Help with my art school lesson plan!

Kilgore_Trout

ive got a lesson plan due sunday night that ive been putting off and i need some help from you guys... its my first one as a student teacher so i wanna get it right... its music related so i figured this would be a good group to ask

anyway... the over arching theme for the semester is "narrative" and i thought it would be a cool activity for me to play them a song and have them interpret it through art... its a group of 3rd and 4th graders btw... i need a song thats pretty straightforward with literal imagery AND youth appropriate... when i think of narrative music, my mind goes right to bruce springsteen and bob dylan but im afraid theyd be too mature for my class

id appreciate any suggestions of good songs! THANKS

KosmicJelli

sgossard3 wrote:

ive got a lesson plan due sunday night that ive been putting off and i need some help from you guys... its my first one as a student teacher so i wanna get it right... its music related so i figured this would be a good group to ask

anyway... the over arching theme for the semester is "narrative" and i thought it would be a cool activity for me to play them a song and have them interpret it through art... its a group of 3rd and 4th graders btw... i need a song thats pretty straightforward with literal imagery AND youth appropriate... when i think of narrative music, my mind goes right to bruce springsteen and bob dylan but im afraid theyd be too mature for my class

id appreciate any suggestions of good songs! THANKS

I remeber the teacher would play classical... why dont you go for some jazz or something? No words, mind only...

Kilgore_Trout

KosmicJelli wrote:

I remeber the teacher would play classical... why dont you go for some jazz or something? No words, mind only...

maybe im not giving these young kids enough credit... but i dont really wanna do something that conceptual... we did something like that in HS and even at that age people werent interested in such abstract material...

ill keep it in mind though... maybe give them the option... thanks for the input!

KosmicJelli

sgossard3 wrote:

maybe im not giving these young kids enough credit... but i dont really wanna do something that conceptual... we did something like that in HS and even at that age people werent interested in such abstract material...

ill keep it in mind though... maybe give them the option... thanks for the input!

You know Ive neer had to write a lesson plan but can you give the kids the option? I want to say I remember a project like that before 4th grade...

Oh I forgot... children these days are at a lost when it comes to imagination thanks... Satellite, Internet, Cell phones hehe...

Kilgore_Trout

KosmicJelli wrote:

Oh I forgot... children these days are at a lost when it comes to imagination thanks... Satellite, Internet, Cell phones hehe...

ha... yah thats kindof how i see it too... i dont even know what kind of music kids listen to at that age anymore... but im sure as hell not bringing any jonas bros. into my class... i guess this project is more just me selfishly incorporating my own interests

as far as the option thing goes... this is for an extra cirrucular art program held on saturday mornings... not for a grade or anything... so my main priority is just to keep everyones interest... as long as the options are similar enough to stay on task together i dont have a problem with catering to different interests

im leaning toward a couple different folk songs right now but im afraid ill lose them by being too "old fashion"

justam

There are songs about trains, symphonic poems about the ocean, piano pieces about engulfed cathedrals, piano pieces that are leaves rustling, symphonies that sound pastoral, symphonies that tell stories with music (Peter and the wolf), there are masses for the dead, there are tone-poems about love (this means a symphonic piece without words, but with a story), or, by the way, there are piano pieces called "songs without words" that sound like birds, or venetian boats rocking, there are lullabye pieces that have a rocking cradle, there are Schubert songs galore that sound like what the words are about...

Really...you need to use your imagination and get to work!

Kilgore_Trout

justam wrote:

There are songs about trains, symphonic poems about the ocean, piano pieces about engulfed cathedrals, piano pieces that are leaves rustling, symphonies that sound pastoral, symphonies that tell stories with music (Peter and the wolf), there are masses for the dead, there are tone-poems about love (this means a symphonic piece without words, but with a story), or, by the way, there are piano pieces called "songs without words" that sound like birds, or venetian boats rocking, there are lullabye pieces that have a rocking cradle, there are Schubert songs galore that sound like what the words are about...

Really...you need to use your imagination and get to work!

sorry... i shouldve been more specific... the classical music thing in the art class is so cliched and not what i had in mind with this particular project...

the lesson plan preceding this one is to take a work of art and make up character names and a story for how they got there and what theyre doing... so im kindof working backwards with this lesson... im not trying to do the stereotypical delving into children innermost emotions thing... just want them to take lyrics and put it into pictures... might sound uncreative, but thats why im looking for a song thats fun and vague enough to get some different interpretations

its really more of an excercise...

stuckinline

play the vitamin string quartet album of pearl jam tunes. and if any of them recognize the song......they get an "A"

HushBull

Try some Cat Stevens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_eUnxDE8YY&feature=related

A lot of imagery.

GraySaturday

I'm am so jealous of your assignment!

I didn't know you were student teaching.. We'll have to PM sometime and you can give me the low down on how its going. Are you going to be an Art Teacher? or is this just a general education art based assignment?

You know what song inspired me to do a whole series when I was in art school?

Blackbird by the Beatles. I think its such a beautiful simple song. It can be such a straightforward thing for kids that need help coming up with ideas, or it can really bring out an imaginative child to find a hidden meaning in it.

Kilgore_Trout

GraySaturday wrote:

I'm am so jealous of your assignment!

I didn't know you were student teaching.. We'll have to PM sometime and you can give me the low down on how its going. Are you going to be an Art Teacher? or is this just a general education art based assignment?

You know what song inspired me to do a whole series when I was in art school?

Blackbird by the Beatles. I think its such a beautiful simple song. It can be such a straightforward thing for kids that need help coming up with ideas, or it can really bring out an imaginative child to find a hidden meaning in it.

im studying right now towards painting and art education majors... the art ed. is kindof a financial fall back plan as you can probably tell from my lack of enthusiasm about the idea of writing lesson plans... im never gonna have to write a 6 page lesson plan in the real world so this kindof prep stuff is such bull shit! i think its a fun project though... i was thinking of doing something where they design and decorate their own instruments too as part of this music sub unit... but that would probably be too much

its fun kindof having full freedom to do whatever i want though... but scary at the same time not having much constructive guidance... atleast ive got a good budget with this program though

blackbird would be a cool song... i havent met my class, but based on the demographic of the surrounding areas i think theres a good chance we'll have alot of african-american children... maybe theyd pick up on the message

thanks to everyone for the feedback so far! ill start first thing tomorrow morning... i swear