Sample Syllabus & Lesson Plans

Oct 13

Written By Ben Houghton

Syllabus Submission Portal 1

Music Technology and Social Justice Visual Art

Instructor: Benjamin Houghton

Personal Pronouns: He/She/They

To be addressed as: Mr. Ben or Teacher Ben

Email: ben@broadwayforartsed.org

Office Hours: TBA

Office Location: 336 W 37th Street #500 NY NY 10018

Personal Zoom Room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84713582003

Additional Guest Instructors (Broadway Buddies)

Nasia Thomas (Last 5 Years, SiX, Caroline or Change)
Jenny Mollet (Ragtime, SiX, Color Purple)
Linedy Genao (The Great Gatsby, Dear Evan Hansen, Bad Cinderella)
Joshua Kobak (RENT, Tarzan, American Idiot)
Zurin Villaneuva (Tina, Mean Girls)
Brennyn Lark (Les Miserables, SiX)
Nicole Lambert (SiX)

Course meeting time and location:

Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, Room 217

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: 9:25-10:10AM

Spring 2026

Course Description

This interdisciplinary course integrates an English Language Learners (ELL) class and a Social Justice Visual Art class to support approximately 20 high school students in exploring storytelling as a powerful tool for self-expression and social engagement. Through hands-on, collaborative learning, students will examine how stories can be communicated beyond spoken and written language using visual and performing arts practices. Areas of focus include set design, sound design, lighting design, music technology, and installation art. Guided by members of the Broadway community, students will participate in whole-group instruction, small-group collaboration, and individualized mentorship as they develop creative skills and discover their personal voices. Emphasis is placed on social justice themes around school and cultural identity, encouraging students to reflect on their experiences and perspectives while engaging critically with their school community. Throughout the course, students will work toward a culminating project: the design and creation of a site-specific art installation for and relevant to their school community. This final project will synthesize new technologies, artistic techniques, storytelling strategies, and collaborative processes developed over the term.

Conceptual Framework & Course Purpose

This course exists to generate the following long term outcomes: to help underserved and/or marginalized young people become more positively engaged in their school and community, more able to effectively identify and communicate their assets/aspirations/boundaries, more able to self-motivate, more able to identify healthy environments and relationships, and to have a more optimistic outlook on their future (college & career). In order to achieve that, outputs center opportunities for students to engage in project-based and service-based learning, motivating them with public performances and community events and giving them a place to showcase the skills they’ve developed and an opportunity to see the positive impact of their actions and hard work. To ensure projects are generative and impactful experiences, inputs include lesson plans, activities, syllabi, and a pedagogical approach based on the NYC DOE Blueprints for Learning in the Arts, consistency of programming, and a cumulative scope and sequence to promote technical and social-emotional skill development led by teaching artists and members of the Broadway community. Effective skill development in young people who have experienced marginalization and/or trauma requires the inputs of a culturally responsive and decolonized approach to classroom management that centers the needs of “who” is in the classroom just as much as “what” is being taught in the curriculum. The course must begin with a “who unit” (diagnostic assessment) that identifies the unique needs of the classroom and allows instructors to scaffold responsive course-work that aligns with the course description and curriculum. Optimal and sustainable impact occurs not only when a “who unit” has been conducted in a classroom, but when school partners have communicated their short and long term goals, historical painpoints, and capacity for alignment. Trust building with students and between educational partners is an iterative, collaborative process that takes place over many years.

Learning Objectives of the Course

Having successfully completed this course, the student will be able to:

Increase their ability as imaginative and analytical artists while continuing to participate as collaborative ensemble members

Maintain consistent focus and concentration
Respond imaginatively and expressively to imaginary and scripted circumstances
Make inferences and connections, using research and analysis to inform an understanding of artistic work

Demonstrate understanding of social and self awareness

Contribute positively and responsibly to ensemble efforts
Demonstrate sensitivity to the emotional and physical safety of self and others
Sustain consistent focus on and commitment to group activities and goals

Demonstrate the ability to reflect on and think critically about their work

Receive, respond to, elaborate on and incorporate directions
Communicate clearly and respectfully with others

Demonstrate conceptual understanding, technical skills, creative application, and professional practices for theatrical audio, lighting, and set design

Define key terminology
Understand the role in storytelling across theater, film, and interactive media
Operate basic equipment
Design and implement sets, soundscapes, and lighting plots

Partner Competency Areas
(to be completed by Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law staff)

Social Justice Visual Art Competency Areas
English Language Learner Competency Areas
School-wide Competency Areas

LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Curriculum

This course is partially funded by the NYC Department of Education’s LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Curriculum initiative, part of the DOE’s effort to support the needs of LGBTQIA+ youth and address the intersectionality of race, sexual orientation and gender identity through DOE’s general curriculum and integration into literacy and history classes.

Texts

There are no textbooks or required reading materials for this course, however, required readings may be introduced throughout the semester as the curriculum is developed collaboratively and constructively with student input.

Grades
(to be completed by Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law staff)

Grades will be awarded based on each partner DOE teacher’s individual grading policy and should be reflective of students’ understanding of subject matter, behavior, and attendance.

Final Project: Immersive Dynamic-Library

Over the course of four months, students will collaborate with Broadway performers to design and create an immersive, interactive installation called a Dynamic-Library. Students will construct 4–6 six-foot-tall bookshelves on wheels, with independently rotating shelves. Each bookshelf and its spines will be designed and painted to form cohesive visual images, while the interiors of the books will feature original or curated poetry, secret compartments, lights, or music triggered by interaction.

Students will also design a multi-hour soundscape using music technology tools such as GarageBand, Soundtrap, Sumo, CreateAbility, and QLab, and will learn to operate simple lighting rigs to enhance the visual and auditory experience.

Working collaboratively, students will develop a unifying theme for the library that reflects their identities, their school community, and social justice issues important to them. The final installation will showcase students’ creative, technical, and collaborative skills in storytelling, visual design, music, and immersive theater.

Students will display the library in a high-traffic area for the school community to interact with throughout the month of May.

GUIDING & REFLECTION RUBRIC
(Teacher-assessment, peer-assessment, self-assessment)

Area

⭐ 4 – Awesome

👍 3 – Great

⚡ 2 – Getting There

❗ 1 – Needs Work

Creativity & Idea

Idea is super original; visuals, poetry, sound, and interaction all connect

Clear idea; shows creativity

Idea exists but needs more development

Idea is unclear or not creative yet

Technical Skills

Shelves, rotation, sound, lights work perfectly; neat and polished

Most parts work; looks good

Some parts need fixing or better craftsmanship

Many parts don’t work; needs improvement

Sound & Music

Immersive, polished, perfectly fits theme; tech used confidently

Sound fits and enhances project

Basic sound; could connect more to theme

Sound missing or doesn’t fit

Theme & Meaning

Strong connection to identity, school, or social justice; meaningful to viewers

Theme is clear and relevant

Theme somewhat clear but needs work

Theme is unclear or missing

Teamwork & Process

Excellent collaboration, problem-solving, reflection

Worked well with team; shared ideas

Tried to work with team; could improve communication

Minimal teamwork or collaboration

Audience & Presentation

Super engaging; interactive and fun for viewers

Clear and engaging for audience

Somewhat engaging; needs clarity or interaction

Hard for audience to understand; not engaging

Engagement/Attendance

Active participation is essential for success in this course. Students are expected to engage fully in all class activities, including collaborative projects, hands-on exercises, discussions, and individual work.

Modifications & Support: Reasonable accommodations or modifications can be provided upon request to support students’ full participation. Please communicate any needs to the instructor.
Behavior Expectations: Students who refuse to participate in class activities or who display disruptive or disrespectful behavior may be referred for disciplinary action in accordance with school policies.

Care Form/Incident Reporting

Students who feel that they have been harassed or discriminated against, or who witness any harassment or discrimination, should immediately report such conduct via the Incident Report form as close to the date of incident as possible. Do not allow an inappropriate situation to continue by not reporting it, regardless of who is creating the situation. No one is exempt from the prohibitions in this policy. In response to every complaint, the school will conduct an investigation which may involve interviewing witnesses if warranted and, if improper conduct is found, take appropriate corrective action.

Class Schedule

WEEK 1: Jan 27, 29, 30 | Introduction

WEEK 2: Feb 3, 5, 6 | Social Change Ecosystem Roles

WEEK 3: Feb 10, 12, 13 | Social Change Ecosystem Roles

WEEK 4: Feb 24, 26, 27 | "Painting" With Sound - CreateAbility

WEEK 5: Mar 3, 5, 6 | "Painting" With Sound - Loudly

WEEK 6: Mar 10, 12, 13 | "Painting" With Sound - Sumo

WEEK 7: Mar 17, 19, 20 | "Painting" With Sound - qLab

WEEK 8: Mar 24, 26, 27 | "Painting" With Light

WEEK 9: Mar 30 (Monday), 31 | "Painting" With Light

WEEK 10: April 14, 16, 17 | Construction

WEEK 11: April 21, 23, 24 | Construction

WEEK 12: Apr 28, 30, May 1 | Installation & Presentation

*this syllabus was modeled after Dr. Drew X Coles’ Course Syllabus A&HM 4029 - Intro to New Technologies in Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Portions of this syllabus were organized with assistance from artificial intelligence.

Lesson Plan: Composing soundscapes using AI

Course: Music Technology and Social Justice Visual Art

Duration: 45 minutes

Objectives:

By the end of this lessons, students will be able to:

Use Suno.com to create AI-generated music and soundscapes
Understand and experiment with different types of inputs to describe song style, mood, and instrumentation.
Download AI-generated songs for use in the final project
Add the song to a communal drive for organization with a descriptive title and brief summary that other project members could understand

Materials Needed:

iPads
Shared class account for Suno.com
Headphones & 5-way splitters

Lesson Outline

Do Now

Showing the same clip of a movie several times with different underscoring
Discussion: how does the music and sound design affect the storytelling?
Students create a list of sound/style descriptors on the board for later use

Technology Protocol

“Load-In” Setting up technology stations
Using technology with care
“Load-out” Break-down policies & storage

Instructor Demo

How to navigate to Suno.com and log-in
How to add lyrics
How to describe the sound/style
Discussion: did your listening perception of the song match the descriptors? How might we update the descriptors to get a better product?

Student Exploration

Brainstorm words about how you are feeling today
Ask chatGPT to turn it into song lyrics (or translate them into your first language)
Using sound/style descriptors based on how you are feeling towards school today, create a song using Suno.com
Share your pieces with the rest of the class

Organization

Download and name your file
Add to a shared GoogleDrive and add the descriptors used to create the songs in the file details>description field

Reflection

How were the pieces similar, how were they different?
If you were to take away the lyrics, would the same meaning come across?
What images/stories would fit with the song you just made?

Lesson Plan: Farming SFX