Assignment #5 June 21, 2009: Lesson Plan #1

Rationale:
One of the key attributes to growing as a person and making more informed life choices is awareness. Before an individual can make beneficial choices, they must first be aware that they are indeed making a choice; they have to know what their choices are; they must next understand the implications of such choices on their own lives and on broader society; and they must know how to access resources to assist them in making these choices. This is the premise behind my first lesson plan for this assignment.

The Autrand article detailed the importance of awareness about rap music in relation to teachers using it as a teaching tool in their classrooms. Without awareness as to its actual premise and overall influential potential in a positive light, teachers may stand the risk of unjustly denouncing it by its stereotypically negative image. At the same time, however, some popular rap music (as with all musical genres) may indeed serve to relay and encourage negative behaviors to their target audiences. It is important for teachers and students alike to be aware of these possible messages and to analyze them on a case by case basis. The following lesson plan serves to achieve this awareness about what youth are listening to by having them examine current popular music (the Top Ten on the Billboard charts for the week of the lesson plan).

In addition, I hope to help the students learn the effects that combining music with visual images has through the music video portion of the assignment. Chapter 3 in our book discussed how messages can change or can be enhanced through the addition of images or music videos. By the students watching these videos and analyzing them based on what they heard in the song and what they saw in the video I hope to help students make this connection.

This lesson plan is meant to be used within the context of a broader unit teaching students to be more informed consumers. They will learn about tactics that are used in the media to entice and influence potential consumers and will learn vital skills as to how to identify these tactics. They will also receive further training as to how to analyze the information presented in media to find their hidden or not so hidden messages. This lesson plan acts as an example relevant to youth to practice what they learned thus far in this unit.

Lesson Plan #1:
Unit: Thinking Critically about Media Messages and Becoming Informed Consumers
Week 3: What is popular music telling us to do and are we listening?
Objectives:
· Provide students with the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills in terms of analyzing messages in the media to music relevant to themselves as taught in weeks 1 and 2.
· Assist students in gaining appreciation for and/or awareness of the messages that they are subjected to within popular music
· Build awareness around the influence that popular music has over our daily decisions regarding dress, attitude, interpersonal interactions, behaviors, etc…
· Enhance team building and learning from each other through discussion groups.
Assignment:
1. Go to the Billboard Top 10 list and choose one song to think critically about. It does not matter if you know or have ever heard the song you choose.
2. Use the tools from week 1 and week 2 critically examine the following
a. the lyrics
b. the musical genre
c. the target audience
d. Specific messages being conveyed
3. Find and watch the music video for the song that you have chosen. And analyze the following again, now based on both the music and the video.
a. the lyrics
b. the musical genre
c. the target audience
d. Specific messages being conveyed
*Remember to look for both positive and possible negative messages
4. In 5 paragraph essay format, respond to what you found in #1, 2, and 3. Your Intro should briefly include why you chose this particular song and the conclusion should include the overall affect that this song may have on its target audience.
Discussion:
1. Break up into groups of 3-5 students
2. Go around the table and share which songs you have chosen and why
3. Share the most important message present in your song and say why you think it is the most important
4. Discuss as a group how each of these songs may affect their listeners
5. As a group, come up with three important things to remember when listening to songs and watching music videos that you learned from this project.