Leslie Owen Wilson/Updated Spring 2002
The Graffiti Model 3
Kathryn Young
How Music Tells a Story
"Graffiti is a cooperative learning structure in which students are asked to give written responses to the questions posed by the teacher. Graffiti is an excellent way to check for understanding, to evaluate instruction, or to do an informal pre-assessment."
- Wilson, Leslie. Course Packet and Supplemental Materials, Section of Ed. 381. (UWSP) p.242
Content Area: Music Education
Grade Level: High School General Music
Time Allotment: 1-2 class periods (30 min. periods)
Materials:
Markers
Question Sheets (Large Post-its)
Aim: Students will learn and appreciate the role of music in opera, musicals, and film. (Aim of the overall unit. This lesson plan is an informal assessment of that learning.)
Goal: After completing these three sections on How Music Tells a Story, the students will be able to identify the role of music in telling a story and be able to use specific examples (using important terms) that relate to each model.
Objectives:
- Students will identify the importance of music in opera, musicals, and film.
- Students will examine the affective role of music in each of these forms.
- Students will actively share and discuss their ideas with the class.
- The students will respect all ideas and practice cooperation.
Step I: Graffiti Questions: These are the questions used to evaluate the students understanding of the unit material.
1. Opera: (Red)
How did the music of Carmen help tell a story (characters, music, affect, timbre of voices)? And what forms further the story and what forms portray affect? (recitative, aria, opera comique)
2. Musicals: (Blue)
How did the music in Fiddler on the Roof help tell a story? And list and describe several dramatic tools other than music. (sets, costumes, lighting, makeup, dialogue)
3. Film: (Green)
What role does music fulfill in film and how has it changed over the years? (silent films, talkies, background music�)
4. Connection: (Purple)
How are the music of film, musical, and opera connected in helping tell a story? What makes them different?
Step II Distribute Materials:
The students will be split into pre-determined groups of 4. At this time they will each get a set of questions and a colored marker (red, blue, green, or purple) corresponding to the appropriate question they are to work on.
Step III Answer Questions:
The students will be given 5 minutes to work on each question. When the time is up the students exchange their responses with another group.
Step IV Exchange Questions:
The exchange of the questions continues until every team has a chance to answer all the questions.
Step V Return to Original Question:
When the teams are finished exchanging, they will be returned their original answer sheet. The students will review all the answers on their answer sheet and compile and organize the answers.
Step VI Share Information:
The groups then share their findings with the whole class. This is a great way to evaluate and see if students understand the overall concepts of the chapter as well and picking up on relevant details. They may also have some ideas of their own that they think are important and would like to share.
Education Standards: I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IV
Music Standards: I. Singing, II. Instruments, III. Composition, V. Reading and Notating, VI. Analysis, VII. Evaluation, VIII. Arts, IV. History and Culture
These standards apply to the extended lesson in which I use video clips, listening, performing, creating, and discussion to study opera, musicals, and film. All of these activities have led to this lesson in which I assess what the students have learned and what I need to work on to make it more clear to the students.
*One more thing I could use as a follow-up is a game identifying the different styles (play an example and they guess which it is� etc.) This could be done at the end to leave a good feeling about what they learned.
Sources:
Wilson, Leslie. http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/lessons/intro.htm
Fowler, Charles. Music, Its Role and Importance in Out Lives. Unit 7, p.358-423, Glencoe (McGraw-Hill), 1994
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