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The Life and Music of Michael Jackson
Lessons 027 - 028
DATES Mar. 12 – Mar. 30, 2012 (2 classes – Programs, testing prep and Spring Break will affect some classes.)
Lessons © www.musictechteacher.com
Each Music Technology student in the 2nd - 5th grades will receive one 30-45 minute lesson per week. The class structure is ‘work-at-your-own-pace’ because students are not required to have any materials or music equipment to participate.
Students love Michael Jackson. We will look at some of the famous videos, music and information from his younger years.
Essential Questions / Ideas:
* Who were some of Michael Jackson’s musical influences as a child?
* What types of music did he compose and perform?
* What types of occupations did Michael Jackson have related to the music industry and music careers?
Objectives:
* Students will study the life of a famous pop musician (Michael Jackson).
* Selected students will practice I’ll Be There on the keyboard.
* Students will either make a quiz or complete a quiz about Michael Jackson.
* Students will complete pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Level 1A (based on student level) or older students will work on practicing songs for the All City Band Evaluation in April/May. (I’ll Be There, We Shall Overcome and Tuxedo Junction)
Materials:
* Alfred 1A Piano Books, keyboards and related equipment
* Computers with our website posted
* Recording of a composition and / or video by Michael Jackson viewed from the teacher’s laptop and a projector (video saved from YouTube with a performance by Michael Jackson from 1971 and 1983 – I’ll Be There)
* I’ll Be There (elementary song arrangement for keyboard by Ms. Garrett)
Standards:
National MENC Standards:
(2) Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
(6) Listening to, analyzing and describing music.
(9) Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
TI:ME Technology Strategies:
(4) Technology-Assisted Learning
(5) Multimedia and Digitized media
Procedures:
1) The teacher will teach students about the life and music of Michael Jackson using information gathered from the Internet, edited for appropriate content. Discuss some of the important facts and compositions about the composer (focus on early-mid career).
2) Students will watch a brief video of Michael Jackson performing the I’ll Be There song in 1971 and 1983. (Video from YouTube saved to the teacher’s computer. All YouTube advertising removed from the video. Video edited for content for elementary school.)
3) Older students can learn to play the song, I’ll Be There from an arrangement by Ms. Garrett for elementary music students. The song is difficult for beginners, but can be learned in sections over the next few months. We will use this song as one of our selections in programs next year. Measures 5-12 are the main melody that is recognized by students.
4) Younger students will complete various pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Book 1 based on individual student progress. Video (digital camera) some of the students and post it using the projector for review and feedback. They also may choose to play songs from our website (Flash piano practice pages) or songs in their Noteflight accounts on the Internet.
5) Older students - continue practicing Tuxedo Junction / We Shall Overcome / I’ll Be There for the All City Band Evaluation in April/May. This is the equivalent of our S.A.T. / A.R.M.T. exam for music for the year. Approximately 12 students will perform for our evaluation, held in the music lab.
6) Extra Work – Students may use the Hot Potatoes software program to create a quiz about the life of Michael Jackson. They should be given handouts with information already written rather than looking-up the information on the Internet.
Essential Questions / Ideas
* Who were some of Michael Jackson’s musical influences as a child?
His own family was a great influence on his musical career, as they were also performers and musicians. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, then the Jacksons in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971. Jackson's music took root in R&B, pop and soul. He had been influenced by the work of contemporary musicians Little Richard, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Sammy Davis, Jr, and others. Michael Jackson also became an
influence on many musicians that are popular today.
* What types of music did he compose and perform?
Some of the types (genres) of music that he wrote were R&B, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, and disco.
* What types of occupations did Michael Jackson have related to the music industry and music careers?
Some of Michael Jackson’s many occupations included: a singer-songwriter, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer,
record producer, actor, businessman and philanthropist.
Evaluation
* Students will be able to provide information about Michael Jackson’s life and compositions and complete or create a quiz based on their studies.
* Students will be able to play at least one or two lines from I’ll Be There by M. Jackson. (Especially measures 5 – 12).
* Older students will be able to play the All City Music selections with accuracy (I’ll Be There - just starting to rehearse) (Video – 5th grade students.)
