Winter break is over for the universities and colleges which means Hannah has come and gone. She enjoyed being home, but was ready to go back, see her friends, and get started on the new semester. Her classes for this semester include three education classes. I asked her what was her first impression of the classes. She responded that she loved them. That may change when she gets lots of homework!
While she was home many music genres could be heard emerging from her room. I would go turn on my car to find the radio turned up to rock concert volume and on a station I didn't know existed! This started me thinking about how important music is in our lives and how it speaks to all of us. We listen to it when we are sad and when we are happy. It reflects our moods. It makes us think. So why not use music in the classroom to teach us to think on a higher level? After all music is poetry.
Many students have problems understanding the deeper meaning of poetry. However, they can tell you what a song is "saying" to them or how it makes them feel.
"Let it Go" from Frozen (I know, you just got it from constantly looping through your head and now I'm suggesting it for a lesson!) comes to mind as a great teaching tool . Figurative language, sensory images, and more threads its way throughout the lyrics.
Let's look at what I mean. For example, examine the first verse. "The snow glows on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen. Ask the students what does this mean? What were the songwriters (Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez) trying to say? I imagine the students can tell you exactly what it means. Continue on and it says " A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I am the Queen. What is a kingdom? What is isolation? How could you be Queen of a kingdom of isolation? What message is the musician trying to convey? Have you ever felt this way? There's even more just in this first stanza. "The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Couldn't keep it in; Heaven knows I tried." What is the simile used in this line? What two things are being compared? What does this mean? In the fourth verse it says "Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway." What is the surface level meaning and what is the deeper meaning? Have the students keep ideas, questions, and responses in a journal. Give them a copy of the song and have them respond to it in the margins. The questions and teaching possibilities are endless. Look how much higher level thinking was used in just the first and fourth verses. Just think how much more learning is in the rest of the song!
Taylor Swift also has a song, "Shake it Off", which can be used to teach similar themes between two poems. The students can create Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast the two songs. ( Beware of questionable language for school when she talks about "the fella over there with the ... hair". Anything used in the classroom ,especially songs, should be previewed for questionable language. If you show a music video of the song, it goes without saying to view it before the kids see it!) What does it mean in the sixth verse "I'm dancing on my own. I make the moves up as I go." Compare those two lines to the line in "Let it Go" that says "A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I am the Queen."
You can also ask the students to find a third poem, story, or song that has the same theme. This will lead to more discussion. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli comes to mind as a book with a similar theme. Can you think of more?
As you can see, music can be a great way to teach poetry and all it has to offer. What other songs can you think of that could be used to teach figurative language, etc. Can you think of poems with similar themes? Be sure to comment on your ideas.
Until next time just keep on singing!
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