Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources:
Step one…sharing the song and other inspiring media: Pass out this “Mind Movie” graphic organizer to each student. Explain that they will be listening to 2 sound clips. (I use two 90-second clips that I found on YouTube. The first is a sword fight in which you can hear swords clanking against each, bodies hitting the ground and heavy breathing. The second is a clip of three children at the beach in which you can hear the water, the children yelling at each other and the toys they are playing with.) Whatever sound clips you choose to use, you should just play the sound, and not use any visuals. The lesson also works better if your sound clips are different enough from each other that students can make their own interpretations of the sounds.
Ask students to listen closely to the sounds they are about hear. Play the first clip and allow time for students to write down what they heard. Next, ask students to pay attention to the pictures that their mind creates when the clip is played again. After the second play-through, allow students enough time to write in the graphic organizer and illustrate what they heard. Have them share with a partner and then share as a whole group. Discuss different perspectives and insights.
Do the same thing with the second clip, allowing enough time to share with a partner and as a whole group.
Tell students they are now going to listen to a song that focuses on what the author heard one day while sitting in his apartment in the city. The song never mentions what he saw, but concentrates only on sounds. While they listen to “Beautiful Noise” by Neil Diamond, they should use the “Beautiful Noise” graphic organizer (which is the second page of the "Mind Movie" g.o.) to record the items that are heard in the song. Allow time for students to share their interpretations and then pass out the lyrics to the song. Play the song again and give students enough time to match their interpretations to the lyrics. Ask students to discuss in small groups what they heard and saw in the song.
Tell students they will be creating a poem that celebrates a noise they find beautiful.
Step two…introducing student models of writing: In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups will certainly talk about the idea development, since it's the focus of the lesson, but you might prompt your students to talk about each model's word choice as well.
- Because this is a new lesson at WritingFix, we're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! Help us get some, and we'll send you a free resource for your classroom! Visit our student samples page for information.
Step three…thinking, talking, and pre-writing: Brainstorm a list as a class or use the interactive buttons on the students instructions page to choose a “beautiful noise” of their own.
Pass out the brainstorm sheet to each student. After completion, your students are now ready to begin their poem about their beautiful noise! You might play the song again while they are composing, or point out some idea development techniques or word choices on a printed copy of the lyrics....to remind them of the two traits they should be focusing on as they compose.
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