Composing a Blues song

What has been done?

Students had looked at the key features of blues music in previous sessions. In this session, they first looked at Nina Simone’s ‘Chain Gang’ (The Work Song) individually and then discussed their thoughts in groups to recap. They then had a go at writing the lyrics and composing the music of their own Blues song in pairs. Self and peer assessment were used at key stages to help support the performances scheduled for the next lesson.

What kind of dl or sel skills did you cover?

DL

• Reading Comprehension (deduce from the text implied meanings and inferences relevant to the specific subject)

SEL

• Self-Awareness (identifying one’s emotions)
• Linking feelings, values, and thoughts
• Relationship Skills (practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving)

Which authentic text did you choose?

Title: Chain Gang

Author: Nina Simone

Which results can you expect?

There has been a clear improvement in students’ ability to deduce implied meaning across all abilities. Students all seem more confident in using the disciplinary literacy in their answers and have also embraced the interpretation of the lyrics from the source.

Students have made good improvements in their group work and how they are working with their partners as it has been a focus throughout the period of this project. I think it really helps to hold them accountable for this by doing little rating tasks because it forces students to really think about what they have done and how they need to be better next time.

In the students’ self and peer assessments, both the high and middle ability students have accurately assessed how they are getting on with the different elements of the practical task. The lower ability student has been less accurate in their self-assessment of how they are getting on so clearly needs further support in identifying their own abilities.

What do teachers say?

‘I will definitely take a lot away from this project – my teaching practice will include a lot more explicit teaching of group work skills and use of clear roles within group work so that all students know what they are doing. I think guiding students through reflecting on their group work skills has been invaluable and I will use this for a plenary activity during KS3 practical lessons.’

Annex:

1. Lesson Plan
2. ‘Questioning the Author’ starter activity
3. Self- and peer-assessment Tool

 

Annex 1: Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan
Subject specific learning outcomes: Students will be able to answer music-based, and context-based questions about an existing piece of blues music Students will write their own modern lyrics that use an authentic blues music structure Students will be able to combine their lyrics with the 12-bar blues and walking bassline on the keyboards as part of a pair
			GROWE Competencies
1	7 mins	Answer questions individually and then collaborate for final group question	Deduce from the text implied meanings and inferences relevant to the specific subject  (RC4) Identifying one’s emotions (SA3) / linking feelings, values, and thoughts (SA5)
2	5 mins	Feedback answers – students to self-mark in green pen
3	10 mins	Students write 2 verses of AAB structured lyrics that would be appropriate for a blues song (sad, work song etc) and fit the blues melody and syllables. Lyrics must have a modern take that is relevant to them.	Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving  (RS4) Identifying one’s emotions (SA3) / linking feelings, values, and thoughts (SA5)
4	15 mins	Students put together their paired performances of the 12-bar blues with lyrics	Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving (RS4)
5	5 mins	Students complete pre-assessment checklist for assessment criteria	Deduce from the text implied meanings and inferences relevant to the specific subject (RC4) Identifying one’s emotions (SA3) / linking feelings, values, and thoughts (SA5)
6	10 mins	Students have 10 further minutes to work on assessment pieces and ensure they are ready	Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving (RS4)
7	5 mins	Students have 5 mins to gain peer feedback on their performance ready for prep time next week	Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving (RS4) Identifying one’s emotions (SA3) / linking feelings, values, and thoughts (SA5)
8	3 mins	Cleaning and pack away

 

Annex 2: ‘Questioning the Author’ starter activity

 

Annex 3: Self- and Peer-Assessment Tool