Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources:
Background information: Switchfoot is a very popular teenage band. My students were very excited that I knew who this group was and that I was playing it in class.
Pre-step…before sharing the song: The day before this poetry lesson, I completed Rob Stone’s iPod lesson called “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” We discussed the concept of “time” and what it means to them (as well as characters in the book we just finished). I ask students to bring in lyrics to one of their favorite songs for tomorrow.
The next day, I ask them to highlight any words or expressions they like from their song. I ask questions like: What do these lines make you feel? Why do you like it? What’s the point of the song? What message is the artist trying to express? Do you see any metaphors in your songs? We discuss the connection between poets and song writers.
My students have been working on both Word Choice & Idea Development…this lesson extends those two traits and drives this lesson.
Step one…sharing the song and other inspiring media: I hand out the three-page graphic organizer, and I briefly tell them to look over the questions and think about them during the song. I then play “Gone” by Switchfoot. The lyrics are on the graphic organizer. I ask them to highlight words or phrase that strike them. After they have listened to the song, I give them about 3-5 minutes to finish filling out the first side of the graphic organizer. We then discuss the questions and talk about why they highlighted certain words.
I then have a student read the poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” written by Robert Herrick. I read the questions on the graphic organizer and tell them to think about them while we watch a clip from Dead Poet’s Society (it is the second scene, or two clicks forward in the movie. It is when Robin Williams has them read “To the Virgins…” while standing in the foyer). After the clip, I give them a few minutes to answer the questions and think. We share and discuss what the author was trying to say.
Step two…introducing student models of writing: In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups will certainly talk about the idea development, since it's the focus of the lesson, but you might prompt your students to talk about each model's word choice as well.
- Because this is a new lesson at WritingFix, we're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! Help us get some, and we'll send you a free resource for your classroom! Visit our student samples page for information.
Step three…thinking, talking, and pre-writing: On the third page of the graphic organizer, I ask them to think about their own philosophy on life and write it in one sentence. Then I walk them though the prewrite section of the graphic organizer. I encourage them to steal any words or expressions from their favorite song/s, or from “Gone,” or the poem. We focus on the metaphors from both songs. We talk about creating their own metaphors and using their own personal language. The graphic organizer leads them into composition.
They need to create a rough draft poem or song lyrics about their own personal belief about time and life. The focus is on word choice and finding the “right” words to convey their meaning. To encourage them to think about idea development, you might have your students compose their poems on this two-page drafting worksheet.
Sidenote from Amie —This could easily be used with characters from a book. You could have students write from a character’s perspective about time and life.
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