Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Analyze lyrics to determine the artist's point-of-view regarding the subject addressed in the song.
• Interpret song lyrics based on contextual clues and research information.
• Research and gather facts about songs. 
• Identify a common theme, issue, point of view, and/or facts from the song.
• Create a visual representation of each song including cultural and historical information, a central theme, issue, point of view, and/or facts. 
• Present and express the meaning of artistic work.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

• Examples: Making a Statement Through Arts
• Making a Statement Through Arts
• Capture Sheet: Messages in Music
• Music Genre Research Topics
• Research Project: Learning From Lyrics

Teacher Background

Teachers should be familiar with project-based learning. Teachers can provide a song list, recordings, current magazines and books, and a list of approved websites for research. This lesson could easily be adapted by substituting film, visual arts, or other performing arts for music.

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with genres of music, popular songs, and the concept of social criticism or social commentary.

Accessibility Notes

Modify the handouts and resources as needed. Utilize appropriate assistive technologies for the project portion of the lesson. Allow extra time to complete artwork.

Engage

1. Have students list ways people express themselves through the arts. Student responses may include performing arts (theater, dance, music), visual arts (painting, sculpture, drawing), media arts (film, documentary, political cartoons), and literary arts.

2. Display the resource, Examples: Making a Statement Through Arts. Discuss with students why the examples “make a statement.” Ask students: What theme, issue, point of view, and/or facts in the art form are expressed that touch on social issues?

3. Distribute the student resource, Making a Statement Through Arts. Have students work in pairs or small groups to brainstorm forms of contemporary or popular art that make a statement about a current event or issue. Allow time for students to research and collaborate with peers. 

4. Have each group share their ideas. Ask students: What key messages are the art form sending in relation to current events happening in our country or world?

Build

1. Explain to students that they will be doing an independent study in which they will focus on interpreting lyrics from popular songs.

2. Ask students to choose three contemporary songs which may be from the same or varying genres. Share the Capture Sheet: Messages in Music, to select and research songs. Encourage students to select at least one song that stretches themselves into a genre they do not typically listen to. Genre examples include hip hop, R&B, Soft Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Alternative, Folk, Blues, Jazz, Country, Opera, Musicals, Celtic, British Isles, Oldies, Soul, Reggae, K-Pop, Indie, Gospel, World Music, etc. Tell students that they may find that exploring outside of their preferred genre can lead to discovering issues separated from our current context by time, culture, or distance. 

3. Share the resource, Music Genre Research Topics, with students to help them generate ideas for their research. Students can explore music from other cultures and countries, or more obscure ethnomusicological selections. Exploring work songs, such as sea-shanties, or from the beginnings of the labor movement, either here in the States, or in Europe during the Industrial Revolution.

Apply

1. Distribute the Research Project: Learning From Lyrics guide to students. Students should identify keywords and ideas from the lyrics, the composer, performance genre, instrumentation, and musical elements (tempo, form, dynamics, rhythm, expressive qualities, and mood) of the songs. Students should identify the main theme of each song’s lyrics, placing it in an appropriate historical context. Students should identify social issues presented in the songs. Students may read books, articles, and online research information to form their own opinions of the social issues addressed in the music. Allow time for students to conduct their research and listen to the songs through computers, tablets, or smart devices. 

2. Once students have completed their research, have them create visual representations of the songs and the relevant cultural and historical information about each of the songs they have researched. Students can use presentation software, design graphics, draw, sculpt, or paint to explain their opinions about the musical form, the composer, the performer, and related historical/cultural material for each of the three songs.

Reflect 

1. Have students share their art forms with the class, demonstrating what they synthesized about the relationship between music and the visual arts.

2. Lead a class discussion about the lyrics and art. Ask students: Which songs do you believe made the most effective statements and why?

3. Assess the students’ knowledge with the following writing prompt: Which medium do you think most effectively conveys and communicates a message of social criticism and why?