Students explore how music can carry feelings, stories, and ideas by learning basic ʻukulele skills and writing lyrics that matter to them. Through a launch that invites them to share a song they love and describe its effect, they begin investigating how chords, rhythm, and words work together to express meaning. Working with Lōkahi: The Ukulele Collective, the class creates and refines an original song or verse, then performs it and submits the class song to a lyric writing competition for an authentic audience. This project builds artistic creation, writing, collaboration, reflection, and communication through a short, hands-on process where every student contributes.

Students will identify the parts of the ʻukulele, understand strings and keys, and apply basic chords, tabs, rhythm, and beat to play simple musical patterns. They will generate, draft, revise, and complete original lyrics or a new verse that clearly communicates ideas and feelings, using descriptive details and clear sequence. Students will collaborate with classmates and Lōkahi: The Ukulele Collective to combine words, chords, and rhythm into a class song, give and use feedback, and reflect on how their musical choices connect to their lives and community. They will prepare and perform the finished piece and submit the class song to the lyric writing competition as a public sharing of their work.

Students will create chord and rhythm practice pieces, lyric notebooks with brainstorms and drafts, and short group jam recordings as they learn the parts of the ʻukulele, strings and keys, chords and tabs, and steady beat. In small groups, they will develop and revise verses and melodies with feedback from classmates, the teacher, and Lōkahi: The Ukulele Collective. By the end, the class will produce an original song or a new original verse to an existing song, perform it for an audience, and submit the class song to the lyric writing competition. Students will also share a brief artist reflection explaining how their musical and writing choices express their ideas and feelings.

Open with a listening circle using the prompt, “Share a song. Why do you like it? How does it make you feel?” and chart students’ ideas about lyrics, rhythm, and mood. Invite a teaching artist from Lōkahi: The Ukulele Collective to perform a short song on ʻukulele, then let students identify the instrument’s parts, notice the beat, and wonder how chords and words work together. End with the challenge: over the next several weeks, the class will create and perform an original song or new verse and submit their lyrics to a competition, guided by the question, “How can we combine chords, rhythm, and words to create a song that expresses our ideas?”

Students can host a short live performance for families, classmates, and Lōkahi: The Ukulele Collective where they introduce their song, explain how they used chords, rhythm, and lyrics, and perform their original piece or new verse. After the performance, display lyric sheets with student reflections about the message of the song and what they learned about the parts of the ʻukulele, chords, tabs, beat, and teamwork. As a culminating public share, record the class performance and submit the class song to the lyric writing competition. This gives students an authentic audience and a clear celebration of both their music creation and writing.