Teacher's Guide:

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Poems

Comparing three songs with symbolic meanings about the past, present and future

This lesson was created by Northern Nevada Writing Project Consultant Rob Stone. If you're interested in using music in the classroom, you can join Rob's Music Inspires Writing! Ning.

This writing prompt inspired by

"Yesterday" originally sung by the Beatles, as well as two other songs.

Click here to do a Google search for the lyrics.

Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources:

Pre-step…before sharing the song:  List the concepts yesterday, today and tomorrow on the board or have the students write them down. As a class or in small groups quickly brainstorm words associated with each concept (i.e. tomorrow=goals, future, hope).

Talk about how each of the three words symbolically represents lots of bigger ideas and how the past, present and future are rich areas to explore human thoughts, feelings and experiences. See if the class can list 3-5 movies, books, children’s stories, historical events, songs, etc. that convey a message about the past, present or future. (i.e. Dead Poet’s Society - “Seize the Day, Carpe Diem”)

Step one…sharing the song and other inspiring media:  Play the three songs:

• “Yesterday” by the Beatles (click here for a lyrics search)
• “Today” by the Smashing Pumpkins (click here for a lyrics search)
• and “Tomorrow”, from the Annie Soundtrack (click here for a lyrics search)

Guide the students through filling out this graphic organizer. They will be exploring the symbolism used in each song and comparing it to their own ideas and experiences. Help them find effective idea development and word choice in each song since those are the focus and support traits for this lesson.

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 y ou might prompt your students to talk about each model's word choice as well.

• Four fourth graders--Citalli, Derek, Vanessa, and Genaro--share their poems.
• Three seventh graders--Justin, Alyssa, and Thomas--share their poems.
• Four tenth graders--Keon, Lizette, Jennica, and Janell--share their poems.
• Two eleventh graders--Jordan and Marianna--share their poems.

Step three…thinking, talking, and pre-writing:  Once the students have interacted with the three concepts by exploring their own ideas and experiences as well as those represented in the songs, they will find a different perspective to represent in an original piece of writing. Have them choose a character from the novel you are reading, a historical figure you are studying or another applicable person depending on your discipline. The only guideline is that it is someone that has something important to say about their own past, present and future. Students will be trying to capture their perspective and relate it to the symbolic meanings discussed so far.

From Rob Stone: "I think great options come from people in transition (i.e. coming of age, pursuing a dream, facing a setback or challenge, etc.) Some ideas might include: George at the end of Of Mice and Men, Abraham Lincoln, Tom Joad in Grapes of Wrath, Julius Caesar as his life bleeds out of him, Atticus Finch just after the verdict is read, Macbeth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Romeo and Juliet, Call of the Wild, Diary of Anne Frank, the Founding Fathers, etc., etc., etc. The list is virtually endless as so much of history and literature reflects upon concepts like…learning from the past, seizing the present, embracing hope and change from the future. Something you are doing right now in your class applies to this lesson!"

Students can write about the perspective of their character using a variety of formats. Browse the "interactive button” on the student instructions page and see if there are any formats that you might recommend for your students.

To promote deeper thinking about the trait of idea development as they write, you might have your students use this idea development drafting sheet, which requires them to think specifically about idea development qualities before, during, and after writing.

Step four (revising with specific trait language):   To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach WritingFix's Revision and Response Post-Its to your students' drafts.  Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5."   Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings.  For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.

• Sheet of 6 Idea Development Post-It Notes
• Sheet of 6 Word Choice Post-It Notes

Step six (publishing for the portfolio): The goal of most lessons posted at WritingFix is that students end up with a piece of writing they like, and that their writing was taken through all steps of the writing process. After revising, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block.  The writing started with this lesson might become even more polished for final placement in the portfolio, or the big ideas being written about here might transform into a completely different piece of writing. Most likely, your students will enjoy creating an illustration for this writing as they ready to place final drafts in their portfolios.

Interested in publishing student work on-line? You might earn a free classroom resource from the NNWP! We invite teachers to teach this lesson completely, then share up to three of their students' best revised and edited samples at our ning's Publish Student Writers group. Fifty teachers a year who do this will receive a complimentary copy of one of the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Print Guides.

To submit student samples for this page's lesson, click here. You won't be able to post unless you are a verified member of this site's Writing Lesson of the Month ning.

Learn more about The Beatles, The Smashing Pumpkins or the Musical Annie by clicking on their names!