Teacher's Process: The Great Divide

1. Team Assignments

You will be divided into teams of 3 members each. Your final goal is to present a debate in front of the class. The Debate topic is: "Who has the most control in a musical performance: The composer? The performer? The consumer (the audience who listens to and pays for it)?"

2. Team Meeting #1

Once your Team is formed, you will meet together to decide which sphere (Classical | Popular | Traditional) each team member will research. Each team must have one person for each of the three spheres. Use the Team Planning Form to keep track of team member assignments. Turn this form into the teacher by the assigned date.

3. Team Meeting #2

To gain an overview of the influences on American music, begin your research by working together, studying the ideas presented in the following web sites. Familiarize yourselves with the types of stories that are available, and also with music sites you might use for your individual research.

4. Scavenger Hunt

Now that you have some idea of the types of stories "out there" on the world wide web, you are ready to try your hand at actually researching some of them. Go to The Stories of Musicians and try the scavenger hunt you will find there.

5. Individual Research

You are now ready to begin your individual research. Go to the Individual Research Page for help in getting started. Keep a journal of your thoughts and ideas throughout the research process. Keep a record of sites and resources you use. When you have entered all data from your individual research, you are ready to formulate your side of the debate. Your journal will be turned in to the teacher at the end of the WebQuest.

6. Team Meeting #3

Meet with your team to plan your class presentation. The team will have 20 minutes to present all three sides of the WebQuest question. There will be an additional 5 minutes allowed for questions from class members. Use the Rubrics page to gain ideas about the best way to present your ideas to the class.

WebQuest Overview

This WebQuest is designed to be a long term project involving an entire class of music students. Target time is two to three weeks, allowing for some in class research and discussion time, and possibly requiring extended work outside of class. Teachers will need to allow for several group meetings during the WebQuest, and also must allot adequate class time for group presentations at the end of the WebQuest. The assignment is interdisciplinary, in that it requires students to study political, cultural, and economic aspects of the societies which produced different forms of American music. This assignment might carry the same weight as a term paper or other long term research project

WebQuest Organization

Students should be divided into teams of three members each. Ideally, the teams can be composed of students with differing levels of ability. While there is an element of teamwork within the structure of the WebQuest, final Evaluations are largely based on individual efforts. This should encourage all team members to give the assignment their best efforts, without putting pressure on the most gifted team member to do most of the work.

Stumbling Blocks

Student misconceptions may arise around the issues of social and economic pressures on their assigned musicians. This WebQuest seeks to take the students deeper than a mere biography of a musician, or a listing of the musician's accomplishments. Students may need guidance in the form of real life examples or stories about how a musician's family life, or the economy of the times, or the role of prejudice worked to impact the musician's creativity and final "break" into fame.

Some students may not be entirely comfortable with the idea of presenting their findings in the persona of their assigned musician. The rubrics are weighted to allow for this possibility. In addition, the required journal will give the teacher additional insight into the actual depth of student research and thinking. The journal may be checked periodically during the WebQuest process, to determine if students are on task, on schedule, and "getting it." The Scavenger Hunt may also be graded, to add to the student's overall score.

Teacher Preparation

Teachers will need a good understanding of music history, particularly American Music in the twentieth century. At the very least, teachers should explore the following sites (listed as Student Team Meeting #2 reading assignments) in order to have an awareness of what students will all be studying:

America's Musical Life

Overview of American Music

American Music Archives

The Classical Music Page

NPR 100

The American Music Center

Teachers will also need at least basic skills in Internet browsing and research. Ideally, each team should have access to a computer, perhaps in a school computer lab or library. Some awareness of debate logistics will be helpful as well.

Variations

This WebQuest could easily be turned into a single student research paper assignment, using the Individual Research Page and the links for composer, performers, and traditionalists. The Rubric could be altered to reflect requirements for an individual class presentation.

More emphasis could be given to the group process by requiring a joint PowerPoint presentation as the final goal for each group. Such a PowerPoint project would include personal events in the life of each team member's assigned musician, historical events during the musician's lifetime, and even sound clips to demonstrate the musical styles.