Audio Resources Lesson Plan

Medieval Ballads

 

I. Topic: Ballads – A ballad is a song that tells a story in verse.  It is one of the oldest forms of poetry and music.  During the Middle Ages minstrels wandered throughout Europe performing these types of songs.  There are many ballads that have been preserved from this time period.

II. Grade Level: Grades 6-8

III. Objectives: 

u       Students will use audio resources from the Internet and various sources to listen to ballads that originated in the Middle Ages

u       Students will compare and contrast several different ballads sung in the Middle Ages.

u       Students will create their own ballad based on the information they have acquired from their review.

IV. Links to Standards

New Jersey CCCS 

Standard 6.1

(Social Studies Skills) All students will utilize historical thinking, problem solving, and research skills to maximize their understanding of civics, history, geography, and economics.

Standard 6.2:
(Civics) All students will know, understand and appreciate the values and principles of American democracy and the rights, responsibilities, and roles of a citizen in the nation and the world.

Standard 6.3:
(World History) All students will demonstrate knowledge of world history in order to understand life and events in the past and how they relate to the present and the future.

Standard 6.6:
(Geography) All students will apply knowledge of spatial relationships and other geographic skills to understand human behavior in relation to the physical and cultural environment.

NETS Projects

Performance indicators for technology-literate students grades 6-8:

4.    Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research. 

5.    Apply productivity/multimedia tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, group collaboration, and learning throughout the curriculum.

6.    Design, develop, publish, and present products (e.g., Web pages, videotapes) using technology resources that demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences inside and outside the classroom.

7.    Collaborate with peers, experts, and others using telecommunications and collaborative tools to investigate curriculum-related problems, issues, and information, and to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.

8.    Select and use appropriate tools and technology resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and solve problems.

9.    Demonstrate an understanding of concepts underlying hardware, software, and connectivity, and of practical applications to learning and problem solving.

10.                       Research and evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and bias of electronic information sources concerning real-world problems.

NCSS  -  National Council for the Social Studies

V. Technology Resources

u       Webliography

u       Computer Lab (This lesson can also be accomplished with 1-2 computers in the classroom in which groups will rotate using the computer(s), with a projector, TV converter, or the website can be printed out for each student.)

VI. Materials

u       CD: Joan Baez, Volume 2 or mp3 version of Barbra Allen

u       Computer with Internet access

u       Nursery Rhyme Worksheet

u       Ballads Worksheet

u       Hyperstudio software

u       Desktop publishing or word processing software

VII. Description of Plan

1.      Introduce ballads to the class.  Share the information about minstrels and ballads.  Play recordings of folk songs to the class.  Refer to the attached webliography that has midi, wav or mp3 files.

2.      Review the nursery rhymes that the students remember saying/singing when they were younger.  Choose a few and review with class.  Then introduce the nursery rhyme “London Bridge.”  Explain that London Bridge was originally built from 1176 to 1200and was used during the Middle Ages to get to London.  The rhyme may be about the actual destruction of London Bridge by King Olaf in the early part of the 11th century.  Use the attached list of nursery rhymes (taken from http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/AUTHMENU.htm ) and divide the class into teams for each nursery rhyme.  Have them each meet to review the rhyme and come up with a possible origin for each one.  Have each group share their nursery rhyme and hypothesis with the class.

3.      Explain to students that a ballad is a song that tells a story in rhyming verse.  Most ballads have four line stanzas of short phrases and an ABAB rhyme scheme.   Using attached worksheet have students create their own ballads by writing stories in verse.

4.      Have students write out, illustrate, and record their ballads within a Hyperstudio presentation.  Share presentations with class.

VIII. Assessment:

            Use the Ballad Rubric to measure student’s mastery of ballads.

IX. Extensions :

1.    Students can research instruments that were used to accompany ballads.  Enrichment can include making their own instrument, such as the flute.  Possible integration with the music teacher could be used to actually learn to play some of the earlier ballads using these instruments or their recorders.

2.    A math extension could include tallying, creating databases, and graphing the topic- people’s favorite childhood nursery rhymes.