Music is the Soundtrack to Our Lives

7th Grade music classes are beginning a new project in which they will create song lists, artwork, and liner notes for an original soundtrack reflecting their experiences, opinions, and perceptions of the world around them. Students will examine how music defines their lives; consider how hardcore music represents the early 80’s by reading and discussing the article, “How Hard Was Their Core? Looking Back at Anger.” and they will research particular songs for original music CDs that reflect their own lives, experiences, AND opinions on current events. After writing liner notes using this research students will create artwork for the covers of these CDs using original artwork. To help create their liner notes students will respond to the following questions for each selection:What is the song about?How does this song connect to your life or opinions on current events? Copy out lyrics that illustrate this point.What do you like most about this song?How does this song make you feel? Once cover art is completed, students will compile liner notes onto one or two CD-sized pages, along with blurbs of gratitude, a way of thanking people who have been supportive or influential in some way. Students will burn their music selections onto CDs to share with the class.