Music

State Content Standards: ** ** Benchmark C : ** Describe how events during various historical periods have influenced the development of music.
 * Olympic Music Lesson **

5. Recognize and identify historical and cultural contexts (e.g., time and place of a music event) that have influenced music. Internet – Use of research, music MP3 Player- used to upload music and listen to their choice of an Olympic theme song from the following website: [] The use of: [|JamStudio] the free online music factory, where students can create their own music, specifically their own Olympic anthem. ** Description: ** For this lesson, students will be working with a partner and will be using one of the computer labs located in the school. The goal of this lesson is to have the students identify Olympic theme music and be able to identify the history behind it. They will first visit the following website of [|Olympic Theme songs] so that they may choose one out of the 13 theme songs listed here. This is a great starting point for Olympic theme songs, but students will also be encouraged to find other theme songs not listed here. Once the theme song is selected, they will download the song to their MP3 player so that it can be continually used to refer back to. The pair of students needs to utilize a Word document to list the following things about their selected Olympic theme song After this part of the activity has been completed, the students will log on to their personal accounts (which have already been set up prior to this activity) on JamStudio.com. Here the students will collectively compose their own version of an Olympic theme song by using selected chords and instruments to play. The group also will have an opportunity to e-mail their mixed Olympic theme song to one another for peer-review. The group will also be required to come up with a title, and explanation of why they feel their song would be appropriate to use as an Olympic theme song. Their final product of both their researched Olympic theme song and original mixed Olympic theme song will be submitted to the teacher’s e-mail for grading.
 * Indicator **
 * Technology: **
 * Title of song
 * Composer
 * Year it was used at the Olympics
 * Why this song was chosen as an Olympic theme song.

The students will be evaluated on the completion and accuracy of information on the history of their selected Olympic theme song. Their original mixed Olympic theme song will be evaluated on sound quality and appropriateness. ** Resources: ** During this lesson, students have been encouraged to utilize their MP3 players to download their assignment to. In order to embrace technology and prepare our students with 21st century skills, educators need to take advantage of what technology our students already have in their possession and enjoy using. In the August 2006 issue of Middle Ground, the latest and most innovative ways to use technology in the classroom are discussed. “ Right now, the iPod is being piloted in K – –12 and higher education settings with favorable reviews from teachers and students. These users will define the educational uses of these devices. Here are some trends that are likely to emerge: • Continued expansion of mass storage capacity and all-in-one functionality, including phone, Web, computer, and calculator applications. • Increased portability and accessibility advances, which will allow people to work on different computers in different places while minimizing the number of high-end machines needed for high-powered projects such as video production. • Revival of portfolio assessment, made possible with the file storage, creation, and manipulation possibilities of this technology.” Instead of students using iPods for personal entertainment, Apple is converting this device into a portable storage device for students to use in schools. With this type of technology being integrated into schools, it begins to motivate our students in a different way. “ They are willing to experiment, collaborate, and immerse themselves in new ways of communicating, learning, and getting things done.” Consortium for School Networking. (August 2006). “Hot technologies for education: what's happening now and later?” National Middle School Association, Middle Ground, Volume 9, Number 4, 12-15.


 * Tried & True or New & Innovative: **

I think this lesson is an example of an activity that is “new and innovative.” Although students have used and researched the Internet, they may have not have been familiar with using JamStudio during music class. It was important for the music students to understand the history behind Olympic theme music, and by downloading their choice of a theme song to their MP3 player, it will be more accessible to utilize when they need to refer back to it as they search for information. Although JamStudio is a free online music factory, where students can create their own music, they will only have limited access if a membership is not purchased for $24.95. With a membership, students will have full rights to the songs they create and have MP3 mixed e-mailed to them for unlimited use.