teacherintro

Skip Van Winkle

A WebQuest for 7th Grade General Music

Ashley Robinson

Introduction

This lesson was developed as a final project for the West Chester University Secondary Methods Technology class.

The lesson was designed to teach students about popular music of the Twentieth Century by modernizing the age old story of Rip Van Winkle whose great-grandson Skip has slept through the past 100 years. Students will synthesize a verbal and written report to share with their classmates about the music of the Twentieth Century. They will be involved in researching the styles, artists, and events of the time period as well as presenting their findings in an organized manner.

Learners

This lesson was designed specifically for eighth grade students but can be adapted to fit almost any grade level. The task is anchored in the study of music and history, but also includes culture and language arts on a smaller scale. The overall project drives student to apply research skills while utilizing higher level thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Music Standards

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Process

The class will be broken into groups and assigned to two decades. Once you know your team's decades, you will need to assign each person to a research role.

Researchers (6):
1. Chief researcher (1) - direct the group and compile information
2. Scribe (1) - write up the final project
3. Research Gurus (2 per decade) - collect data and present it to the group

The final project should contain the following for each DECADE:
1. Brief description of time period. (i.e. were there any important political events, wars, inventions)
2. Prominent musical style of the decade.
3. Two main artists of that decade.
4. Four of the most popular songs of the time.

The criteria should be placed in a report format and prepared for presentation to Skip as well as the entire class.

Each student will also complete a group evaluation based on how well the group worked together and the contributions of each group member.

Research Links

Sociology of Rock Music

Pop Culture Madness

Absolute Facts

History of American Pop Music

American Popular Music 1900 - 1950

American Popular Music 1950 - Present

American Cultural History: Twentieth Century

Evaluation

The following is the criteria by which your project will be graded. A total score of 20 points will be available. All members of the group will receive the same score for each part except the participation grade. Each person's participation grade will be based on the quality of that person's work as described in the group reflections.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Background Information	Decade stated.	Decade described with some information.	Important people mentioned such as presidents or social leaders.	An overall glimpse of the decade given including important people as well as events that took place.
Style	Style Stated.	Brief description of style.	Description of style including musical elements such as instrumentation and general characteristics.	Description of style including musical elements, characteristics, and background of the development.
Important Musical Artists	Artists named.	Artists named and dates of most success given.	Artists named and biographical information given.	Artists named with biographical information, top hit, success dates, influences.
Top songs of the decade	Songs stated.	Song examples and year recorded.	Song examples given with recordings and year recorded.	Song examples given with peak chart positions, dates recorded and charted, and recordings of each.
Total contribution to group.	Accepted group assignment.	Participated in some group work.	Completed final project requirements.	All group meetings attended and project requirements complete with support for other group members.

Conclusion

This lesson will aid students in their study of the music of the Twentieth Century. It was developed by Ashley Robinson and based on a template given by The WebQuest Page. This lesson may be adapted in any way to suit student needs.

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