ACTIVITY 7.

Task Development

ACTIVITY 7.3 TASK DEVELOPMENT TEMPLATE

Content Subject: General Music and Social Justice,

Technology
Grade: 7
Instructional Unit: Music for Peace and Protest
Performance Task: Composition for Social Justice

What knowledge are students to use?

What knowledge are students to use?

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the

following content areas:

Musical Elements:
Composition
Musical Form
Melodic Interpretation
Improvisation
Group verbal response
Ear Training (Aural skills)
Folk music often preserves life-changing events in history

Historical events that triggered composition of folk music

Technology:
Formatting
Digital Citizenship
Music Software Use

The performance task will meet DOK 3.

 What are they to perform or create?

Students will write original lyrics or a melody

based on a social justice theme or cause
researched and chosen by students that they feel
passionate about.

What conditions are they to adhere to?

Compositions will include a minimum of 2 verses

and a chorus. Lyrics should express the
circumstances and should aim to influence
positive change of those circumstances.
Students will map their lyrics into measured
phrases and will notate the rhythm of the
chorus. Students will chose a digital platform to
publish their work: GarageBand, Audacity,
Noteflight, or SoundCloud.

Students will perform their work, either live or

digitally, for the class.

How much time will

they have?

Students will be given 3 class periods (50

minutes in length each) to develop their
respective works. Students will be given an
additional full class period to present their
works in a concert setting.
 Task Development

Materials Required:
Computer Access
Software Access: GarageBand, Audacity,
Noteflight, and SoundCloud as needed
Headphones
Staff Paper or composition journal
Audio playback access as appropriate

Student Prompt:

You are a folk songwriter who has been asked

to compose a theme song for a documentary
on a social justice issue that affects one of the
cultures you belong to--cultural group, age
group, or ethnic group.

Your song will be performed, either live or

digitally on your chosen platform, for your
fans your chosen platform: GarageBand,
Audacity, Noteflight, or SoundCloud. Works
will be properly formatted in the chosen
platform.

Rubric for Assessment

Please see Artifact 1.1 for Rubric

for Assessment on page 4.
Student Self-Assessment:

How do the lyrics reflect your social justice

theme?
How do the pitch choices or melodic content you
created reflect your social justice theme?
How do the rhythmic choices you made for your
melody reflect your social justice theme?
Why did you chose your specific digital platform?
What benefits does your platform have that will
help in the distribution of your work?
How do you think your work will be received?
Will it help elevate your cause?

Sampling

The advantage of a compositional activity is that

the task inherently:

Reflects an understanding of differences in

students interests, motivations, preferences,
knowledge, and abilities.

Structures learning environments in which

students can work collaboratively to gain
experience in using the ways of thinking,
singing, and performing used by experts in the
discipline.

Provides explicit instruction in metacognition as

part of student growth.