20th Century Songwriters – Technology Presentation Project

Item description

In this lesson, students learn about famous songwriters from the 20th century and their work. Students choose a songwriter of interest (on their own or from a provided list) and then research specific information about them, creating a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides or using a Web 2.0 tool. Teacher and student resources are provided for the lesson, along with full instructions and project expectation, including a grading rubric. A list of famous songwriters is included separately for student choice (or students can choose a songwriter of interest on their own). Two versions of the lesson are included to let teachers decide if they prefer to have students use the more traditional presentation tools of Microsoft Office or Google Slides or, if they prefer to give students a choice of those and various free Web 2.0 tools such as Prezi, eMaze, or Canva. Links for tutorials are provided for all suggested software choices in the student resources.

Perfect for business, music, history, social studies or career exploration classes. This lesson was designed for middle school (grades 6-8) but could be used in any secondary classroom.

This lesson is great for distance learning/remote learning. You can upload it to your school’s learning management system (Google Classroom, Edmodo, Canvas, etc.) or share with students via Google Drive.

Materials Required:

• Computers with Internet access for each student (or pair of students)
• Software such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides (optional – Web 2.0 tools may be used)

Files included:

• Teacher & Student Resources
• Student instructions, expectations and grading rubric – MS PowerPoint/Google Slides
• Student instructions, expectations and grading rubric – Choice of Web 2.0 tools, Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides
• Suggested list of famous songwriters

Approximate Lesson Duration:

• 2-3 (50 minute) class periods