good songwriter also means you have to be willing to listen and appreciate the ideas of your co-writers. It means being able to take constructive critique and editing your work. It also means taking risks of sharing your ideas and your emotions. It definitely means doing your share of the work in the project.
Here are some guidelines about the co-writing process from my friends
Gina and Sue in their book Adventures in Songwriting: A Guide for Kids-and anyone who wants to write songs:
Be Kind
Listen
Speak your Mind
Care about People
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 91
Before you choose your co-writer or co-writers, keep the following things in mind:
You will work together for the next 6-7 weeks, so it’s important to
choose someone you can work through differences of opinion
with in a positive manner. It’s a big commitment!
If you are strong in one area, you need someone who is strong in
another. For instance, if you are really good with words, you
might need to find someone who can create a good melody to
go with your words. Or if you can play guitar or piano, you might
need a good singer or two on your team!
It’s not always a good idea to work with your best buddies if
they might distract you from the process. Choose co-writers who
help you stay balanced in having fun and working hard!
Let’s Practice:
Before you “interview” your co-writers, write down two things that will make you a good co-writer.
For instance: 1) I play piano
2) I am good at helping people compromise.
Then, write down two things you need help with, like:
1) I need to work with someone who is good with words
2) I need someone who can keep us organized SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 92
As a class, you will spend a few minutes “interviewing” each other to help you find your best co-writers. You may choose one to five people for your team.
Keep in mind the best size of group may be between two to four people. Sit with your new team and come up with a name for your team. If you decide you would rather work by yourself, that’s okay, but you will have to do all of the work and performing on your own. If you see someone without a group, consider including them in yours. You never know what hidden talents might be inside someone who is different from you.
Our Songwriter Team Name: ______
The Songwriters on our team:
______
______
______
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 93
Part Two: The Lyrical HOOK and Song Form
The HOOK
The Lyrical HOOK is not part of the structure of the song, but it is super important. The hook is the line or the word or the idea in the song that gets stuck in your brain. Here’s a great description from Adventures in Songwriting:
The “hook” is a memorable phrase that gets repeated in a song, usually in
the chorus. Often the hook is also the title, and sometimes it also makes
the main idea clear. After all, what better way for the writer to help you
remember it than to repeat it! (cite page number)
Let’s Practice:
We’re going to listen to some snippets of familiar songs. Your job is to find the hook. What do these hooks have in common?
______
______
______
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 94
Song Form: We Need Structure!
Song Form is all about giving our songs the structure our listeners need to make themselves at home in our song. The form helps us to tell our story in an organized way and to make it stick in our listener’s brain! Popular songs use some pretty standard ways of organizing the parts of the song. The basic parts of the LYRIC are known as the verse, the chorus and the bridge.
Here is an example of standard popular song form:
Verse 1
CHORUS
Verse 2
CHORUS
Bridge
CHORUS (sometimes with a repeat!)
The CHORUS
Let’s start with the part that’s a big deal in your structure-the CHORUS.
When you think about your CHORUS, think about the word Repeat!
This is the section of your song that repeats itself throughout the
song. It’s the part everyone can sing when it starts playing because
they’ve heard it so many times!
The CHORUS is the place you hang your HOOK
The HOOK is usually repeated two or three times in the Chorus or
found in the last line SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 95
The Verse
The Verse is the part of the song that leads your listener to the chorus. It
sets the scene, paints the picture, tells the story…all in a few short lines. The
verses are usually different from one another, but they use the same
melody. Many popular songs will have two verses in them, but now and
then you’ll hear more! We’ll talk more about verses when we are writing
them.
The Bridge
The Bridge is a nice place in the song to take your ear and your brain to a different place right before you head into the last chorus or two. It provides a little contrast in the music, as well as in the words. Not all songs have a bridge, but a lot of popular songs do. You don’t have to write a bridge for your project, but it’s addition nice to have in your bag of songwriter tools.
Let’s Practice:
In your groups, look at the sample lyric in your workbook.
Put a box around the CHORUS.
Find the hook and highlight it wherever it happens
Bracket the Verses in a different color
If there is a Bridge, circle it in a different color
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 96
Sample Lyric
Every Next Step
Pressing my face against the window Looking beyond what I can see Longing to follow my heart’s whisper Of what I was meant to be
Stumbling on plans of my own making Standing in doubt up to my knees You held my face so I could see you And what you see in me
(lift or pre-chorus): You gave me faith to move past my fear and dared me to believe, now…
Every Next Step I take into the sun I feel you shining on my face Every Next Step I take under the stars You light up my way for Every Next Step I take
Gazing into a new horizon Breathing in possibility I’m still in awe of what has happened Since you believed in me
(lift or pre-chorus): You gave me strength to never let go But reach for my destiny, now (to the Chorus)
I’m walking through an open door Places I have never been before Wake me up; I’m living in a dream And you are here with me, in (to Chorus)
©2007 Kara K. Smith
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 97
Part Three: Writing your Lyric
Today you will have the challenge of starting to write your lyric. You will need a verse and a chorus for your song, and a strong hook that you can use for your title. Where do you start?
The Big Idea: Finding the right Title
You and your team will need to find the title that fits your big idea the best. That title will most likely be your HOOK as well. In class today, we’ll talk about some ways to brainstorm:
Clustering-finding your Big Idea
Colors, Questions, Names, Places, Story Titles
Key Words and Keeping it Short!
Let’s Practice: (Get a white board and an Expo marker for your team for this activity)
1) 3 minutes: List as many ideas for songs as you can. Don’t talk about
them yet, just list them first.
2) 3 minutes: Vote on your top 2 ideas then cluster how you would
develop those ideas
3) 2 minutes: Choose the strongest cluster and write your hook
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 98
Building the Chorus
Placing your hook in the right place will help your listener remember your song.
Let’s say you have 4 lines in your Chorus- you can put your hook at the beginning, the end, every other line, bookends, or repeated thrice!
You’ll want to keep the phrases in your Chorus short, matching the number of syllables in the lines you want to rhyme.
Let’s Practice:
Build your Chorus-try out a couple of different placements for your hook
and see which one you like best. Write out your favorite in the workbook.
Remember you can go back and rewrite later if it feels like it needs a
change. Count the syllables in each line and see if it matches where you
want it to rhyme.
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 99
CHORUS # of Syllables
Line 1:______------
Line 2:______------
Line 3:______------
Line 4:______------
Use this space to practice rhyming words for the endings of your lines or trying out different arrangements of your hook:
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 100
The First Line of the First Verse
The hook is so important to the chorus, and making it stick in your listener’s head. Setting up the story for the listener can make it even more memorable.
Most of the pressure on the first verse is to write a compelling first line.
Something else to consider as you write this first verse is the rhyme scheme. Since this may be your first song, keep it very simple. If your words rhyme at the end of the first two lines, and then at the second set of lines, your pattern is a-a-b-b. Another pattern you can try is where the first, second and last lines rhyme, a-a-b-a.
Let’s Practice:
Before you and your co-writers create the actual Verse, talk about how you want to set up your listener with your Verse, so they can experience the
“WOW” of your hook. Do you want to create an emotion? Help them imagine a place? What specific words will help you do that?
Then, take your words and set them in the pattern you picked for the rhyme. This is like a puzzle; you may need to play with it and move things around to make them fit!
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 101
VERSE ONE: rhyme scheme
Line 1:______------
Line 2:______------
Line 3:______------
Line 4:______------
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 102
Assignment One
1. Use the following page as your template, place your Title, songwriters’
names, Verse and Chorus in the appropriate spaces. This is a first draft. I
will make comments or ask questions to help you consider how you might
want to revise for your final version.
2. Memorize this statement:
Great songs are not written. They are rewritten.
You’ll see this play out over the next several weeks!
SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 103
______(Title)
______(use your Team name for now) Verse One:
______
______
______
______
Chorus:
______
______
______
______SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 104
Lesson Two
Melody: Writing the Pitch-Perfect Match
Now that you have a strong start on your lyric, it’s time to make up a melody that matches your words and makes your listener want to sing it again and again. Does this sound familiar? In the same way you created a lyrical hook, now you need one for your tune. This is called a MELODIC HOOK. Just like you did before, start with the chorus, and play around with some melody ideas.
Here are some hints to making your melody memorable from our Adventures in
Songwriting friends:
Be “hooky”
o Make sure to include repetition in your melody so it catches in
your listener’s ear!
Be singable
o Not too high, not too low, keep it comfortable!
Use patterns
o Think about the shape of your melody-where should the rise
and fall of your melody be?)
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Let’s Practice:
Start with your CHORUS. Once again, remember to keep your melody ideas simple enough that everyone can understand them and hum along with you. You might be tempted to think you need an instrument to write your melody with, but it will be a lot easier for you to create something singable if you try out your melody ideas vocally first. Once you settle on a pattern that works for you, draw a sketch of your melody pattern shape above each line of your lyric so you don’t forget what you came up with. If you have time and want to add the staff notation, you can use a keyboard or a barred instrument to help you with the note names and where they go on the staff. Or, if you’re happy with your CHORUS melody, you can also start working on your Verse melody.
Those of you choosing to write your song as a rap may do so without pitches in your verse, but in order to get all of the assignments done fully, at least your
CHORUS will need a melody with recognizable pitches.
Rewriting
As you work on your melody together, you might discover this is a good time to take a second look at your lyric. This process is called re-writing, which is very much a part of the normal songwriting experience. If you need to change a word or two so it fits your melody better, or maybe you have a stronger rhyme, now is the time! There is a cool vocabulary word that is used to describe the perfect match between melody and lyric; it’s called PROSODY.
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ASSIGNMENT TWO
1. On the next page, write your CHORUS lines out again, but this time with
space to “draw” your melody. You can use a line to draw the way the
melody moves, and add your note names on the line, or you can write
your melody out on staff lines and paste it in place. Make sure to check
if it is singable and memorable. Make sure your whole group can sing
your CHORUS from memory, so you can teach the rest of us!
2. Now use the same process with your Verse. Maybe it seemed
backwards to start with the CHORUS, but now you know where you
want your verse to lead your listener. It’s just like when you wrote your
lyric, you want the melody of your VERSE to set up your CHORUS. For
instance, if your CHORUS is big and strong, you may want to start your
verse off a little more quietly and make it grow stronger each line. Don’t
worry, we’ll flip them back in order before you finish!
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CHORUS-“Draw” the shape of your melody above your words. If you prefer to use staff paper and use standard notation, you may do so!
Line 1:______
Line 2:______
Line 3:______
Line 4:______
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VERSE ONE: “Draw” the shape of your melody above your words. If you prefer to use staff paper and use normal notation, you may do so!
Line 1:______
Line 2:______
Line 3:______
Line 4:______
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Lesson Three
Harmony: Keys, Chords and Maps
Now that you have a pretty good idea of how you want your song to
“sing” melodically, it’s time to add some harmony to support your melody.
Songwriters often use guitar or keyboards to try out the chords they want to use so they can hear the full chord as they sing the melody.
One of the first things you’ll want to do is decide the KEY that works best for your melody. Since you want to keep it in a range of notes that make it easy for everyone in your group to sing, you will want to pick a key that sings comfortably and also plays easily. Keep in mind this needs to stay simple because of our time limit on this project, so I will suggest a few keys you should be able to try out.
As you hum through your melody, what is the mood of your tune? Is it energetic, happy, proud? You will probably want a MAJOR key for your harmonies if so. Is your lyric and melody more serious or melancholy? If so, a
MINOR key might be a better choice for your piece. Figure out where the chords fit with your melody-you should have to use at least two chords to accompany your melody. You will want to start and end on the first chord to give it a sense of
“home” for your piece. This chord is called the tonic chord of your key, so whichever key you choose, the name of that chord will be the name of your
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Once you figure out the key and chords you will use, you will want to add them to your lyric in a SONG MAP. This is pretty cool, because once you have your song mapped out, anyone who knows your melody can sing along and play along on their own guitar or keyboard!
Look at the example of the SONG MAP for Happy Birthday. Notice how the chord names go right above the words where the chord changes. You might even want to include some chords before you sing, as an introduction
(INTRO), or between sections (INTERLUDE).
Rewriting
As you and your co-writers decide which chords to use with your song, you might decide to tweak your melody so that it fits the key or expresses the lyric more effectively. This is another natural part of the process, so don’t be afraid to change things here and there if it helps your song to fit together with more flow.
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ASSIGNMENT THREE
1. Choose the key that best fits your melody and is the easiest for your
group to play and sing in.
2. Experiment with the chords and decide where each chord fits best
with the words and the melody. You must use at least two chords, and
for this assignment, begin and end each section on the same chord.
3. Write out your lyric with space in between the lines. Then, above the
words, add the chord names, but only where they are new or the
chord changes.
For example:
D A
Happy Birthday to You
A D
Happy Birthday to You
D G
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
D A D
Happy Birthday to You!
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______(title) Use this page for assignments Three and Four ______Team Name
Verse One:
(chord names up here)
(words here)______
______
______
______
Chorus:
______
______
______
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Lesson Four: Arranging your Song
By now, you should have a pretty solid sense of what your song is all about. With at least one verse and one chorus, your listener can get a clear idea of what you are communicating. At this point, you are going to take some time to arrange your song and get it ready to perform for class. This is where the strengths of your songwriting team are really going to come in handy.
Together you will be making choices about the rhythm section, instrumentation and vocals needed for the performance of your song.
Let’s imagine you and your friends are in a garage band. You are likely to have a rhythm section, which means you have a drummer, a bass guitar player, and an acoustic guitar and/or a keyboard player. For this song, you can use one of the classroom drums to add to your rhythm section. You can also use a shaker or a tambourine to make your rhythm stay in the groove.
If you want the extra bass sound, you might use one of the larger barred instruments (xylophone, metallophone or the big bass bars), but it’s not a requirement. If one of your co-writers is a cello player, you can also use cello to support your bass notes!
One or two of you will need to play the harmony instrument(s) so we can hear the chords you chose to support your melody. You can use guitar, keyboard, or both!
You will need to figure out who is singing in your group. Sometimes an instrumentalist is also a singer, although not usually the drummer. You can all SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 114 sing, or you can assign that to one or two people in your group, if the others need to concentrate on the instrumental playing.
Rewriting
As you arrange your piece to perform, you might discover a few little spots that need revision. Perhaps you need more space between sections to give the singers a chance to breathe. Maybe the words move too fast and you need to slow the pace a little. Maybe you found a better chord that fits a spot in your melody that seemed a little off. This is a good time to discuss with your group if things are falling into a good groove or you need to rewrite a little more.
This is also a good time if you have extra time to consider writing another verse and/or a bridge for your song if you want to perform this like a full media- friendly song!
Something to think about: How is your group getting along at this point? There is so much to think about, you might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed or anxious about getting this song finished before you present it to class. Take a little time to reflect on how much your group has already learned and accomplished in the last few weeks. Is there someone in your group you can encourage or thank for the work they have done to help your song develop?
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ASSIGNMENT FOUR
Assign the roles of your team members to the part they will play in the performance of your song. Not all of the slots need to be filled, but everyone needs a job. The minimum requirement is singers and a harmony instrument, although I suspect you will have at least one person who helps you keep the rhythm in the groove. You will also want to go back to your SONG MAP and figure out where each part fits. Maybe your song just starts with a few measures of the guitar strumming or the keyboard playing a hint of your melody over your basic chords. Perhaps you will choose one person to sing the verse and have everyone join in on the chorus. This is all part of arranging, making choices to make the best presentation of your song.
Mark on your SONG MAP from Assignment Three where each instrument or singer starts. If it’s the whole instrumental section, label it “full band”, or “all in.” If there’s a solo, write in where it starts. Remember your SONG MAP helps you to remember the order you want to do things in, but it also helps someone else who wants to learn and perform your song!
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Lesson Five
Practice for Performance: Revise and Rehearse
Last week you arranged your song. This week you have the opportunity to rehearse, make changes, ask questions, practice your song again, clean up any mistakes, practice again, make sure you are ready for your performance. It’s a good time to get a second opinion. Maybe you and another co-writing team can listen to each other’s songs and ask questions or give some helpful observations. If you are feeling confident about your readiness to perform, perhaps now is the time to add those extra verses or an instrumental solo. It can also be a good time to confer with the teacher and ask for any suggestions on making it a strong presentation.
This week is also the time to catch up on any of the workbook assignments you might have missed or gotten behind on. This is the week to put together a clean, neat final copy of your SONG MAP. If you want to write out the melody on the staff and include it on your map, this will become a LEAD
SHEET and be even more valuable to others who may want to learn your song.
Your final copy of your SONG MAP is due the day you perform.
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ASSIGNMENT FIVE
1. Practice your song. Have someone outside of your group listen to your song
and ask for their observations and suggestions. Thank them for their input.
Make changes if you think it makes your song or your performance stronger.
Practice again. Talk with your group to see if you want to include any extra
things like dance moves or dressing in a certain theme for your presentation.
2. Make any changes to your SONG MAP needed for your final copy. A final
copy page is included, but feel free to make your own, especially if you are
using notation and making it a lead sheet, or if you are including additional
verses or sections. You might also want to type out your lyric sheet and
chords on a computer to make it look even more professional!
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Final Copy
______(title)
______(Team name) Verse One:
______
______
______
______
Chorus:
______
______
______
______
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Lesson Six: Show Time!
The time has come to share your song with your classmates. You might be nauseously nervous or extremely excited. Or both. Either way, you have something to be proud of. You’ve created something with your co-writers that no one else has ever done before. Your job today is to share your song.
Along with the roles of songwriter and performer, you will also play the part of an audience member. As you listen to the other groups, consider the things that make performing for an audience easier on the performers; attention, appreciation and encouragement.
Your performance will be video recorded. This serves a few purposes:
1) You will be able to watch your group performance. This gives you
the chance to reflect on your presentation.
2) I will be able to assess your group performance more accurately
and notice details I might not have during the live performance.
Please be assured these videos will not be posted on social media or public websites. I may ask your group’s permission to share your song with other classes if I think it serve as a good model for learning.
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ASSIGNMENT SIX
1) Turn in your final copy for your SONG MAP and your workbook. This will
be graded according to the rubric and will be a significant part of your
unit grade. The assignments in your workbook should reflect the work
your group has done to reach this final product.
2) With your group, perform your song for your class. This will also be a
grade, but with more emphasis on the preparation than the
performance aspect of the project.
3) Audience Participation-Showing your classmates you can be a good
audience will reflect well on your Active Listening rubric for this unit. This
rubric includes your listening behaviors for both the live performances
and when we review the video performances. As an audience
member, you may have the opportunity to recognize one or two things
a group has done well with their song.
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Lesson Seven: Review and Reflect
Over the last several weeks, you experienced a taste of the songwriter’s process. Along with some cool vocabulary like “hook” and “prosody”, you’ve learned about popular song form and some techniques of writing a lyric and a melody. Co-writing added another layer to the process, as you’ve had to learn to work together to create your song. You added chords to your melody and arranged your song for performance. You’ve written and re-written. Finally, you performed your song and listened to others as they present their songs. You’ve had to make a lot of choices along the way, and you may have changed your mind about those choices a few times or more!
Today you have the opportunity to be your own audience. You will watch the video of your performance and spend some time reflecting on the things you’ve learned. You will have the opportunity to share your observations of your group as you perform, as well as what you learned from others. You will also nominate the song or songs you think should be included in the Songwriter
Showcase. Although this experience was mostly done as a group, you will do the reflection as an individual. This will give you the opportunity to let me know how you think you contributed to your group in the project, as well as your thoughts on the project itself.
I congratulate you on completing your first Songwriter’s Workshop!
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ASSIGNMENT SEVEN
1) Watch the video of the song performances. Be polite and reflective as
we review everyone’s performances. Remember this is a part of your
Active Listening grade.
2) As you watch your group’s performance, take a mental note of at
least two things you felt were strong about your song. Also think about
what you would do if you had more time to work on it. Be prepared to
share these thoughts in your reflection.
3) Think about your personal contribution to the co-writing process.
What were your strengths?
What did you rely on others to contribute?
4) Share your thoughts about the songwriter’s workshop.
Was this an experience you enjoyed?
What parts were challenging for you?
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Assignment Seven Reflection Sheet
Name______
Class______
List two things you feel are strong in your song:
a.
b.
What would you do to make your song even stronger if you had more time to work on your song?
Think about your personal contribution to the co-writing process.
What were your strengths?
What did you rely on others to contribute?
Share your thoughts about the Songwriter’s Workshop.
Was this an experience you enjoyed?
What parts were challenging for you?
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Appendix H
Wyoming FPA Music Benchmarks by Workshop Assignment
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Songwriter’s Workshop: Wyoming FPA Music Standards listed for each section of the project.
Assignment One: Assignment Two: Assignment Assignment Assignment Five: LYRIC MELODY Three: Four: PREPARE for HARMONY ARRANGING Performance
8.2.M.1; 8.1.M.4; 8.1.M.5 8.1.M.4 8.1.M.2; 8.1.M.1; 8.1.M.2; 8.2.M.2; 8.3.M.3 8.1.M.5 8.1.M.3; 8.1.M.4;8.1.M.5; 8.4.M.3 8.1.M.5 8.2.M.1;8.2.M.3; 8.2.M.3
Assignment Six: Assignment Seven: SHOW TIME REVIEW AND REFLECT 1) Song Map 2) Performance 3) Audience Active Listening 8.1.M.1; 8.1.M.2; 8.1.M.4;8.1.M.5; 8.2.M.1; 8.2.M.3;8.2.M.4; 8.2.M.1;8.2.M.3; 8.4.M.1; 8.4.M.2;8.4.M.3 LCSD #1 GVC Active Listening Rubric E
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Appendix I
Group Rubric Sheet
Individual Rubric Sheet
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Assignment Six Rubrics (Group Grade) Proficiencies: 3-3.5 are listed with each component No evidence or effort will score a 1 Partial Proficiencies will score within the 1.5-2.5 range Student Groups showing effort and creativity beyond the proficient level (i.e., full song structure, advanced arrangements, lead sheets, etc.…) will score within the 3.5-4 range.
Component 1 2 3 4 Lyric: Minimum Requirement is One Verse and a Chorus Hook is evident and is used in the Chorus. Rhyme or near rhyme is evident to support the memorability of the verse and chorus
Melody : Melody is fitting for the lyric (Prosody) Melody is evident at least in the Chorus (Rap is not required to have melody in the verse)
Harmony: At least two chords (or chord roots) support the melody in a clear manner
Song Map: Neatly organized and includes the composition information, the lyric and the chords in the appropriate places
Performance: The group performs the original song (Verse and Chorus or more) in its entirety. Everyone has a role in the performance
Comments:
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Assignment Seven Rubrics (Individual Grade) Student reflects as an individual on the project as a whole and on its individual parts
1 2 3 4 Reflection Student Student Student Student responses are provides partial, provides provides incomplete or incomplete or complete and complete and not evident unclear clear responses. clear responses, responses Acknowledges includes personal supporting contributions to details of the project. personal and group contributions to the project. Comments:
1 2 3 4 Active Listening- Student is Student is easily Student is Student is Rubric from GVC uninvolved, distracted, uses attentive and attentive, lacks courtesy, verbal and courteous. courteous and and is a nonverbal He/she sensitive to the hindrance to the behavior purposefully and music being appropriate inappropriate confidently heard. listening of for the occasion. listens to the Demonstrates others Student is, at music being intellectual times, a played. curiosity, distraction to attention to the others’ listening task, and sensitivity to others which helps to create a productive climate in, and for, the group Comments:
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Appendix J
Power Point Slides
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Appendix K
Building Principal Approval
IRB Approval SONGWRITING AND THE 6th GRADER 160
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