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Written Report How Music Motivates

Lesson 3:

From Unit Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

6th-8th Grade

Subjects:

Arts, Language Arts, Library / Technology and Philanthropy

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ART:	Analyze; Music: History/Culture
ELA:	Analyze/Interpret; Expository Writing; Research; Synthesizing
PHIL:	Common Good; Volunteer
SOC:	LEAGUE Optional Lesson: King Day

Purpose:

Students will form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind and the importance of performing community service.

Duration:

Two Forty-Five Minute Class Periods

Objectives:

The learners will:

describe how music motivates us in our everyday lives.
describe the motivational role the “freedom songs” played in the Civil Rights Movement.
explain how music affects the mind.
evaluate the importance of service to the community.

Materials:

Class copies of Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968 (Attachment One)
Rubrics for Music Research Paper (Attachment Two)
Classical music CD (see Bibliography)
Class copies of Title Page Sample (Attachment Three)
Recording of the song We Shall Overcome

Handout 1: Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968
Handout 2: RUBRICS FOR MUSIC RESEARCH PAPER
Handout 3: TITLE PAGE Sample

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:
Teach the class the words to “We Shall Overcome” (see Attachment One).
Ask the class to stand in a circle with arms crossed, hands linked, and bodies rocking from side to side while singing the song.

Play short examples of musical selections such as:
- Brahms Lullaby
- Pachabels’ Canon in D
- Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major
- JS Bach’s Pasacaglia and Fugue in C Minor
- Mannheim Steamroller’s Fresh Air
- Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Ask students to think about how their moods change with each of the pieces.
Ask students how music affects their everyday lives, moods, and over-all well being.
Discuss how music motivated people in the Civil Rights Movement.
Discuss how music motivates people in our present day society, and how music is used at times of national celebration and tragedy.
Reflect upon the performance for the community group and think about how this may have affected the audience in a philanthropic way. Did this form of community service serve the common good? How do students feel about the necessity for them to work for the common good in some way?
Assign a two-page, double-spaced, typed paper on “How Music Motivates.” Require a title page and a bibliography. See Title Page Sample (Attachment Three). The paper should total four pages. Go over Rubrics for Music Research Paper (see Attachment Two) with students for required language arts elements. Ask students to include their personal conclusions about the topic.

Assessment:

Every student will verbally tell the class how he/she feels music affects his/her every day life, moods and over-all well being. This presentation will be done with note cards which will then be handed in to the teacher for assessment purposes.

School/Home Connection:

Ask students to talk with the adult about how music affects their every day lives, moods, and over-all well being. Talk about when and where they hear music during the day. Ask them if certain types of music make their moods change. Ask if certain types of music may affect them at work, at home, in the car, at a restaurant, the doctor’s office, at church, or during recreational activities.

Extension:

Ask students to keep a journal of their daily activities for one week noting every time they listen to music. Remind them that music is constantly played as background music and/or for commercial purposes on the television or during movies. Music is played in most stores, malls, office buildings, on the phone when placed “on hold,” and is heard somewhere in almost every aspect of every day life. Students may journal all the places they hear music along with whether and how their moods changed with different types of music.

Bibliographical References:

For a Summer Evening. Universal # 470036, 2002. Audio CD.
ASIN: B0000065VC0
The following Web sites may be found on the Internet:
- “Music and Language.” Chris Dobrian, 1992. Go to: http://www.arts.uci.edu/ and type in “dobrian chris.” Click on “Music and Language.”
- “The Effects of Music on the Mind: Beyond Soothing the Savage Beast.” Kristian David Olson, Feb. 22, 1996. http://www.bobjanuary.com/musicmnd.htm [no longer available]
- “Music and How It Affects Our Lives.” ENERGYPowr http://wiseoracle.com/oasis/August99/Pjac899.html [no longer available]
The following books contain the music and verses of “We Shall Overcome:”
- Goldman, Peter. Civil Rights: The Challenge of the Fourteenth Amendment. New York: Conrad-McCann, Inc., 1970. ISBN: 0698200241
- Steiner, Rudolph and Eileen J. Southern. Music of Black Americans: A History, 3rd Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1997. ISBN: 0393971414

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Elizabeth Wright
St. Joseph Public Schools
Upton Middle School
St. Joseph, MI 49085

Handouts:

Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968

The old spiritual, We Shall Overcome, became the theme song of the Civil Rights Movement.

(Words)
We shall overcome___
We shall overcome___
We shall overcome some day___
For I know in my heart_____
It will come true_____
We shall overcome some day_____

“ On the morning when 10,000 started out from Selma, the people sang about ‘that great getting up morning.’ There were songfests at night when they camped along the roadside; there were songfests in Washington while the crowds waited for speeches to begin. They sang Oh, Freedom, Blowing in the Wind, and other folksongs, but again and again they came back to We Shall Overcome, making up hundreds of verses to fit the simple melody.”

“ As the black masses began to realize that nonviolence was powerless against the entrenched racism in the United States, the singing stopped. Instead, there were angry slogans and riots. Only for one day was there singing again, on April 9, 1968, the day of the martyred Martin Luther King. The crowds marched through the streets of Atlanta, Georgia, behind the mule-drawn funeral caisson, blacks and whites holding hands and singing We Shall Overcome. It was almost as if they thought King’s death would set things right.” ¹

“We Shall Overcome, an old song that had done service in the labor movement and elsewhere, became the particular anthem of the civil rights movement-and of successful movements around the world. It became a ritual to close movement gatherings with a rendition of We Shall Overcome sung with arms crossed, hands linked, bodies rocking from side to side. Time and again, the brave words and steady rhythm of the song fostered courage, unity, and hope. ²

¹Southern, Eileen. Music of Black Americans, A History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1971, p. 491.
²Kasher, Steven. Forwarded by Myrlie Evers-Williams. The Civil Rights Movement, A Photographic History, 1954-68. New York: Abbeville Press, 1996, p. 72.

Handout 2Print Handout 2

RUBRICS FOR MUSIC RESEARCH PAPER

SCORE:	A	B	C	D-F	YOUR TOTAL
CRITERIA:
OPENING PARAGRAPH
	Invites reader to continue, clear purpose; overview of paper	Clear purpose & overview lacks some interest	Purpose of paper somewhat vague, lacks interest	Relatively weak or missing purpose, lacks interest	8_
Body Of Work
	Demonstrates in-depth understanding of topic with accuracy; clear paragrahs	Demonstrates general under-standing of topic & relates major facts to an acceptable degree	Provides facts with fair degree of accuracy appropriate to topic; fair paragraphs	Facts inaccurate or inappropriate to topicl lacks good paragraphs	25_
MECHANICS
	Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure	Uses correct spelling, grammar, sentences with few errors	Uses correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentences, with fair degree of accuracy	Spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentences with major errors	25_
APPEARANCE
	Required style, font, margines, spacing, format used accurately	Reinforces purpose, 2 major highlights restated	Reinforces purpose 1 major highlight restated	Summary missing or weak with facts	8_
BIBLIOGRAPHY
	Follows standard format, 3 current quality resources (1990-present)	Follows standard format, 3 references with few errors	Follows standard format, 2 references, with several errors	Does not follow standard format, references incomplete	9_
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS				TOTAL=	100
Extra Credit Points
	Complete using correct format, no errors	Complete, with few errors	Complete with several errors	Incomplete or with many errors, or missing	25_
PICTURES or ILLUSTRATIONS				I2 Pts.Each	__

Handout 3Print Handout 3

TITLE PAGE Sample

Music Motivates
(Size 24 Font - Bold Style)

Your Name
?th Grade
Date
(Size 18 Font - Bold Style)

Academic Standards:

State:

Philanthropy Framework:

Unit Contents:

Overview:Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968 Summary

Lessons:

1.: Introduction to Music of the Civil Rights Era
2.: Music Motivates
3.: Written Report How Music Motivates