Original Song
Original Songs are self-composed based on historical
experience. They should be poetic and
meaningful. They must follow a
particular meter.
Rationale: Research
demonstrates that synthesizing information, or taking information and creating
new and independent work, increases understanding and retention. Many students of today spend time writing songs
but most songs are on hackneyed, unoriginal topics. Writing a song on academic subjects will
challenge them to write about original material.
Instructions: Identify
information to include. Write. Record if possible.
General
Guidelines
·
Words should follow a particular meter.
·
Use relevant terms and information.
Original
Song Rubric
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possible points
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expectations
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points earned
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2
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Stays true to form and elements of effective writing
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3
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Demonstrates understanding of relevant knowledge
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2
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Reveals empathy with character or emotional impact of the
event
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2
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Exhibits creativity and originality
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1
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Conveys voice and tone
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5
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Tableture
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5
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Recording
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20
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Original
Song Example
My Oklahoma Home
Bruce Springsteen
Pete Seeger cover
E
When they opened up the strip
A E
I was young and full of zip
B
I wanted someplace to call my home
E
And so I made the race
A E
And staked me out a place
B E
And settled down along the Cimarron
A
It blowed away
E
It blowed away,
B
My Oklahoma home, it blown away
E
Well it looked so green and fair
A E
When I built my shanty there
B E
Now my Oklahoma home, is blown away
Well I planted wheat and oats
Got some chickens and some shoats
Aimed to have some ham and eggs to feed my face
Got a mule to pull the plow
Got an old red muley cow
And I also got a fancy mortgage on this place
Well it blowed away, it blowed away,
All the crops I planted blown away
You can't grow any grain
If you ain’t got any rain
Everything except my mortgage blown away
Well it looked so green and fair
When I built my shanty there
I figured I was all set for life
I put on my Sunday best with my fancy scalloped vest
And I went to town to pick me out a wife
She blowed away
She blowed away
My Oklahoma woman blowed away
Mister as I bent to kiss her
She was picked up by a twister
My Oklahoma woman blowed away
Well then I was left alone just listenin' to the moan
Of wind around the corners of my shack
So I took off down the road yeah
When the south wind blowed
I traveled with the wind upon my back
I blowed away
I blowed away
Chasin' that dust cloud up ahead
Once it looked so green and fair
Now it's up there in the air
My Oklahoma farm is over head
Well now I'm always close to home
It don’t matter where I roam
For Oklahoma dust is everywhere
Makes no difference where I'm walkin'
I can hear my chickens squawkin'
I can hear my wife a-talkin' in the air
It blowed away
It blowed away
Yeah, my Oklahoma home it blown away
But my home Sir, is always near
It's up in the atmosphere
My Oklahoma home is blown away
Well I'm a roam’n Oklahoman
But I'm always close to home
I'll never get homesick until I die
Causew no matter where I'm found
My home’s all around
My Oklahoma home is in the sky
It blowed away
It blowed away
My farm down on Cimarron
Now all around the world
Wherever dust is swirled
There is some from my Oklahoma home
Oh and it’s blown away
It’s blown away
Oh my Oklahoma home is blown away
Yeah, it's up there in the sky
In that dust cloud over n’ by
My Oklahoma home is in the sky