Objective

Students will create rhyming song lyrics and compose a melody for them, following specific guidelines.

Resources

Start with a Rhyme Worksheet, pen, guitar or keyboard

Vocabulary and Terms

Procedures

1. Begin with a hook: “The words of a song are called lyrics.” (Fun Fact: Lyric derives from the Greek word lyrikos, meaning “singing to the lyre”. The lyre was a Greek string instrument much like the guitar) To help the students start writing lyrics, start with rhyming words.
2. Model the activity for the class. Have the students pick two pairs of rhyming words such as cat, hat.
3. “Now that we have all of our rhyming words, can anyone give me a sentence that ends with one of these words?” Repeat this process until you have four sentences.
4. Have the whole class read the four sentences aloud in unison. Add a beat to turn it into a rap.
5. Now add a simple chord progression. You can improvise a melody for the first line and ask students to echo you. Ask for volunteers to help you with the other lines.
6. Distribute the worksheet and have students work in groups of 2-4 to compose their own verse over a chord progression of their choosing, or that you assign. A single chord could work too!
7. Have students record and/or perform their ideas for review and assessment.

Extension

1. If all students use the same progression, combine each groups verse to make a class song!
2. Have students adhere to a topic either of your choosing, or of theirs.
3. Have students add a second section to their song with a new chord progression, melody and lyrics.

   Differentiation:

   1. Assign roles to the group members. All students can focus on lyrics, 2 on the singing, 2 on playing the chords, etc.
   2. Allow students to stick with rap as opposed to adding melody