My middle schoolers love when their nerdy, not cool teacher says something that somehow paints me in a somewhat hipper light in their eyes. I mentioned having seen Jay Z in concert and this totally rocketed me to awesome status in their eyes. Of course they weren't even born when Jay Z was putting out his first album but whatever..still cool.
They love me even more when I use something they deem cool in an actual teaching lesson. I pull out a Katy Perry song or reference Annoying Orange and ding ding ding- they are engaged!!!
Here are a few lessons and ideas that will keep your middle schools entertained and-even better- learning!!!
Using songs for a Socratic Circle:
If you have not tried Socratic Circles or seminars then you are missing out on something HUGE. Socratic circles help your students dive DEEP into a text by making connections, asking thoughtful questions and thinking about multiple perspectives. Here's a quick video to catch you up on how they work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGVR6ZF_2M:
My students had been reading and analyzing a few non-fiction texts about perseverance and overcoming obstacles. P.S-If you need a great place to get non-fiction texts teentribune.com is a great resource.
I paired an article a disabled girl becoming prom queen with the song Katy Perry's roar.
Before their socratic circle I asked the children to come up with questions that somehow connected the two texts. What resulted was an amazing conversation that revolved around metaphor, author's purpose and believing in yourself. These are 11 and 12 year olds talking about literary terms and life issues in the same setting. It was a beautiful thing.
Other songs that are great for Socratic Circles include: Taylor Swift's Mean, Katy Perry's Firework, Michael Jackson's The Man in the Mirror, Black Eyed Peas- Where's the Love, Bette Midler's The Rose, & Rihanna's Umbrella
Any song that you can pair with a non-fiction relevant text is going to give your student's a great text to relate to and understand it's relevance!
Taylor Swift Songs:
OK. I have to admit I'm 33 and I love Tay Tay like any other 12 year old girl. She is such a gifted writer and English teachers can really utilize her songs as a great way to teach similes, metaphor and other types of figurative language. My favorite Taylor Swift song activity is using her song Red as a writing activity.
Step 1- Give your kids the lyrics to Red. Play the song for them and have them pay attention to the colors. Discuss how colors can be tied in with emotions. Discuss mood and what the author feels when writing.
Step 2- Play it again and have them write down what each color word means to them.
Step 3- Put the kids in groups and give them (secretly shhhh don't let the other kids know what color they have) a color. Have them list words that describe this color
Examples- Red- (love, passion, anger, hearts, breaking up) Blue (sad, loneliness, depression, peaceful, calming, losing a puppy)
The kids will have a great time debating what they think each color represents.
Step 4- Once they have finished, have each group share out. Students can add more words to the color. This is a good time to discuss the mood Taylor Swift was trying to convey when she wrote this song.
Step 5-After this, have each child pick a color and write about that color but not including the They can there share whole group or with partners or groups. The fun part is having to guess what color they are writing about!
Finally, I know, I know What Does the Fox Say? is super annoying BUT...if you show this funny Annoying Orange video to teach Personification AND Onomatopoeia you will be a rock star in their eyes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J19z4VTCR9M
I know my kids love it!!
OK OK enough typing..I have to go give two little monkeys a bath!
:)
P
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