THE IMPORTANCE OF

MUSIC IN TIMES OF
INJUSTICE
Classroom Music Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 7-8
Prepared by Chelsea Simpkins

Learning Goals
What Learners will:
Be able to do (behavioral): By the end of the lesson, students will be able to perform If I
Had a Hammer complete with body percussion and movement of their creation,
demonstrating the meaning of the text with a success rate of 80%.
Understand (cognitive): Students will be able to explain the meaning of a song by
listening and analyzing the lyrics.
Encounter (experiential): Students will create a performance of a selected freedom song
from the civil rights movement in the same style it would have been performed then.
Construct meaning (constructivist): The student will realize the impact music has in
times of strife. The student will explore and understand the importance of music in
society and historical periods.

Focusing Question
In what ways do the elements of music help those in times of struggle or injustice?

Materials
If I Had a Hammer lyric sheet, percussion instruments if available.

Assessment
1

Formative: Ongoing informal observation, questioning, and discussion occurs

throughout the lesson.
Summative: After the performance students will write a reflection on their individual
performance, as well as the performance of the ensemble.
Integrative: The teacher will read students reflections then self-reflect on his or her
thoughts before the lesson, with the overall thoughts after the lesson. The self-reflection
will explain to students what the teacher has learned from them.

Process
Partner: As a class and with their teacher, students will discuss what they already know
about the civil rights movement. Ask if they know any songs that could be related to that
time in history and what was going on in America. Students may either write their ideas
down, share their ideas with the class and the teacher, or a student can collect the
answers on a visual for the class to see.
Present: Hand out If I Had a Hammer lyric sheet. Ask the students to picture in their
mind how they think this song would have been performed during the civil rights
movement. Play the song through YouTube or iTunes.
Personalize: Divide the class into smaller groups of about 5 students. Provide them 25-30
minutes to create a performance of If I Had a Hammer of their creation. They may
include body percussion, dance, instruments if they are available, added harmonies. This
performance must be appropriate to the time in history, would those living through the
civil rights movement perform this? Are you respecting the text and overall setting of the
song with this performance?
Perform: After the students have had an opportunity to work together to create their
own performance, allow students to show their creation to the rest of the class. Engage
the students in a brief discussion about each performance. What did they do to create the
mood? Was this successful? If we had a time machine, could you perform this in the year
1964? Can you picture where this would be performed? (someones front yard, at a peace
rally, a concert, etc.) The students should reflect on the process they experienced to
achieve their creation. The final reflection could be a written journal entry where
students explain why music would help those living through the civil rights movement.
What is musics role in times of injustice?