ASO Project and Tips!

If you haven't returned your ASO field trip money/permission please do so ASAP!
Students who wish to work with a partner must bring a note by Thursday, January 17th.

Download Project and Tips document

Hi! You’re about to start a project that should be fun and informative! This guide is to help you along the way. The project is in two parts—

Part 1: Research/Rehearse (Learn) and 

Part 2: Perform, Create, Display, Present (Have fun presenting the info). 

Choose a your project focus by selecting a Composer/Musical Work in the table below. Your research may cover any of these topics, but it MUST focus mostly on the Composer and the Music.

Part 1: Research/Rehearse (8 pts.) “Favorite 15 Facts”

Use the ASO Study Guide, Media Center sources, your Social Studies textbook, classicsforkids.com, an encyclopedia, the internet, Nettrekker, Google, Bing, yahooligans, and other (books, biographies, magazine articles…) to find sources for your research.

You will list your “Favorite 15 Facts” (minimum) about the composer and the music from the ASO concert. You may also include facts about the era of American History (below) or other connections. You will use these facts to complete Part 2.

Be sure to combine facts, when you can, to make strong facts. 1) Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. 2) He was born in 1170. 3) Beethoven’s parents were Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich à “Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 to parents Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich.” One good fact!

You must turn in your Favorite 15 Facts lists WITH your completed project!

·        Your Favorite 15 Facts List can be in any format you wish (typed/handwritten/bullet list/graphic organizer…), but it must be in your own words in sentence form (don’t just copy facts from your sources)!

·        Use several different sources to find your information, and be sure to list each one of your sources. Please do your best to find resources that are real book and internet-based.

o       Third Graders: 3 or more sources

o       Fourth Graders: 4 or more sources

o       Fifth Graders: 5 or more sources

Students may also choose to play one of the pieces with an asterisk (*) for Part 2 of their project. 

Musical Work and Composer Possible Connections or Era of American History

Indian Suite III “In War Time” by Edward MacDowell 1400's Early American Indians

*“Yankee Doodle” and “American Salute”     by Morton Gould    Early Settlers Revolutionary War—“Yankee Doodle”          The Civil War—“American Salute”

*“Simple Gifts”  by Joseph Brackett Post-Revolutionary War              Formation of the US Constitution Shakers

*Appalachian Spring “Variations on a Shaker Melody” by Aaron Copland Connect to “Simple Gifts”                   Martha Graham Ballet

*“John Henry” by Aaron Copland Westward Expansion                 Folk Tales/Folk Songs

Symphonic Sketches I “Jubilee”  by George Whitfield Chadwick Reconstruction: Post-Civil War America  “Jim Crow” laws    Poetry

*Symphony No. 9 in Em “From the New World”  by Antonin Dvorak The Second Industrial Revolution   Development of Recording & Radio                                           Song-catching from Native American and African American heritage

*“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got that Swing)”    by Edward “Duke” Ellington Development of Jazz (and where it came from)  Harlem Renaissance

*Symphony No. 1 in Em “Juba Dance”      by Florence Beatrice Price Why aren’t there a lot of Female, African American, and Minority Composers?                                                                          Juba Dance and Hambone

*“Lift Every Voice and Sing”  by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson,  Arranged by William Grant Still Post World War II                    The Civil Rights Era                  African American Music and Spirituals

*Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl film Score by Klaus Badelt Modern Classical Music Industry Movie Scoring

Suggestions (not requirements) of things to include:

About the Composer 

• Nationality (where s/he came from)
• Childhood
• Dates—birth and death dates
• Interesting facts about his life
• Was he famous during his lifetime?
• Other composers from that time/era
• Important works—pieces for which s/he is known
• Influences: which composers did he admire or gain influence from?
• What types of music did s/he compose (symphonies, operas, ballet music…)?
• Pictures/film/video of his/her work

About the Music (see also our Music Vocabulary list)

A good strategy is to just listen to the music and jot down what pops into your head. Be sure to use correct Music Vocabulary.

 ASO Study Guide

Listening Link

Video Playlist Link

• tempo
• dynamics
• tonality (major, minor, or something else?)
• meter
• instrumentation
• form
• pitch 
• what inspired the composer to write this piece?
• how does this music make you feel?
• what does this music make you think of?

Critical Thinking in Music (CTM) strategies:

• what is going on in the music?
• what do you hear that makes you say that?
• what more can you find?

About the Era/Connection

• Dates
• What was going on in the world?
• Significant facts/important people from this time period.
• How did these things impact or influence music?
• What other connections can you make?
• Things you find interesting.

 Projects from Previous Years

Part 2: Perform, Create, Display, Present (7 pts.)

Using the facts you found in Part 1 create a way to present your facts. Use your talents and your creativity to show what you’ve learned! If you are performing one of the pieces you will have a short interview with Ms. Turgeon to show that you learned the facts about your topic. You can choose ANY of the formats listed below.

• Powerpoint*
• Website*
• Video*
• Skit
• Comic book
• Animated film
• Interview: Commodore Primous & Michael Kurth
• Poster
• News article
• Historical fiction (based on facts)
• Illustrated book
• Sculpture/Painting
• Dance
• Performance
• Social Studies/music connection lesson
• If you have another idea of how to present your project that is not covered in this list be sure to discuss it with Ms. Turgeon before you start!

*Media/Technology-Based projects may be considered for entry in:

APS Technology Fair

Entry deadlines in late January (before the project is due!) Festival is February 2^nd at Boyd Elementary:

the APS Technology Fair-->first place winners can move on to the Georgia Technology Fair

APS Student Media Festival

Deadlines in Late February (exact dates will be updated soon)

Successful projects from the APS Student Media Festival move on to-->Georgia Student Media Festival then the best projects go on to-->International Student Media Festival

Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Creation, and Synthesis

We will have a Springdale Park ASO Project Festival in March for the best projects to be displayed and judged by members of the ASO, ASO Education Department, and other Music professionals!

DUE DATES: Projects are due on your Music class day during the week of February 11th:

Tuesday, February 12th: Smiley and Riggins

Thursday, February 14th: English, Windham/Nossokoff, Hall, Kaufman

Friday, February 15th: Butler, Naman/Nossokoff, Lockwood, & Redel

You can advance to the next video by clicking the forward button below OR you can pop out to YouTube to see the playlist by clicking the YouTube logo. Please be aware, however, that Ms. Turgeon cannot control the "suggested videos" or comments left by other viewers. Parental discretion is advised.




Attached you will find the permission form to print and send [removed 1/30 for faster page loading], and you may choose to pay for the trip at the “Pay Fees Online” link on the SPARK website, by check made out to Springdale Park, or by cash in an envelope with your child’s name and homeroom on it. Please return permission slip and payment (if you didn’t pay online) to your child’s homeroom teacher.

You may still turn in money and permission forms, but please get them in ASAP!