“Read Across America” week falls from March 2-6 this year, and students can now celebrate this wonderful holiday in the music room through projects that supporting reading and writing. Check out these wonderful music activity ideas to promote literacy in the music classroom!
1. “Playlist For A Book” Activity
This fun project is a great way for students to connect literature with music!
First, students should select a book they love. Then, they should identify and describe the following:
- Protagonist.
- Antagonist.
- Setting
- Conflict
- Resolution
- Theme
Once these elements of the book are identified, students should select a song to represent each element. Then, students should explain WHY these chose each song.
You can copy and paste these instructions into a handout. OR you can check out my pre-made google slides presentation on TPT!
2. “Introduction to Songwriting” Activity
You can’t celebrate reading without celebrating WRITING, and what is more musical than writing a song?!
Students should be guided to complete the following tasks for this activity:
- select a theme
- find and read the lyrics to a song with the same theme for inspiration
- find and read the words to a poem with the same theme for inspiration.
- brainstorm 10 words related to their theme
- use an online rhyming dictionary to find rhyming words
- write a 4 line stanza with a basic rhyme pattern
- create a harmony using an online chord generator
- improvise a melody using their aural skills and singing voice
- practice performing their song
- record their songs on the computer
If you are looking for a way to introduce songwriting to your students in a way that inspires creativity and confidence, check out my “Introduction to Songwriting” on TPT!
3. “Poetry in Music” Scavenger Hunt
Poetry and music are intrinsically connected, and you can demonstrate this as a music teacher!
First, teach students about poetic devices by giving definitions and showing examples. I use the following:
- Rhyme
- Alliteration
- Simile
- Metaphor
- Hyperbole
- Onomatopoeia
- Imagery
- Personification
Then, have students find an example of each poetic device in music they love. Finally, have your students share their findings with the class.
You are welcome to borrow this idea for your own classroom or buy my version on TPT!
4. Diary of a Music Artist Research Project
This project is a great way to incorporate creative writing into the music classroom!
First, have students research to learn about a music artist they admire. Then, shave students create diary entries to various important moments from the artist’s life and create images to go along with these diary entries. Finally, students should compose a short explanation of why they admire the artist.
If student’s need guidance on which points from the artist’s life to highlight, they can select a moment from each of the following.
- the early life of the artist.
- the artist’s adolescence.
- the artist’s early career.
- the height of their artist’s career.
- the later years or current life of the artist.
You are welcome to borrow this idea for your own classroom or buy my version on TPT!
Looking for a way to SAVE $$ on these projects???
Check out this bundle of FOUR music education projects that incorporate literacy.
Leave a Reply