Determining a Mother's Love Through Music and Poetry

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

9

Overview

This activity is designed to allow students to write a comparison-contrast essay comparing song lyrics dealing with a mother's love.

This activity was developed as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
After/Explain/Elaborate
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 9

ELA21.9.R5

Utilize a writing process which includes planning, revising, editing/peer-editing, and rewriting to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing for a specific purpose and audience.

UP:ELA21.9.R5

Vocabulary

  • Writing process
  • Plan
  • Revise
  • Edit
  • Peer-edit
  • Rewrite
  • Focused
  • Organized
  • Coherent
  • Purpose
  • Audience

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The writing process steps are to plan, revise, edit, and rewrite.
  • Editing can be completed by the writer or by a peer.
  • Peer-editing skills.
  • Completed writing projects should be focused, organized, and coherent, and written for a specific purpose and intended audience.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Plan, revise, edit, and rewrite to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing.
  • Compose a writing piece for a specific purpose and intended audience.
  • Engage in the peer-editing process.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Writing is a process that requires multiple drafts, edits, and versions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 9

ELA21.9.6

Compare and/or contrast the perspectives in a variety of fiction, nonfiction, informational, digital, and multimodal texts produced from diverse historical, cultural, and global points of view, not limited to the grade-level literary focus.

UP:ELA21.9.6

Vocabulary

  • Fiction texts
  • Nonfiction texts
  • Perspectives
  • Informational texts
  • Digital texts
  • Multimodal texts
  • Historical viewpoints
  • Cultural viewpoints
  • Global viewpoints

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Strategies to identify the perspective of fiction, nonfiction, informational, digital, and multimodal texts.
  • Strategies to identify the historical, cultural, and global viewpoints of a variety of texts.
  • Methods to compare and contrast texts.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Compare and contrast perspectives in fiction, nonfiction, informational, digital, and multimodal texts.
  • Compare and contrast diverse historical, cultural, and global viewpoints demonstrated in a variety of texts.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The texts they read will have a variety of historical, cultural, and global viewpoints, which offer a multitude of perspectives on different topics.
  • Similar and different ideas and themes can be presented in a variety of textual formats.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 9

ELA21.9.9

Compose both short and extended narrative, informative/explanatory, and argumentative writings that are clear and coherent, use an appropriate command of language, and demonstrate development, organization, style, and tone that are relevant to task, purpose, and audience.

UP:ELA21.9.9

Vocabulary

  • Short writings
  • Extended writings
  • Narrative writing
  • Argumentative writing
  • Informative/explanatory writing
  • Writing development
  • Writing organization
  • Style
  • Tone
  • Task
  • Purpose
  • Audience
  • Command of language

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Writing pieces can be short, such as a paragraph, or extended, such as constructed responses and essays.
  • A narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story.
  • The purpose of argumentative writing is to convince the reader to take action or adopt a particular position.
  • Informative or explanatory text is a piece of writing that provides factual information that was gathered from multiple research sources.
  • The development, organization, style, and tone of writing will change depending on the writing task, the purpose of the writing, and the intended audience.
  • Formal academic writing should demonstrate an appropriate command of language.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Compose short and extended clear, coherent narrative, argument, and informative/explanatory writings.
  • Identify the writing task, the purpose of writing, and the intended audience in order to appropriately adapt the development, organization, style, and tone of the writing.
  • Demonstrate command of the written language.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There are different genres of writing that serve various purposes.
  • The writing task, purpose, and audience should be considered in the development, organization, style, and tone of the writing.
  • Formal academic writing should display their command of the English language.

Learning Objectives

Following this activity students will be able to:

1. listen/read poems and songs to determine the themes of each work.

2. write a comparison/contrast essay analyzing the central theme of two songs.

3. analyze two or more text to determine the theme of each.

4. Participate in the writing process by doing the following:

     a. Brainstorm

     b. Pre-write

     c. Write the rough draft

     d. Participate in the peer editing process

     e. Type/write the final draft.

Activity Details

To begin this activity students will need to complete an anticipation guide, How Does Music Affect You. This activity begins after students read the poems "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes and "How Do I Spell Father" by Marshall Davis Jones. Students will also listen to two or more songs that have a similar theme or message as the poems read in class. The songs that could be used for this activity are "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men and "Sadie" by The Spinners (I also attached a copy of the lyrics for each song: A Song for Mama Lyrics and Sadie Lyrics). After thorough class discussions dedicated to analyzing each work to determine the central message or theme, students will proceed to the writing component of this activity. Students will locate textual evidence demonstrating similarities and differences between the two works read and/or listened to in class. They will use a Comparison/Contrast Essay Organizer to chart and explain their findings. After successfully completing the comparison/contrast graphic organizer, students will then write their rough drafts. Next, students will be placed in groups of two so that the Peer Editing session can begin. (Attached is a peer editing form that is a student-friendly way to edit a peer's work.) Once the peer editing session is complete and students have made necessary corrections, the typing or writing of the final draft can take place.

Assessment Strategies

The following methods will be used to evaluate the student's mastery of the objectives:

1. Completion of the Comparison/contrast essay organizer.

2. Completion of the rough draft and peer editing form.

3. The submission of the final draft.

(Attached is a suitable Comparison/contrast rubric to grade student essays.)

Background / Preparation

To be prepared for this lesson you should:

1. have copies of the peer editing form already cut and copied.

2. have the organizers prepared for each student.

3. copy a class set of the songs used in the activity.

4. have highlighters, pens/pencils, and sticky notes available.

5. have computers/laptops with Wifi access accessible for student use.

Total Duration

46 to 60 Minutes
How Music Affects the Brain Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3mdkIa4Xc

Owner (Author)

sbonner3
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