WHAT IS A MUSICIAN?

A WebQuest for 5th Grade (Music)

Introduction

What is a musician? Is it simply someone who can play a musical instrument fairly well? Should a person have a formal education in music in order to be considered a musician or can it be anyone who displays an extraordinary amount of talent, skill and expertise in their ability to play an instrument? According to Yahoo Search, the definition of Musician is: NOUN, One who composes and conducts or performs music, especially instrumental music. Does this mean that singers are not musicians?

What is your opinion?

In this excercise, you are going to take a look at musicians from a variety of musical styles: Rock, Pop, Classical, Jazz and Country. You will work with four fellow classmates, in a joint effort to determine what you think it takes to be a musician, and each of you will contribute something different. You will find additional information, on how to complete this task, on the TASK page.

Task

You will be assigned to a group that includes four other students. Your group will create a list of characteristics to use as a definition for musician. Your group will randomly pick a style of music from a covered box. Each group member will then search for a performer of that particular style of music. Next, they will research their performer in order to determine what it is that makes him or her a musician. Once their individual research has been completed, they will discuss their findings with the other members of the group. your group will then decide which performer best exemplifies its' definition of a musician. Ultimately, you will make a presentation of your performer and definition to the class.

Are you ready??? THEN LET'S GO!!!

Start by reading the PROCESS page, in order to find out how to begin, and then take a look at the SCORING page for information on how you will be graded.

Process

STAGE I

You will be assigned to a group including four other students.
As a group, discuss and then write down a list of qualifications that you agree a person should have before he or she is considered a musician. Make sure you bring a notebook to your group discussions so that you can take notes to refer to during your quest.
Elect a member of your group to make a selection from the covered "Styles Of Music" box.

STAGE II

Each member of your group must choose a different performer, of the chosen style of music, and search the internet for information on that performer. Here are a few websites you can visit, as you start your quest, along with two kid friendly search engines:

SITES

http://www.yahooligans.com/arts_and_entertainment/music/musicians

http://www.thinkquest.org/library/site_sum.html?lib_id=3606&team_id=J002871

http://library.thinkquest.org?J0112733/

http://library.thinkquest.org/18249/resources/index.html?tqskip1=1&tqtime=1115

SEARCH ENGINES

http://www.ajkids.com?

http://ubl.artistdirect.com/

http://www.searchengines.com

You will write an essay on the performer you researched. Your essay should include:

(a) Name of your performer.
(b) Instrument he or she plays.
(c) Characteristics of this performer that match your group's definition of a musician.
(d) Website addresses where you found your research information (You must include at least two).

During your next group discussion, your group will decide which member's performer best fits your group's description of a musician.
Working as a group, you will conduct additional research, on the group's chosen performer, and write a report using the following guidelines:

The first paragraph should include:

(a) The name of the performer.
   (b) The style of music he or she performs.
(c) The instrument(s) he or she plays.
   (d) The name of the band he or she performs with (if this applies to your performer).

The second paragraph should be a short biography of the performer including:

(a) Date and place of birth.
   (b) Description of how this performer became a professional.
   (c) Any awards given or accomplishments made by your performer.

The third paragraph should state:

(a) The reasons why this performer was chosen by your group.
(b) How your performer matches your group's definition of a musician. (c) A list of the websites where your group found its information.

STAGE III

Your group will then make a presentation of your performer to the class. This presentation should include:

(a) An audio recording of your performer (Limit to 1 song please).
(b) A picture of your performer.
(c) The report you made as a group.

Immediately after each group's class presentation (other than your own of course), you will be given time to complete a short quiz that will consist of the following questions: (1) What is the name of the other group's performer? (2) What style of music does he or she perform? (3) How is the other group's performer different than yours? (4) What similarities does their performer have with yours? (5) How is their group's definition of a musician different from yours?
The quiz along with your group's report and individual essays will be handed in to me at the end of the class discussion.

Evaluation

Student:

Each student's research essay will be graded on:

        (a)    Accuracy of the information gathered.
        (b)    Spelling.
        (c)    Neatness.
        (d)    Accuracy of the website addresses cited.
        (e)    Organization of the information presented in the essay.

Each student's quiz will be graded on:

(a) Accuracy of your answers to the questions provided.

Group:

Beginning

1

Developing

2

Accomplished

3

Report

Does not follow the guidelines, contains inaccurate information, has incorrect website
addresses, little or no organization of information, poor spelling, sloppy.
Follows most of the guidlines, most of the information is accurate, most of the website addresses are correct, good organization of information, good spelling, fairly neat. Follows all of the guidlines, all of the information is accurate, all of the website addresses are correct, very good organization of information, excellent spelling, very neat.

Member
Participation

Less than half of the members contributed, little or no cooperation of members, prompting from the teacher was necessary. More than half of the members contributed, members cooperated most of the time, little prompting from the teacher was necessary All of the members contributed, members cooperated all of the time, no prompting from the teacher was necessary.

Presentation

Only 1 of the 3 elements presented, poor quality of A/V elements, not well organized.
At least 2 of the 3 elements presented, fair quality of A/V elements, fairly organized All of the 3 elements presented, good quality of A/V elements, well organized.

Conclusion

Once this webquest is completed, you will have been exposed to a wide variety of performers, as well as styles of performance, resulting in a broader understanding of musicianship. I expect that you will view future performers with greater insight and analysis.

Credits & References

I would like to thank the authors of The WebQuest Page and the Design Patterns page for their invaluable help in designing this webquest. My thanks also to those of the websites listed in the process section.

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."

Last updated on (11/28/03). Based on a template from The WebQuest Page