Songwriting leads students through an examination of song as a form of poetry as they apply elements common to this genre in original songwriting exercises. The class encourages students to
- Explore the importance of song structure
- Examine the musicality of language
- Wield the power of syntax and diction in their songwriting
- Bridge the gap between poetry and music
- Hone their skills at crafting metaphors and analogies
- Critique protest songs through time
Students apply skills learned to create an original protest song that calls on a modern-day controversy.
Syllabus
Week One
Poetry and songwriting share many characteristics. Students examine language in poetry and song, and how literary devices strengthen songwriting.
Week Two
Students explore song structure by determining common song elements and patterns. Students then practice keeping the structure of an existing song in place and applying new lyrics.
Week Three
Students take a historical look at protest songs and receive advice on how to deepen the experience of listening to and writing original protest songs.
Week Four
This week, students pull together everything they learned about rhyme and rhythm, literary devices, protest music, and song structure to create an original piece.
Common Core and Academic Standards Support
What follows is a word bank and set of skills associated with this class. Use them to craft your own learning narrative for use in year-end evaluations, charter school reports, or any other accountability source.
Word Bank
- Beat and rhythm
- Literary devices
- Metaphor
- Oral presentation
- Perspective
- Poetry
- Protest music
- Rhyme
- Sequencing
- Structure
- Symbolism
- Theme
- Writing craft
Core Skills
- Analyze impact of literary devices (alliteration, repetition, strong verbs, imagery, metaphor, simile) in writing
- Analyze song structure to find common patterns (introduction, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, bridge, hook, refrain)
- Choose a controversial issue to explore through song
- Compare and contrast elements of songwriting and poetry
- Determine audience of particular songs
- Determine writer’s voice and perspective in song
- Find theme in a song and craft original works with a theme in mind
- Research modern settings to find evidence of controversy
- Write detailed, organized, structured original narratives
