Teacher Talk Tuesday: Poetry

I don't have any pictures to go along with our "Soundtrack of My Life" project, but I figure I can talk about it without them. We started out by having a conversation in class about the similarities/differences of song lyrics and poetry. This led to discussing meaning, emotion, rhythm, etc.

I'm a huge advocate of having kids do things in class that relate to them personally. I think this helps ALL students, not just kids who receive services, connect to the content more easily. Plus, who doesn't want to do something creative rather than writing an essay? With that in mind, I had my lab kids make personal soundtracks.  Here were the directions they had:

Here's What To Do

1.   Begin this project by brainstorming 10 major events in your lives. They can be events that have happened already, or events that WILL happen in the future.You can work with others in a group or individually to build a list of any events that hold personal significance. Here are some possible suggestions:

1. First day of school (e.g., preschool, kindergarten, first grade, middle school, high school)
2. A special family trip or vacation
3. A family event or milestone
4. A personal achievement (e.g., first place in a competition)
5. A personal loss

2.   Next to each event, write a short description or related key words.

3.   Record all 10 of your events on your provided index cards.

4.   Using those events, think about the events described and to connect songs to these events. For example, someone might associate a love song with a family member's wedding ceremony.

5.   Be sure to analyze lyrics to assure that song selections are appropriate for all audiences.  You should avoid using music that involves profanity or derogatory remarks towards any race, gender, sexual orientation and/or religious affiliation.

6.   Now, write about why your selected music connects to that particular event in your life. Think of this information as similar to liner notes that might accompany a CD and provide background information on the songs.

7.   Create your own CD cover. You may also add illustrations and pictures to help share your life events in the CD booklets.

8.   If desired, you can burn their own CD with your selected music on them.

I like projects like this because I can create my own version of the assignment, and the kids buy in!

Here are the songs that I had on my list:

1. High School Prom      "Time of My Life" - Bill Medley

2. Attack on Black Culture Center     "Glory" - John Legend, Common

3. College Graduation     "Graduation Day" - The Beach Boys

4. Chiefs Home Opener     "All I Do Is Win" - DJ Khaled

5. Shaving My Head     "Girl On Fire" - Alicia Keys

6. Wedding Day     "All of Me" - John Legend

7. Thesis Defense Day     "I Made It" - Kevin Rudolf

8. First House     "Looking Out My Back Door" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

9. First Child     "My Wish" - Rascal Flatts

10. Funeral     "Satisfied Mind" - Jeff Buckley

This was a fun change of pace dealing with poetry because the kids were writing a lot of poems in our regular English class.

Do you have any fun tips or tricks for teaching poetry??