Our 2018 Revels program was inspired by the 8th grade trip to New York. The 9/11 Tribute Museum posted about it on their blog!
Curriculum
FALL
Music in eighth grade offers the students the ability to explore various instruments as a means to express themselves. Piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums become commonplace. Students are becoming familiar with various lead sheets for each.
Eighth grade will focus on song structure this year. We will write songs, with verses and choruses, always paying close attention to maintaining sincerity and originality. Encouraging these powerful young students to use their voice as a platform for speaking their minds is paramount. We will supplement this with the practice of offering feedback throughout the process. Again, these practices, much like any other class, support our community values.
The through-line for eighth grade is empowerment. These students are asked to lead Friends Academy and show us the best versions of themselves. In music, we will continue to focus on social justice, human rights, and equality to remind them of their role in society. With a strong foundation of empathy, these students can grasp and tackle these issues. Music will continue to provide the vehicle for change, our responsibility to it, and the courage it takes to do so.
As a class, we have collaborated to write a song inspired by our through-lines. “Discrimination In Our Nation” was an idea that came from the students. The song reminds us that our students view the world as dynamic and forever-changing. They listen to the various perspectives and want to act. They want to tell their story. Empowering these students with as many tools as possible is our goal. Songs can help to communicate ineffable thoughts and feelings in order to build understanding between musician and listener. The process of cowriting elicits listening skills, honoring others’ thoughts and ideas, taking risks, and flexibility. It allows us to understand that many minds can often produce work beyond our individual experiences and expectations.
We will work on our reading skills and translating them from the piano to other instruments. Students have become familiar with MuseScore, a computer application that creates lead sheets. This is important to archive our ideas and communicate them to other musicians. However, sight reading music is just one tool that deepens our relationship with music. Like different problem-solving skills in math class, I look to supplement their reading abilities with other skills such as ear-training, transcription, and experimentation.
Students are practicing ensemble and individual pieces. Their ensemble piece, given to every student, allows for small groups to form in order to practice or perform. “War/No More Trouble” provides excellent background for structure, melody, and messages of racial equality. Their individual pieces have been chosen by the student and offer the chance to feel ownership of learning current music that appeals to them.
Music in eighth grade offers the students the ability to explore various instruments as a means to express themselves. Piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums become commonplace. Students are becoming familiar with various lead sheets for each.
Eighth grade will focus on song structure this year. We will write songs, with verses and choruses, always paying close attention to maintaining sincerity and originality. Encouraging these powerful young students to use their voice as a platform for speaking their minds is paramount. We will supplement this with the practice of offering feedback throughout the process. Again, these practices, much like any other class, support our community values.
The through-line for eighth grade is empowerment. These students are asked to lead Friends Academy and show us the best versions of themselves. In music, we will continue to focus on social justice, human rights, and equality to remind them of their role in society. With a strong foundation of empathy, these students can grasp and tackle these issues. Music will continue to provide the vehicle for change, our responsibility to it, and the courage it takes to do so.
As a class, we have collaborated to write a song inspired by our through-lines. “Discrimination In Our Nation” was an idea that came from the students. The song reminds us that our students view the world as dynamic and forever-changing. They listen to the various perspectives and want to act. They want to tell their story. Empowering these students with as many tools as possible is our goal. Songs can help to communicate ineffable thoughts and feelings in order to build understanding between musician and listener. The process of cowriting elicits listening skills, honoring others’ thoughts and ideas, taking risks, and flexibility. It allows us to understand that many minds can often produce work beyond our individual experiences and expectations.
We will work on our reading skills and translating them from the piano to other instruments. Students have become familiar with MuseScore, a computer application that creates lead sheets. This is important to archive our ideas and communicate them to other musicians. However, sight reading music is just one tool that deepens our relationship with music. Like different problem-solving skills in math class, I look to supplement their reading abilities with other skills such as ear-training, transcription, and experimentation.
Students are practicing ensemble and individual pieces. Their ensemble piece, given to every student, allows for small groups to form in order to practice or perform. “War/No More Trouble” provides excellent background for structure, melody, and messages of racial equality. Their individual pieces have been chosen by the student and offer the chance to feel ownership of learning current music that appeals to them.
WINTER
Music in eighth grade offers the students the ability to explore various instruments as a means to express themselves. Piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums become commonplace. Students are becoming familiar with various lead sheets for each.
Eighth grade will focus on song structure this year. We will write songs, with verses and choruses, always paying close attention to maintaining sincerity and originality. Encouraging these powerful young students to use their voice as a platform for speaking their minds is paramount. We will supplement this with the practice of offering feedback throughout the process. Again, these practices, much like any other class, support our community values.
The through-line for eighth grade is empowerment. These students are asked to lead Friends Academy and show us the best versions of themselves. In music, we will continue to focus on social justice, human rights, and equality to remind them of their role in society. With a strong foundation of empathy, these students can grasp and tackle these issues. Music will continue to provide the vehicle for change, our responsibility to it, and the courage it takes to do so.
As a class, we have collaborated to write a song inspired by our through-lines. “Discrimination In Our Nation” was an idea that came from the students. The song reminds us that our students view the world as dynamic and forever-changing. They listen to the various perspectives and want to act. They want to tell their story. Empowering these students with as many tools as possible is our goal. Songs can help to communicate ineffable thoughts and feelings in order to build understanding between musician and listener. The process of cowriting elicits listening skills, honoring others’ thoughts and ideas, taking risks, and flexibility. It allows us to understand that many minds can often produce work beyond our individual experiences and expectations.
We will work on our reading skills and translating them from the piano to other instruments. Students have become familiar with MuseScore, a computer application that creates lead sheets. This is important to archive our ideas and communicate them to other musicians. However, sight reading music is just one tool that deepens our relationship with music. Like different problem-solving skills in math class, I look to supplement their reading abilities with other skills such as ear-training, transcription, and experimentation.
Students are practicing ensemble and individual pieces. Their ensemble piece, given to every student, allows for small groups to form in order to practice or perform. “War/No More Trouble” provides excellent background for structure, melody, and messages of racial equality. Their individual pieces have been chosen by the student and offer the chance to feel ownership of learning current music that appeals to them.
Music in eighth grade offers the students the ability to explore various instruments as a means to express themselves. Piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums become commonplace. Students are becoming familiar with various lead sheets for each.
Eighth grade will focus on song structure this year. We will write songs, with verses and choruses, always paying close attention to maintaining sincerity and originality. Encouraging these powerful young students to use their voice as a platform for speaking their minds is paramount. We will supplement this with the practice of offering feedback throughout the process. Again, these practices, much like any other class, support our community values.
The through-line for eighth grade is empowerment. These students are asked to lead Friends Academy and show us the best versions of themselves. In music, we will continue to focus on social justice, human rights, and equality to remind them of their role in society. With a strong foundation of empathy, these students can grasp and tackle these issues. Music will continue to provide the vehicle for change, our responsibility to it, and the courage it takes to do so.
As a class, we have collaborated to write a song inspired by our through-lines. “Discrimination In Our Nation” was an idea that came from the students. The song reminds us that our students view the world as dynamic and forever-changing. They listen to the various perspectives and want to act. They want to tell their story. Empowering these students with as many tools as possible is our goal. Songs can help to communicate ineffable thoughts and feelings in order to build understanding between musician and listener. The process of cowriting elicits listening skills, honoring others’ thoughts and ideas, taking risks, and flexibility. It allows us to understand that many minds can often produce work beyond our individual experiences and expectations.
We will work on our reading skills and translating them from the piano to other instruments. Students have become familiar with MuseScore, a computer application that creates lead sheets. This is important to archive our ideas and communicate them to other musicians. However, sight reading music is just one tool that deepens our relationship with music. Like different problem-solving skills in math class, I look to supplement their reading abilities with other skills such as ear-training, transcription, and experimentation.
Students are practicing ensemble and individual pieces. Their ensemble piece, given to every student, allows for small groups to form in order to practice or perform. “War/No More Trouble” provides excellent background for structure, melody, and messages of racial equality. Their individual pieces have been chosen by the student and offer the chance to feel ownership of learning current music that appeals to them.
SPRING
In eighth grade, we focused on our social justice through-line of empowerment by studying protest music. In conjunction with Ms. Trepanier and Ms. Lord, we have worked to create supplemental curriculum that provides historical context of important racial issues while looking to equip the eighth grade with the power to rise up and act. We first provided entry into the topic using lessons from “The Sounds Of Change”, a curriculum created by Facing History that examines several classic songs of the civil rights movement. The stories of the artists, the music, and the lyrics provide a window into the ways that music can both inspire and reflect social change.
We then split into small groups where students chose a song of protest to study. They found historical information about the song, songwriter, and its impact on society. They then analyzed the song with a series of questions that help them better understand the meanings behind the lyrics and the perspective of the songwriter and narrator of the song.
To accompany our upcoming performance of their original song, “Discrimination In Our Nation”, students have created a visual timeline from the Civil Rights movement to the present showing our challenges and our progress. The students feel empowered to speak of these issues as they navigate today’s world. As it states in their song, “You can’t have a rainbow with just one color/You can’t be united without each other/We gotta set things right in a positive light.” Our goal is to help students remain focused on celebrating differences and further developing compassion and empathy.
We have begun to use Garageband to record music. Building upon their seventh-grade with Mr. Felix, I have launched a film scoring unit. Film music serves to: establish atmosphere, time and place, move the action forward, describe character, and overall, add to the dramatic impact. Students have imported a short silent film to which they will add music. We have talked about things such as mood, leitmotifs (small melodic phrases), edits, and how music can be an integral part of the visual experience. It can heighten, calm, create tension, and even conflict with the film. We will ultimately see how the projects differ by adding different music to the same film. Each interpretation will offer different moods and therefore a different viewing experience. With music as a vital part of television, film, and every form of media today, it is exciting to give our eighth graders an opportunity to explore this current and meaningful artform.
Our eighth grade spring brought performance opportunities that promoted our social justice through-lines, music programming with Mr. Felix, deeper explorations using Garageband, and a basic film scoring project.
“Discrimination In Our Nation” was a highlight of my year. Their lyrics were powerful, honest, and thoughtful. The addition of the slideshow was yet another way to show the community that we must understand our past in order to improve our future. I am proud of the eighth graders using All School Meeting as a venue to promote their agenda of empowering others and sending a message of inclusion and integration.
Our digital music lessons, conducted by Mr. Felix, continued to challenge us with Sonic Pi, an online music coding program. We created live loops, melodic compositions, and experimented with various sounds. Most importantly, students were immersed in genuine coding experiences.
As students’ confidence with Garageband increased, we began to look at music in film. After gaining some familiarity with the basic concepts, students were given the project to score one of three short films. Using leitmotifs and longer textural soundscapes, students produced compelling music that helped support the visual and tell the story.
In eighth grade, we focused on our social justice through-line of empowerment by studying protest music. In conjunction with Ms. Trepanier and Ms. Lord, we have worked to create supplemental curriculum that provides historical context of important racial issues while looking to equip the eighth grade with the power to rise up and act. We first provided entry into the topic using lessons from “The Sounds Of Change”, a curriculum created by Facing History that examines several classic songs of the civil rights movement. The stories of the artists, the music, and the lyrics provide a window into the ways that music can both inspire and reflect social change.
We then split into small groups where students chose a song of protest to study. They found historical information about the song, songwriter, and its impact on society. They then analyzed the song with a series of questions that help them better understand the meanings behind the lyrics and the perspective of the songwriter and narrator of the song.
To accompany our upcoming performance of their original song, “Discrimination In Our Nation”, students have created a visual timeline from the Civil Rights movement to the present showing our challenges and our progress. The students feel empowered to speak of these issues as they navigate today’s world. As it states in their song, “You can’t have a rainbow with just one color/You can’t be united without each other/We gotta set things right in a positive light.” Our goal is to help students remain focused on celebrating differences and further developing compassion and empathy.
We have begun to use Garageband to record music. Building upon their seventh-grade with Mr. Felix, I have launched a film scoring unit. Film music serves to: establish atmosphere, time and place, move the action forward, describe character, and overall, add to the dramatic impact. Students have imported a short silent film to which they will add music. We have talked about things such as mood, leitmotifs (small melodic phrases), edits, and how music can be an integral part of the visual experience. It can heighten, calm, create tension, and even conflict with the film. We will ultimately see how the projects differ by adding different music to the same film. Each interpretation will offer different moods and therefore a different viewing experience. With music as a vital part of television, film, and every form of media today, it is exciting to give our eighth graders an opportunity to explore this current and meaningful artform.
Our eighth grade spring brought performance opportunities that promoted our social justice through-lines, music programming with Mr. Felix, deeper explorations using Garageband, and a basic film scoring project.
“Discrimination In Our Nation” was a highlight of my year. Their lyrics were powerful, honest, and thoughtful. The addition of the slideshow was yet another way to show the community that we must understand our past in order to improve our future. I am proud of the eighth graders using All School Meeting as a venue to promote their agenda of empowering others and sending a message of inclusion and integration.
Our digital music lessons, conducted by Mr. Felix, continued to challenge us with Sonic Pi, an online music coding program. We created live loops, melodic compositions, and experimented with various sounds. Most importantly, students were immersed in genuine coding experiences.
As students’ confidence with Garageband increased, we began to look at music in film. After gaining some familiarity with the basic concepts, students were given the project to score one of three short films. Using leitmotifs and longer textural soundscapes, students produced compelling music that helped support the visual and tell the story.