COAL GROVE – Seventh-grader Hope Hall clicked the mouse and the next image appeared on the screen.

Friday, February 25, 2000

COAL GROVE – Seventh-grader Hope Hall clicked the mouse and the next image appeared on the screen.

"How music damages our hearing," it read.

A picture of an ear’s anatomy glowed below the title, showing how loud noises damage tiny hairs that transmit audio signals.

A few clicks later, the screen gave a description of how music can be used as a tool to memorize things, and 13 students broke into a song about the Bill of Rights – to the tune of "YMCA."

The entire Dawson-Bryant Middle School seventh grade class watched intently as more presentations followed.

After all, they had a hand in it.

"The whole purpose when I thought about this in the summer was to find some way to bring all the teachers together into one activity," teacher Clara Ezell said.

In the beginning, students were given the question, "How does music affect our lives?"

They broke into groups, came up with questions to research and answer.

Students went to health and science classes to study the workings of the ear, musical instruments and sound technology. They went to math class to learn about surveys and wrote up the statistics, complete with graphs. English classes used the students’ research to write paragraphs of information. History class researched the Bill of Rights and linked it to music.

Every student had the chance to work with each teacher as subjects crossed across curriculum boundaries – writing in math class, science in English class, for example, Mrs. Ezell said.

Then, another group of students came together to finalize the presentation on a computer using Power Point, a powerful software tool used by big business.

"It was difficult, but I learned a lot," Miss Hall said.

Whatever career she chooses later, she will likely use a computer or software like Power Point, she added.

Students presented all their data – from statistics that show 54 percent of the class prefers rock music to the cost of CDs, which is how music affects parents’ lives, they said.

Another student downloaded a MIDI file, or computer music file, from the Internet, then used sound editing software to change it for use with the Bill of Rights song.

Gathered around Mrs. Ezell’s laptop computer afterward, the presentation setup crew smiled about their accomplishment.

More was learned just by doing research, probably because it was more fun that sitting in classes, they said.

Mrs. Ezell agreed, adding that a project that takes in every curriculum and is fun helps students learn and teachers teach.

The entire presentation showcased Projected Based Learning, or PBL, and it would be useful to use the concept in the future, she said.

"I’d like to see one report or project, for example, and each class teaches a portion," she said.