5th Grade Talking About Music

5th grade is working on a project where they are talking about music in an intelligent way.  We can say that we like a song or don't like a song all we want, but I'm trying to get the kids to give a reason for their opinions.  Some terms that we are talking about in music are:

Tempo
Melody/Harmony
Lyrics/Meaning
Instrumentation
Voice
Genre

The project has the kids working in edmodo which is an online message area where they can get their songs and whatnot.  They are creating two parts, one for a formal audience (adults) and one for a kid audience.  The formal part has them writing three paragraphs, one about each song and the facts describing those songs, and one about their opinions and comparing the two songs.  Their second part will have them creating a recording about their two songs and presenting this information in a fun way (newscast, interview, song, etc.).  Check out these 5th graders hard at work!