From Science to Music - Collecting Words and Ideas
Objectives:
Common Core Standards:
Journal Timed Freewrite:
Journal Sifting:
Redefining Their City:
Computer Rhymes:
Homework/Closure:
- Students will analyze, synthesize and identify salient truths about their city’s ecosystem
- Students will debate, discuss, and share observations about their city
- Students will generate a collaborative definition of their city
Common Core Standards:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2
- Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1
- Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- Computer and internet access
- If dealing with a large class, and multiple means of internet access are not present in the class, reserving a computer lab or cart prior to this lesson is advised.
Journal Timed Freewrite:
- These timed freewrites will start each class, and create a rhythm to the beginning of each session, along with developing the craft of journaling as an integral process of generating, fostering, and capturing inspired thoughts and ideas.
- Prompt: Consult the “Ecology Facts and Journal Prompts” handout to chose a topic for this class.
Journal Sifting:
- Give students time to look through their journals. At this point they should be pretty well filled with observations, notes, ideas, samples, and so forth from the science curriculum. Slowly but surely they have amassed a collection of observations and ideas about their city and its urban ecosystem.
- Ask Students to highlight, circle, underline any parts of their journal which they think help explain the unique ecosystem of their city. Students should look at their personal writings and highlight particular sections, they should look at vocabulary, observations, free writes, and notes for interesting ideas.
Redefining Their City:
- Students will be asked to open to a new page in their journal and write the name of their city in the middle of the page and place a circle around it.
- Next as a class or in small groups (teacher discretion), have the students use their journals as a means to define the city. Students should look through their observations, in class journaling free writes, nature journaling assignments, notes, and so on, to find examples, words, ideas, images that help to define and represent their city.
- A finalized class version should be compiled on an overhead projector or white/chalkboard in front of the class.
- Students should copy this new collaborative definition into their journals.
Computer Rhymes:
- Students will be making a list of interesting words from their journals, from which they will use www.rhymer.com to find 10 rhyming words for each.
- They must chose the following from their journals:
- 3 Vocabulary Words
- 4 Words from their nature journal and free writes
- 3 words about the natural features of their city (names of rivers, parks, flora, fauna, etc.)
- Students will use a computer or other internet connected device and go to the website www.rhymer.com. Make students aware that for each word they can change the search function to look for words that rhyme in different ways:
- End rhymes, Last Syllable rhymes, Double/Triple rhymes, Beginning Rhymes, and so on. Invite them to look for different types of rhymes for each word.
- Students should write down each word in their journal, and have all the rhyming words under them.
- These rhyming words will be used to assist students in the writing process, allowing them to create rhyming couplets and spark new ideas with greater ease.
Homework/Closure:
- If students are unable to finish the assignment in class, have them complete their rhyme search for homework. They must have these lists completed before beginning the songwriting process.