Unit 3: Music and Recording CREATE TO LEARN
1. What are some of Evan's tips on finding inspiration?
2. What advise does Evan give about narrating a song?
3. What does Evan say about the chorus of a song?
4. What rhyme scheme does Evan us to structure his songs?
5. What is the arrangement of a song?
APPLY: SONG WRITING
Inform students that they are now going to practice writing their own songs. A song is a type of
poem that is written in a particular format – introduction, verse 1, chorus, verse 2 and then the
chorus repeats.
Hand out the "Brainstorming Web" handout and have students brainstorm their ideas on this
page. Inform them that they should begin either with the "Concept" or "Mood". "Mood" refers to
the emotions they want to convey in their song. Do they want their song to be happy? Uplifting?
Angry? Defiant? "Concept" refers to what the song will be about (ie. The topic of the song). From
there, they can begin to tell a short story with the introduction and beginning in "Verse 1" and the
middle and ending in "Verse 2". They can then move on to "Message" which will be the message
in their chorus. Finally, they can brainstorm some types of "Figurative Language" they want to
use in their song. Teachers can assign minimum number students have to include, such as four.
Allow students time to complete their "Brainstorm Web".
Distribute the "Song Rubric" before students start writing their songs. Once students understand
how they will be graded, allow them time to write their songs.
Tip: Some students may want to have a beat in mind before they write their songs. There are
many websites to find beats from that can be used royalty-free (although some are only free for a
trial period and users have to create an account).
Examples of places to find free beats:
• Epidemic Sounds at www.epidemicsound.com
• Free Music Achieve at https://freemusicarchive.org/genre/Hip-Hop_Beats
• Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/freehiphopbeatsforyou
ASSESS: SONG RUBRIC
Once students have competed their songs, have them post their songs to the blog! Teachers can
use the "Song Rubric" to grade the songs. Alternatively, teachers can have students work in pairs
to peer assess their songs.
