Unit Plan Outline

Teacher: Rose Mooney

Unit Title: Songwriting 101
Grade: 9th
Number of Classes: 4

MA Frameworks:

Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Consistently apply research to generate
compositional ideas (e.g., to help generate new ideas, students listen to several different
recordings of pieces that use industrial sounds). (AG.M.Cr.01)

Select, analyze and interpret artistic work for presentation. Explain how one’s composition
relates to established musical genres, styles, forms (e.g., explain how one’s piece combines
elements of jazz and Celtic music). (AG.M.P.04)

Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art. Explain the
development of one’s musicality or musical style and how it relates to a composition.
(AG.M.Co.10)

National Standards: (Creating, Performing, Responding, Connecting)

MU:Cr1.1.C.Ia Describe how sounds and short musical ideas can be used to represent personal
experiences, moods, visual images, and/or storylines.

MU:Cr2.1.C.Ia Assemble and organize sounds or short musical ideas to create initial expressions of
selected experiences, moods, images, or storylines.

MU:Cr2.1.C.Ib Identify and describe the development of sounds or short musical ideas in drafts of music
within simple forms (such as one-part, cyclical, or binary).

MU:Cr3.2.C.Ia Share music through the use of notation, performance, or technology, and demonstrate how
the elements of music have been employed to realize expressive intent.

MU:Pr4.2.C.Ia Analyze how the elements of music (including form) of selected works relate to style and
mood, and explain the implications for rehearsal or performance.

MU:Pr6.1.C.Ia Share live or recorded performances of works (both personal and others’), and explain how
the elements of music are used to convey intent.

MU:Re7.2.C.Ia Analyze aurally the elements of music (including form) of musical works, relating them to
style, mood, and context, and describe how the analysis provides models for personal growth as composer,
performer, and/or listener.

MU:Cn10.0.Ia Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when
creating, performing, and responding to music.
Rationale:
This songwriting unit helps grow students’ musicianship by learning about two common
genres of music (pop and blues) and creating their own songs to express themselves.
Songwriting will also help students have more of a personal connection/appreciation to
the music they hear and write.
This unit helps with the long term goals of the curriculum map because it covers some of
the national standards. Students will also be able to record their songs on garageband so
they can remember their songs and share them.

Essential Questions:
What are the components of a song (in general and in pop and blues)? How do you write
songs in pop and blues? How do you identify/analyze these two genres based on their
chord progressions, song form, lyrics, instruments, and melody? How do you record your
song on garageband?

Enduring Understanding:
Songwriting can really help people express themselves and let their feelings out, almost
like a journal. Students will also be able to better appreciate the music they listen to
knowing the components of that genre. They will have a long term recording of the songs
they write during class.

Behavioral Objectives:
Students will be able to identify and analyze basic components of any song (chord
progression, song form, lyrics)
Students will be able to identify the components of a pop song (chord progression, lyrics,
and instruments) and a blues song (chord progression, melody, and lyrics)
Students will be able to compose a pop and blues song with a basic chord progression,
instruments, melody, and lyrics
Students will be able to identify a pop and blues song and know more about the genre by
listening to the characteristics that make it a pop and blues song in the chord progression,
lyrics, instruments, and melody
Students will be able to use garageband to record their pop and blues songs
Students will be able to determine the genre of a song (whether it may be pop or blues)
just by listening to it

Assessment/Evaluation:
Informal – prompting students with questions throughout the class time to see if
they are understanding the material - Students can create their own lyrics throughout
class after learning about it
Formal – assignments to find songs and analyze them of that genre from class to
see if they can recognize the genre outside of class and can analyze that song
Long Range Assignment/Project/Product
Will be writing songs throughout the unit after learning the components of some
of these songwriting genres. In the last lesson students will record their two songs as a
garageband project
Prior Knowledge and Skills:
students should be able to recognize basic chords of the major and minor key by listening
Read music
Know how to actively listen to and analyze songs
Know the basics of garageband

Accommodations:
1. Special needs – students can choose between an array of instruments or they
can sing.
2. ELL – can write songs in different languages

School to Home/community connection:

If students take what they learn about songwriting outside of the classroom, they would
most likely inspire their community if the songs they write are from the heart. If students
write songs frequently, it might become a place to write out feelings, just like a journal.

Activator:
listening/do now activity in the beginning of every class

Repertoire:
A pop song (whatever pop song is popular at the time of the lesson)
“Blues with a Feeling”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqUfuW6kZnY

Materials Needed:
Lined/staff paper and pencil for songwriting
Laptop
Powerpoints
Something to project the powerpoint with
Technological device and headphones for students to use for garageband

Lesson Outlines

Lesson 1: introduction to songwriting

Behavioral Objective
Students will be able to identify basic components of any song(chord progression,
song form, lyrics)
Students will be able to analyze these basic components of a song (chord
progression, song form, lyrics) in their favorite song

Assessment/Evaluation
Students will take their favorite song and analyze the chord progressions,
song form, and lyrics with what they have learned in that class (this will show if
the student has grasped the material they just learned in an informal manor)
 Prior Knowledge and activator
students should be able to recognize basic chords of the major and minor key by
listening
Read music
Know how to actively listen and analyze songs
Activator: listening/do now activity in the beginning of every class

Lesson content
• Students will have a DO NOW on the board that asks them what their favorite
song is and why they like it. They will be given specific things to think about
when determining why they like the song (think about the instruments, vocals,
chord progression, what the song is about, the beat, how it makes them feel, etc)
then discuss as a class
• Students will learn the basic components of a song (chord progressions, song
form, lyrics)
o Activity where students will see, hear, and play chord progressions
o Students will learn what a verse, chorus, and bridge are as well as some
common forms of songs (AAB, ABAB)
o Students will learn about lyrics: what they convey, and how to write them.
Then students will write their own lyrics as an exercise
• Students will then take their favorite song and analyze the chord progressions,
song form, and lyrics with what they have learned in that class
• Students will then brainstorm genres of songs with the guidance of the teacher.
The teacher will then preview the genres for the rest of the unit (pop and blues)

Lesson 2: pop

Behavioral Objective
Students will be able to identify the components of a pop song (chord progression,
lyrics, and instruments)
Students will be able to compose a pop song with a basic chord progression,
instruments, and lyrics
Students will be able to identify a pop song and know more about the genre by
listening to the characteristics that make it a pop song in the chord progression,
lyrics, and instruments

Assessment/Evaluation
Group songwriting activity - taking what they learned about pop songs- informal-
will be able to see if students comprehend what they just learned

Prior Knowledge and activator

students should be able to recognize basic chords of the major and minor key by
listening
Read music
Know form of a song (song structure)
Know how to actively listen and analyze songs
 Activator: listening/do now activity in the beginning of every class

Lesson content
• Listen to pop song when students walk into classroom and they will be prompted
some questions when listening as their DO NOW and will discuss their answers
• Students will learn some common chord progressions in pop songs. Students will
play those chord progressions to get it in their heads (inner hearing) with their
instruments or sing the root
• Students will learn the most common song form of a pop song (verse, chorus,
verse, chorus, bridge, chorus) and will use the song that they listened to in the
beginning of class as an example
• Lyrics of a song – How to write lyrics, lyrics form, what each part of the song
should be about, rhyming scheme throughout like a poem
• Instruments usually used in pop songs (vocals, piano, drums, guitar, bass) and go
over what each instrument would do in the song
• Group songwriting activity
• Each group will then perform their song for the class

Lesson 3: blues

Behavioral Objective
Students will be able to identify the components of a blues song (chord
progression, melody, and lyrics)
Students will be able to compose a blues song with a blues chord progression,
melody, and lyrics
Students will be able to identify a blues song and know more about the genre by
listening to the characteristics that make it blues in the chord progression, melody,
and lyrics

Assessment/Evaluation
Students will create their own blues song, taking what they learned about blues
songs- informal- will be able to see if students comprehend what they just learned

Prior Knowledge and activator

students should be able to recognize basic chords of the major and minor key by
listening
Read music
Know major and minor scales and know how to raise or lower a note in the scale
Know form of a song (song structure)
Know how to actively listen and analyze songs
Activator: listening/do now activity in the beginning of every class

Lesson content
• Students will listen to a blues song when they walk in. After listening, students
will discuss/share what chords they heard and what the song is about
 • Students will learn about the chord progression of a blues song and sing/play the
root of each chord out loud
• students will learn about the song form of a blues song and will be given an
example from the song they just listened to, “Blues with a Feeling”, and then
discuss what the lyrics are trying to portray
• students will figure out with the teacher’s help what the blues scale degrees are
since they know how to recognize intervals. Blues scale singing exercise- students
will repeatedly sing the blues scale in different ways to get the sound in their
heads for inner hearing
• improv activity: students play/sing blues chord progression while one student at a
time improv using the blues scale
• review the components of a 12 bar blues
• students will then create their own blues song, taking what they learned about
harmony, song form, lyrics, and melody used in blues music. Guidelines: Must
have all components of a blues song that we just reviewed
• Students will share their songs and talk about their process of writing and
components of their song

Lesson 4: wrap-up/garageband final project lesson

Behavioral Objective
Students will be able to use garageband to record their pop and blues songs
Students will be able to determine the genre of a song (whether it may be pop or
blues) just by listening to it

Assessment/Evaluation
Students will record their pop and blues songs on garageband

Prior Knowledge and activator

Know the basics of garageband
Characteristics of the pop and blues genre from what we covered in class up to
this point
Activator: listening/do now activity in the beginning of every class

Lesson content
• Music will be playing as students walk into the room. Based on what they’ve
learned in this unit, they will determine if the song that is playing is in the genre
of blues or pop and then explain why in the DO NOW by listing the components
of that genre talking about the chords, form, lyrics, etc
• The teacher will review the basics of garageband so students can record their song
(how to record vocals and midi, and how to label each part of the song
• In their pop songwriting groups, students will record their pop song on
garageband
• Once they have finished, students will then record their blues song individually
(the teacher will be walking around helping students if need be)
• If time permitting, students can volunteer to share their recordings with the class