Mary Amato

Writing with Humor, Heart, & Grit

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Rock Creek Forest ES Stem Songs

February 7, 2020 by Mary Amato 1 Comment

If the moon could talk, what would it say to us? What might a shadow be thinking? What would a star brag about? What’s the purpose of a constellation?

For four days, I worked with fifth graders at Rock Creek Forest Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, to write, revise, rehearse, and record original songs about some aspect of their astronomy unit.

Four different groups of students each focused on a different topic. Instead of asking the students to write a list of facts, I asked them to take a point of view in the song and to write from that point of view.

Shadows of the Light—A song from the point of view of a shadow.

Download song sheet for lyrics and chords.

Dear Earth—A song from the point of view of the moon speaking to Earth.

Download song sheet for lyrics and chords.

I Burn—A song from the point of view of a star.

Download song sheet for lyrics and chords.

You’re Not Lost—A song from the point of view of a constellation speaking to people on Earth.

Download song sheet for lyrics and chords.

We used figurative language and literary elements to craft our songs—personification, point of view, metaphor, simile, alliteration, assonance, imagery, rhyme, rhythm, and repetition.

The project also involved collaboration, brainstorming, “piggy-backing” (an idea one person throws out can give another person an idea), and revising.

Testing our ideas by first saying the rhythm of each line and then singing each line was important. In singing our lines, we discovered that we often needed to tweak a word or two.

For example, in the class that focused on writing from the point of view of a star, we discussed what happens when a star dies. One student suggested these lines: “I will die someday/But in a spectacular way.” We all liked the idea, but when we tried to sing the second line, it was hard to sing the word “spectacular”. Another student tweaked it: “I will die someday/But in an awesome way.” Everyone agreed that it still carried the meaning but it was much easier to sing.

Repetition in songwriting can be good, such as the repetition of the chorus, but some repetition is boring. We looked at those places where we could make the song more interesting by making a change.

Here is an example in the song from the point of view of a constellation: “You sing our praise, know our stories and know our names” became “You sing our praise, know our stories, and give us names.” Much more interesting and more accurate!

Another important consideration for these particular songs was scientific accuracy. We debated the accuracy of suggestions and made decisions about whether we felt comfortable with the line or needed to change it. For example, in our song from the point of view of the star, we discussed how it’s nuclear fusion, not fire, that creates the heat and light of a star, but we decided that the poetic use of “burn” worked for us. Toward the end of the same song, the star talked about dying and our first draft had these two lines: My light will fly away/But my brightness will stay. We discussed this and decided that we were okay with the poetic use of “fly away” in the first line, but that “my brightness will stay” could be misleading and contradicted the idea of the star dying. We talked about how the dying star’s energy wouldn’t ever disappear from the universe so we changed it to “My legacy will stay.”

The project, which involved taking unusual points of view, also helped to clarify, correct, or drive home concepts about astronomy that the students were learning in their science class. For example, in our song from the point of view of the moon, one student suggested that the moon would say, “I make the night.” This suggestion caused a lively discussion about the facts!  Does the moon actually cause the night? What causes night and day? As a class, we decided the moon couldn’t say that and discussed other alternatives.

Creative collaboration itself is a skill and the project enabled the students to experience the give and take of ideas and opinions. I appreciated how students often took risks by suggesting a line aloud that wasn’t a perfect fit, knowing that if we had something to work with we could collaborate and make it better. They also challenged each other in kind, polite ways.

Besides all that, students learned a few facts about about basic sound engineering–in one class, a question about the quality of the recording led us to talk about the physics of sound waves–as well as techniques for composing music, and how dynamics and energy can influence performance. Finally, many students used their artistic skills to submit topical illustrations, all of which were amazing, and some of which are displayed here.

Thanks to Ms. Fetrow, Ms. Coltrane, Ms. Puchales, Ms. Kudrick, Ms. Zariquiey, and PTA representative Clara Beshoar.

I shared a STEM song of my own with the students.

Sun’s Love Song–A song from the point of view of the sun speaking to Earth.

Download this song sheet to learn more about the science behind the song and see lyrics and chords: Lyrics & info

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized, What's New Tagged With: Rock Creek Forest, Science and songwriting, songwriting, songwriting with kids, STE(A)M, STEAM songs, Stem Songs

STEM plus Songwriting equals STEAM SONGS

July 22, 2019 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Octopus by Goodloe Byron

Octopus by Goodloe Byron

What is a STE(A)M Song?

Imagine the love song of an invertebrate…or a glacier…or a drone.

In my new STE(A)M Song series, I’m using STEM-related concepts as metaphors for songs about love and life. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math and when you add (A)rt, such as songwriting to STEM, you get STE(A)M.

  • Listen to some of my STE(A)M songs.
  • Download the lyrics/info sheet that explains the science metaphor behind each song.
  • Find out about my songwriting workshops.

STE(A)M Songs

Quantum Physics

A love song using the metaphors of the uncertainty principle and the observer effect in physics.
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info

Geology

A geology love song…in other words a rock song. Why should love songs be about hearts and flowers? A big old ordinary rock can be a symbol for love. Cover Photo by Stew Hickman.
To learn more about the science behind the song:Lyrics & info

Astronomy


A love song of an astronomer who is searching for life in the universe.
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info.

The love song from the sun to us.
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info

Marine Biology

A blues song written about an invertebrate (think Octopus). Cover art by Goodloe Byron.
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info

A love song of the coral to its symbiotic partner, the algae.
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info

Climate Change


The warning song of a glacier to us.
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info.

Chemistry

A love song with imagery from the chem lab.
To learn more about the science behind the song:Lyrics & info

Engineering/Technology


The song of an unmanned aerial vehicle addressing its engineer. Cover art: Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox Sky-Drone-Net (cropped) gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2016
To learn more about the science behind the song: Lyrics & info

More Info

I do songwriting residencies in schools.
See song samples and curriculum notes from a first-grade STEM Song residency.
See song samples and curriculum notes from a fifth-grade STEM song residency.
More songs to come soon. I’ll also be posting songs that are created by students in my songwriting workshops.

Filed Under: What's New Tagged With: Science and songwriting, songwriting, STE(A)M, STEM, STEM workshops

STE(A)M Songwriting Workshops

April 28, 2016 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Are you a teacher or librarian who is also interested in STEM/STE(A)M education? I teach STEM and STE(A)M songwriting workshops and residencies.

What happens in a STE(A)M Song Workshop/Residency?

In my workshops, participants learn how to come up with an idea, gather research, write, revise, and record a song based on a STEM-related concept. Participants don’t need to play an instrument or have a background in music theory to enjoy. Sessions are tailored for every age group, from kindergarten to adult.

Above is a sample song done in a residency. The fifth graders in this residency chose the topic of bees. In the workshop they collaborated in researching, brainstorming, writing, and revising the song.

During an optional added workshop, students can learn how to use technology to record and share.

Workshops and residencies are offered in person or via Skype.

Contact me for more info.

Filed Under: Uncategorized, What's New Tagged With: music, STE(A)M, STEAM education, STEAM workshops, STEM, STEM education, STEM workshops

STEM Songwriting Project at Holton

September 4, 2015 by Mary Amato 1 Comment

Holton whale brainstormI met with each of the three fifth grades at Holton-Arms School for an interdisciplinary songwriting residency. The concept was for each class to write a collaborative song based on something they had studied in science; to learn how to collaborate in creating a melody for the song; to rehearse and record the song.

My favorite moments? When I headed to lunch and heard a group of girls singing their song as they walked down the hallway; when an actual bee flew in during the middle of our recording of the bee song; and listening to the girls experiment—and encourage one another to experiment—right up until the last minute. Each class created an engaging song from a unique point of view.

Topics Covered

  • Song structure
  • Brainstorming & Pre-writing
  • Research
  • Hooks
  • Collaboration
  • “Piggy-backing”
  • Writing elements: Point of view, alliteration, assonance, voice, rhythm, rhyme, meaning, symbolism
  • Revision
  • Performance
  • Music engineering (with sound engineer Cletus Kennelly)

The Songs

Listen to their songs!

What We Learned

The girls were good collaborators and were also respectful of one another. I saw many instances of constructive piggy-backing. For example, one girl would say a line, and another would say. “I like that, and what if we added this to it?” I stressed the importance of being open to changing or revising a line to make it stronger and shared how my editor and I work together to improve a piece.

We learned so many useful things on the spot. For example:

  • Sometimes you want to avoid repetition if it seems as if there could be a more interesting or lively substitution. For example, in the crocodile song, we changed “hiding, waiting, watching, watching for my prey” to “hiding, waiting, watching, searching for my prey.”
  • Some words that worked well on paper felt awkward when we sang them, so we consulted our inner thesaurus and brainstormed alternatives. “My instructions for the day” became “My directions for the day.” Directions felt better to sing and had a nice alliterative connection with “day.”
  •  We discussed consistency of point of view and voice. In one instance, we decided that it would be effective to break the rule. In the bee song, one student wrote a verse from the point of view of the queen. We discussed how it wouldn’t make sense to use this as a verse because the other verses are all in the point of view of workers, but everyone liked the idea of the queen talking. “We could use it as a bridge!” a girl suggested. Since the bridge is a part of the song that has a different melody and could have a new voice, we could imagine it working.

Thanks

Thanks to Ms. Van Ells, Ms. McFadden, Mr. Bane, Mr. Howard, Ms. Baker and all the staff and students.

Filed Under: What's New Tagged With: Holton Arms School, Mary Amato, Science songs, STE(A)M, STEM

STEM and STE(A)M in Amato Novels and Chapter Books

November 21, 2014 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Many of my novels and chapter books for young adults and children have science-related themes or subplots. I love an interdisciplinary approach to learning–and to life. My STEM and STE(A)M related fiction:

  • Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook (forensics, chemistry, poetry) Ages 7-11
  • Invisible Lines (mycology, biology, naturalist’s notebook, sketchbooks, visual arts) Ages 10-14
  • Guitar Notes (physics, music, songwriting) Ages 12 and up
  • The Word Eater (scientific method, language arts) Ages 8-12
  • The Naked Mole-Rat Letters (biology, zoology, writing, psychology) Ages 8-14

Find out more about my books and teaching guides.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: fiction with STEAM theme, Fiction with STEM theme, novels with STEM, STE(A)M, Steam fiction, STEAM novel, STEM, STEM novels

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Humor and Heart

I give voice to the funny, sad, messy, and wondrous stories of life, especially the stories of children and young adults. My mission: each book has humor and heart. If you are a teen and/or you're looking for info about my books and music for older readers, please check out my www.thrumsociety.com site.
Learn more about my mission and resources.

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See my appearance list and find out about private lessons via Skype or in person.

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