S13: E253 Calligram Project

I love lessons that incorporate other fine arts.  I came across calligrams and thought they were so cool.  This is a great end of year lesson or one that works really well for a sub plan.  For access to this lesson plan, head to www.jessicagrant.org and go to the shop!

Calligrams are a word or part of a text where the design and layout of the letters or words create a visual image that relates to the word themselves.  They can be created using one phrase, individual words, song lyrics, poems, or specific text.  You can create a calligram in a circle, as a portrait of the composer or artist, in the shape of something specific related to the text or as an entire artistic drawing of the people, places and things talked about in the lyrics.  These can be simplistic or detailed.  You can specify how you want students to create their calligrams or you can give them a few options for how they want to make them.

Ideas for using calligrams in the music classroom:

Labeling parts of an instrument

Ukulele - the words for each part are repeated in the location of each part of the instrument.  Example// Students might write fret 1, fret 2, fret 3… etc along each fret of the fretboard.  They might draw a circle using the text “sound hole” where the sound hole is located.  They might write the word “ukulele” repeatedly around the outside of the instrument.

Song lyrics

This is how I had my students create calligrams.  They were given three song lyric options.  I chose the options so that I knew the songs were clean and were also pieces that painted a picture of something within the words.  Students chose to create a calligram using the song lyrics.  There was a simple rubric provided for each calligram. I asked them to highlight the nouns within the song to help them think about the shapes that could be created with the text.  They designed a general outline (draft) using line outlines and then writing text on top of the lines.  This helps with spatial awareness and gives them a chance to practice how they want to fit the text into the space. Then students revise it on a second piece of paper to create their final version.

Other options for using song lyrics:  You could have students use song lyrics from a piece they’re learning in class - possibly even just a verse or chorus.  This would help in memorizing pieces and creating a visual of the piece.  Include one of the calligrams in your music program for a concert, as a visual onstage or as a cover to the program.  You could also post pictures of each calligram on a bulletin board in your classroom or hallway.

Artist Song Titles

Provide students with 3 musical artist options.  Students look up song titles by their artist.  They use the song titles as the text of their calligram to create their visual.

Musical symbols

Draw musical symbols using the text of the symbol.  Example// treble clef drawn with the word “treble clef” and each line created from the assigned pitch Example// Bottom line of the treble clef would be ‘E’ so the entire line would be created from the letter E repeating

The beauty of calligrams is that there is a nice structure for what students are creating, but there are also a few options so that students have choice within the structure.  You might create your own calligram using lyrics for students to get a visual of how the text can be turned into a picture.  I hope you enjoy having your students create calligrams!