In a fun-filled 40 minutes, Michael Brooks uses the format of his successful "Literacy Theatre Program" to show children how to write a song. The program is structured, orderly, sequential and yet at the same time, very creative and artistic. He begins by reading a story to the students. He brings overheads of the story's illustrations so that the pictures can be projected on a screen for the whole class to see. After the story is read he proceeds in an orderly fashion to guide the students through the process of writing a song about the story. The steps are as follows: • Remember who was in the story (The characters) • Talk about what happened (The Plot) and how things ended (resolution) • Find the order in the story (sequence of events) • Talk about melody (music) and lyrics (words) • Understand song structure: Verses and Chorus • Learn about rhyme and rhythm • Brainstorm for ideas for song Create a song using: • The characters • The plot • The sequence of events • Rhyme and Rhythm • A catchy melody • Class sings the song!
Grade Suitability | K-4 |
Maximum Class Size | Class size |
Time Required | 40 minutes |
Language of Instruction | English |
Communities | All |
Michael Brooks is a children’s singer/songwriter living in Whitehorse, Yukon. He has performed more than 500 concerts in the past 10 years at music festivals, schools and libraries in the Yukon and across Canada. He is the co-founder and past-president of Music Yukon, which represents the Yukon music industry territorially and nationally. Other career highlights include: