Summary
Whether they realize it or not, many students love poetry and use it every day. Introducing poetry in a relevant way can positively engage students in the composition of poetry. In this lesson, students will explore song lyrics as they engage in the analysis and creation of poetry.
Essential Question(s)
How is poetry relevant in life today?
Snapshot
Engage
Students listen and respond to three songs from various genres of music.
Explore
Students explore how the music and/or lyrics impacted their opinion of the music.
Explain
Students explain their understanding of the potency of words, rhythm, and the use of poetic devices.
Extend
Students use their favorite song within the lesson to analyze its lyrical appeal.
Evaluate
Students reflect on their understanding of poetry by creating their own.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Quick Write handout (one per student, attached)
I Think, We Think handout (one per student, attached)
"Blowin' In The Wind" Lyrics (one per student, attached)
'Blowin' In The Wind' Still Asks The Hard Questions article (optional; linked; one per student)
Notebook Paper (one per student)
Highlighters (blue, green, yellow, pink) (one of each color per student)
Poetry Cafe Sample Guidelines (optional, attached)
A sound system to play the music
Engage
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Display slide 3 and share the essential questions with your students: How is poetry relevant in life today?
Display slide 4. To begin this lesson, ask the class for a show of hands as to who listens to music regularly. (Likely, many or most students will raise their hands.) Engage in a brief discussion about why students listen to music. List student responses on slide 4. Use student conversations as a segue into the Engage activity.
Display slide 5 and share the lesson objectives with your students:
Students will explore song lyrics.
Students will analyze poetry recognizing poetic devices and format.
Students will write poetry using poetic devices and format.
Display slide 6 and pass out the Quick Write handout to each student. Students should listen to the three songs of different genres as they are played aloud. Give students about two minutes to listen to each song, and instruct them to use the Quick Write strategy and write about what they feel or notice about the songs. Instruct them to write the entire time that the song plays. There is no right or wrong in this activity. Students should be given the freedom to write creatively without restriction. This allows autonomy in their selective writing processes.
Display slide 7 and play Symphony No. 9 - Beethoven.
Display slide 8 and play The Rolling Stones - Just Like A Rolling Stone.
Display slide 9 and play Pharrell Williams - Happy.
Explore
Display slide 10 and introduce the Categorical Highlighting instructional strategy. In this portion of the lesson, students explore how the music and/or words impact their opinion of the music. Pass out a pink, blue, green, and yellow highlighter to each student. Instruct the students to look at what they wrote during the songs and see which words or phrases answer the following questions:
What does it sound like?
What emotions does it evoke? Why?
What does it make you think of? Why?
(Optional question) Does it bring back any memories? If so, what?
Ask students to think about the questions and then highlight any answers to each question.
Display slide 11. Put students into groups of two. Inform students they are using the Think, Pair, Share strategy. Now that they have marked their answers, they will work with a partner to discuss their commonalities, differences, varying emotional connotations, and how the words influenced their choices. Start the 10-minute timer on the slide and provide students time to discuss with their partners.
After allowing students to share with their partners, facilitate a class discussion to gather understanding about student responses. Consider not only differences but also similarities in their answers.
Bring this activity back to the first discussion. Did the words or the music influence students' responses? Some students might discuss how the music itself, rather than the words, impacted their emotions, whereas other students might acknowledge the influence of the words on their understanding of the song.
Explain
Display slide 12. Now that students have engaged and explored music and poetry on their own, you can explain the force behind the words. Using the lyrics to "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan, guide students toward an understanding of the words.
Give each student a copy of the attached Blowin' in the Wind handout and display the lyrics on slide 12 for the group to see.
Allow students to read the lyrics, and then engage them in an I Think/We Think activity to find the meaning behind the words.
Display slide 13 and pass out the attached I Think/We Think handout to each student.
Using the following questions, have students fill in their "I Think" column to explain the poet's usage of words, poetic devices, and rhythm.
What does the poet mean when he says "the answer is blowin' in the wind"?
What does the use of repetition do for the reader?
What is the overall message of the poem?
Once students have finished the “I Think” section of the handout, put students in groups of two. Now, have students take part in the "We Think" portion of the activity. Have them discuss their answers with their partners and add any combined thought to the “We Think” section of the handout. This gives students the opportunity to justify their answers to the questions as they share with their partner or group.
Discuss the students' answers and then display slide 14. Tie the significance of the song into the lesson as found in the linked article 'Blowin' in the Wind' Still Asks the Hard Questions. You can pull up the article digitally, pass out a copy to each student, or select the audio button to play a 10-minute reading of the article.
Extend
Display slide 15 and inform your students that they are going to research their own songs. Pass out a sheet of notebook paper and have students write down the lyrics to their favorite songs. While they are writing, allow them to use the song's format to engage in understanding about the poetic form. Songs are written very differently than formal writing. Refer to the meter and rhyme scheme specifically. Perhaps include a focus on the misuse or lack of punctuation in the lyrics to show the freedom that poetry and songs allow in writing.
Next, students should identify the various poetic devices used by the songwriter. Have students label their songs with poetic devices, noting every time they are used. Song lyrics typically possess the following: rhyme, repetition, assonance, consonance, alliteration, imagery, and/or rhythm.
Display slide 17 and revisit the essential question: How is poetry relevant today? Students might consider the connection between song lyrics and poetry and discuss the relevance to their own lives.
Evaluate
Display slide 18 and inform your students that they should now construct a poem with a format similar to that of their favorite songs. They can follow the same rhythm or rhyme scheme as the song to help them along.
Likewise, they must use the literary devices that the songwriter did in their favorite song, though not necessarily in the same places.
Here's the twist: Students must choose one of their responses to the pre-writing activity (the listening to the three songs quick write) as their subject matter for their new poems. This requirement allows them to tie into that first activity and also provides a launching pad for their ideas.
A great way to keep students engaged while giving you the opportunity to evaluate their poetry is to allow students to participate in a "Poetry Cafe" where they read aloud their original poems on slide 19. Refer to the attached Poetry Cafe attachment for an example of guidelines for this activity.
Resources
AnimeOracle. (2014, January 12). Pharrell Williams - Happy (Lyrics) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv-pYB0Qw9A
Bennet, Evan. (2010, December 22). Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3217H8JppI&t=2s
K20 Center. (n.d.). Categorical highlighting. Strategies.https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/192
K20 Center. (n.d.). I think / we think. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/141
K20 Center. (n.d.). K20 timer. [Web app].https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gy-1Z2Sa-c&list=PL-aUhEQeaZXLMF3fItNDxiuSkEr0pq0c2&index=12
K20 Center. (n.d.). Metaphorical thinking. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/146
K20 Center. (n.d.). Quick write. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1127
K20 Center. (n.d.). Think-pair-share. Strategies.https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139
Naylor, B. (2000). 'Blowin' in the wind' still asks the hard questions. NPR. http://www.npr.org/2000/10/21/1112840/blowin-in-the-wind
YouTube. (n.d.-b). The Rolling Stones - Just Like a Rolling Stone. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZHicx2TLrI