Ms. A. Martin, M.ED.

Part I: Choosing significant events and finding appropriate songs to represent them. 1.What are the significant events that you have experienced in your lives so far? Make a list. 2.pick 5 events. Try to choose a variety of events – all sad or angry events will make for a downer of a soundtrack. 3.Put your events in chronological order (that’s the order in which they happened). 4.write a brief paragraph summary for each one

PART 1- Continued 5.pick a song that you think accurately represents each event. 6.When choosing each song, think about the lyrics, the style, the tone or mood of the song. 7.Remember that the music on soundtracks vary in style; your soundtrack should do so, also. 8.Take your time and really explore possible songs in different genres of music.

Continued... 8.Record the song title and artist on your own paper. Remember that songs MUST be school appropriate. I understand that this rule limits your choice of songs, but there’s just no getting around it in this setting.

Format Song Title Artist or Group Track 1 ______________________________________ ________________________ Track 2 ______________________________________ ________________________ Track 3 ______________________________________ ________________________ Track 4 ______________________________________ ________________________ Track 5 ______________________________________ ________________________

Writing a reflective letter to your listeners. Now that you have created the imaginary soundtrack to your life and completed the song explanation pre- writing, you are ready to write a reflective letter (addressed to “Dear Listener,”) that explains why you chose the particular songs that you did. For each song, you will need to reflect on: – the experiences, persons, places, etc. that inspired this selection. – Obviously, you will also need to explain who you are as a person and then offer some type of reflection upon the imaginary album as a whole. Again, for the purposes of this assignment, be sure that this letter is school appropriate

Use the outline below to write your letter. You need to cover each topic listed in the appropriate number of paragraphs. Remember, in reflective writing longer is usually better, and you can always go through and cut out any repetitive or useless information when you revise. It’s much harder to add meaningful information later with this type of writing.

Topic #1—Explanation of yourself (One paragraph) This paragraph is basically a brief autobiography, and it will serve as your introduction. Introductions are super important in writing because they give the reader a frame of reference. » Who are you? » Where are you from? » Where are you now? Etc. etc. » Overall, what do you think this album says about you?

Topic #2—Explanation of each song on the soundtrack This section is made up of many smaller paragraphs. Song by song be sure to explain: What is the name of the song and the artist? What event in your life does the song represent? Why does the song accurately reflect this event? Why do the lyrics capture the essence of this event for you? Why do the style or tone or mood capture the essence of this event for you? What does each song reveal about the kind of person you are and what you think is important in you life?

Topic #3—Final remarks and reflection on the soundtrack as a whole (One paragraph) This paragraph is your conclusion in which you should thank your reader for taking the time to listen to your soundtrack and offer any final reflections upon this project as a whole. – In the introduction, you talked about what this album says about you. Revisit this idea. – What did you learn while you put together this album? – What do you think it tells people about you? Is this accurate? – What do you want people who listen to your soundtrack to think about you when they’re done?

Artistic Reflection Make a CD cover, concert poster or flyer, or other idea that somehow represents your soundtrack. Give your song track a title, with you as the artist. Be creative in your design, and then list your songs, including title and artist, on the cover.

RESOURCES You can use Glogster.com or other software to make your album cover, but keep in mind that you will have to print out the album cover to turn it in. We do not have color printers at school, so it’s okay to hand in a black and white version. If, however, you have a color printer at home, it might look really cool if you print it there. Glogster.com is a free site that lets you create online “posters.” You will have to join using an address, but it is free and they do not send you spam!

Due Date: 9/8/10 Must Have: CD with hard case Album art with title an artist (you) on it. Typed letter to listener All Class work: » Names of events » Summary of events Paragraphs » Chosen songs » Rough draft of essay