The Importance of Voice

Mr. Corbin Janssen, 5

th
Grade

Standards (Music and other Academic Area):

MU:Pr4.2.5c Explain how context (such as social, cultural, and historical) informs
performances.
CCSS.ELA.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Objectives:
1. Given practice with adding voice to sentences, the students will analyze songs, poems,
books, to determine their level of (if existent) voice.
2. Given the importance of using voice in narrative literature, the students will create a
song, poem, or prose that has voice and a similar rhythmic and rhyming scheme to that of
God Bless the USA.

Materials:
God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood
Writing examples with voice
Writing examples without voice


Background for teachers: 6 traits of writing

Steps in the lesson:

Introduction/Building Background Knowledge:
The teacher will play a portion of God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood as the students enter
the classroom. After the teacher shuts the music off the students will be asked to provide some
adjectives that describe the song. The teacher will then sing a song that is intentionally boring
and lacks voice. Students will be asked to provide some differences between the two songs
lyrics. Does adding instruments or extra vocalists make a song have more voice?

Body:
The teacher will review the first two traits of writing. The teacher will then briefly describe that
voice creates a more effective connection with their audience. Voice makes the writing your
own. What are some examples of voice in writing? Can art have voice?The teacher will read
different works of literature, some poetry, some nonfiction text, some narratives, etc. The
students will have to decide whether each reading has voice or does not have voice. What are
the differences between those with voice and those without? Students will take some of the
examples that didnt have voice and recreate the example to contain more voice. This activity
will be done first as a whole group, then in partners or small groups. Finally the class will each
add voice to three writings on their own.

The students will create another verse to God Bless the USA that contains the fifth grade class
reasons why theyre proud to be American. The students should focus on word choice and voice
when writing their lyrics. If need be, the class can write the lyrics in small groups rather than as a
whole class. The teacher can play the song for them another time or two and provide printed
lyrics to give the class a better idea of the rhythm of the verses.


Closure:
The students will share each of their verses. The class can pick their favorite verse that the
students made and perform the song as a class. This performance could be done with the music
teacher and performed at a patriotic concert of some sort.

Assessment (linked directly to objectives):
- Observational checklist for participation
- Voice added to the three individual writings.
- Participation in writing a new verse to the song and performing it.

Adaptations/Extensions (include at least one strategy for differentiation):
Students that struggle to write out a song, prose, or poem can instead draw a picture or story
board that contains the students voice in the story.

Rationale: The students need to recognize why this trait of writing is important. Voice makes
the writing your own, adding style, tone or flavor. Adding voice makes the work more interesting
to the audience. Without voice, all books, poems, and even songs would feel the same.

Next Steps/ Connections to Other Subjects:
Next the students will begin to work on sentence fluency. If the teacher wants to include music in
the next lesson, rhythm of songs or poems could go along with sentence fluency.