Objectives
• Students will use the Internet to do research and inquiry on song lyrics.
• Students will listen to and read original song lyrics.
• Students will write song lyrics of their own.
Description
This Web site is the companion to the PBS special Thomas Hampson: I hear America Singing . It contains a timeline, a history of song in America, profiles of the composers and performers, and audio clips of performances.
Suggested Activities
• Have students go back to the Web site and pick a composer to research. Students can work in groups to find out more about several composers from different time periods. You can recreate the timeline in your classroom by hanging up information, pictures, and song lyrics from various composers in time order. Make sure students accurately cite their information.
Level Activities
• Have the student connect to http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/music.htm and read the introduction at the top of the page. Then ask them to:
select Favorites on the left of the Web page, and scroll down until they find the song title Big Yellow Taxi . Have them click on this song and listen to it while reading its lyrics. What do they think the song is about? How does it make them feel?
select Favorites on the left of the Web page, and scroll down until they find the song title Louie Louie . Have them click on this song and listen to it while reading its lyrics. What do they think this song is about? Are the lyrics gramatically correct? On a separate sheet of paper, have them compose new lyrics for this song, about any subject, that use proper grammar.
select Guess this Oldies' Tune on the right of the Web page. Have them play each song and see if they know what it is. Students can choose Peek at Song List for help. Then they can pull down the Check Answer Here menu to see how they did. Did they recognize any of the songs? Make sure that students stop one song before continuing to the next.