tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39417785738706170992024-02-20T09:49:52.175-05:00Lyrics and Literacy"Read some Byron, Shelly and Keats. Recited it over a hip hop beat."Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-47555859532491994762011-02-20T17:56:00.008-05:002011-02-21T11:25:40.332-05:00Drama Links - Sade | Sophie Jewett, Langston HughesIn intermediate Language Arts, Ontario students look at poetic devices like personification and metaphor for the poetry unit. Now my experience has always been looking at a few teacher-generated examples on the board. The wind howled in the night. Her eyes were sparkling stars. End of lesson. Sure these are enough to understand the general idea. But why not use a few songs or poems to drive the message closer to home? (Excuse the pun ;)<br />
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I chose a song by Sade and two poems by Sophie Jewett and Langston Hughes all related to the theme of family and parenthood. All three have beautiful metaphors invoking protection and guardianship at home and in the natural world. <br />
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<div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>The Sweetest Gift</b> by Sade</div><blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">Quietly while you were asleep<br />
<u>The moon and I were talking</u><br />
I asked that <u>she'd always keep you protected</u><br />
<br />
<u>She promised you her light</u><br />
That you so gracefully carry<br />
You bring your light and shine like morning<br />
<br />
And then <u>the wind pulls the clouds across the moon</u><br />
Your light fills the darkest room<br />
And I can see the miracle<br />
That keeps us from falling<br />
<br />
<u>She promised all the sweetest gifts</u><br />
That only the heaven's could bestow<br />
You bring your light and shine like morning<br />
<br />
And as you so gracefully give<br />
Her light as long as you live<br />
I'll always remember this moment</blockquote><div style="color: orange;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FFvbuUShpU/TWKRM-ZkwDI/AAAAAAAAAFA/zw1Q2vZgbPI/s1600/505723-bigthumbnail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FFvbuUShpU/TWKRM-ZkwDI/AAAAAAAAAFA/zw1Q2vZgbPI/s200/505723-bigthumbnail.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<b><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=176140"><span style="font-size: small;">To a Child</span></a></b><span style="font-size: small;"> by Sophie Jewett</span></div><div style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;"><span class="fullname_search" style="font-size: small;"></span> </div><blockquote style="color: orange;"><div style="color: orange; font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>The leaves talked in the twilight</u>, dear; </span></div><div style="color: orange; font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Hearken <u>the tale they told</u>: </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;">How in some far-off place and year, </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Before the world grew old, </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>I was a dreaming forest tree</u>, </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <u>You were a wild, sweet bird</u> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;">Who sheltered at the heart of me </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Because the north wind stirred; </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;">How, when the chiding gale was still, </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> When peace fell soft on fear, </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;">You stayed one golden hour to fill </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"> My dream with singing, dear. </div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">To-night the self-same songs are sung </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"> <u>The first green forest heard</u>; </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">My heart and the gray world grow young— </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"> To shelter you, my bird. </div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMqH6ia6PTQ/TWKR5N0_QSI/AAAAAAAAAFE/9UR2oZvSgZg/s1600/3517179974_1342ef30d7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMqH6ia6PTQ/TWKR5N0_QSI/AAAAAAAAAFE/9UR2oZvSgZg/s200/3517179974_1342ef30d7.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=182174"><b>April Rain Song</b></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"> by Langston Hughes</span><br />
<blockquote style="color: orange;"><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">Let <u>the rain kiss you</u>. </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">Let <u>the rain sing you a lullaby</u>. </div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk. </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">The rain makes running pools in the gutter. </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">The <u>rain plays a little sleep-song</u> on our roof at night— </div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">And I love the rain.</div></blockquote>I learned about the improv warm-up "I am a Tree" from a workshop visit by Larry Swartz in my J/I English class. It was really fun to do. Here's a video explaining the activity :)<br />
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You can have fun with the nature images and metaphors in Sade's song and these two poems using tableau in small groups:<br />
<ul><li> Divide the class into small groups of 4 or 5.</li>
<li>Each group will choose one of the three texts. Draw pictures or list images and metaphors in the song.</li>
<li>Play the "I am a Tree" tableau game to interpret the figurative and implicit messages of the song or poem.</li>
</ul><h2 style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></h2><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="fullname_search" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-78815914345652870052011-02-08T21:49:00.021-05:002011-02-21T11:11:28.976-05:00It's Love, Love, Love! - Simon & Garfunkel | Rita Dove, Major Jackson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mx1JKtBEBQs/TWKNmp9A0DI/AAAAAAAAAE4/G2Czn1r2s4E/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mx1JKtBEBQs/TWKNmp9A0DI/AAAAAAAAAE4/G2Czn1r2s4E/s200/18.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><br />
</div>Valentine's Day is coming up! A blog on poetry and music for teen-aged students would be incomplete without exploring the theme of love. Tonnes of songs and sonnets have been written about the euphoria of love and heartbreak. Reader response takes the forefront for these poems and lyrics.<br />
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Now this Simon & Garfunkel song is your typical lovestruck ballad but the obvious imagery and narrative style is too good to pass up. <br />
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<div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her</b> by Simon & Garfunkel </div><blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">What a dream I had<br />
dressed in organdy<br />
clothed in crinoline<br />
of smoky burgundy<br />
softer than the rain<br />
<br />
I wandered empty streets down<br />
past the shop displays<br />
I heard cathedral bells<br />
dripping down the alley ways<br />
as I walked on<br />
<br />
and when you ran to me<br />
your cheeks flushed with the night<br />
we walked on frosted fields<br />
of juniper and lamplight<br />
I held your hand<br />
<br />
and when I awoke<br />
and felt you warm and near<br />
I kissed your honey hair<br />
with my grateful tears<br />
oh, I love you<br />
oh, I love you </blockquote>I found these next two poems from an online teaching resource "Dream in Color" from the Poetry Foundation website (<a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #16</a>) featuring poems from famous African American writers. I'm a big fan of Rita Dove ever since I've read <i>Thomas and Beulah</i> for an American lit course in undergrad. Rita Dove's poem "Heart to Heart" deconstructs the symbol of the organ of love, and looks at it rather literally.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiNHsT1bWM4/TWKM8iamNBI/AAAAAAAAAE0/hIRP7z4DE8E/s1600/36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiNHsT1bWM4/TWKM8iamNBI/AAAAAAAAAE0/hIRP7z4DE8E/s200/36.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><b><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=182220">Heart to Heart</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=182220"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">by Rita Dove</span><br />
<div style="color: orange;"><span class="fullname_search"></span> </div><blockquote style="color: orange;"><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">It's neither red </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">nor sweet. </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">It doesn't melt </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">or turn over, </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">break or harden, </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">so <u>it can't feel </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>pain, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>yearning, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>regret. </u></div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">It doesn't have </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">a tip to spin on, </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">it isn't even </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">shapely—</div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">just <u>a thick clutch </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>of muscle, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>lopsided, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>mute</u>. Still, </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">I feel it inside </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">its cage sounding </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">a dull tattoo: </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><i>I want, I want</i>—</div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">but <u>I can't open it: </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>there's no key. </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>I can't wear it </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>on my sleeve, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">or tell you from </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">the bottom of it </div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">how I feel. <u>Here, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>it's all yours, now—</u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>but you'll have </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>to take me, </u></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><u>too.</u></div></blockquote><br />
Jackson's poem plays with the agony of high school crushes and hallway encounters with the prettiest girl in the school.<br />
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<div style="color: orange;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O6MKgOQbDZc/TWKM0P6x3mI/AAAAAAAAAEw/kV99WOFsfho/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O6MKgOQbDZc/TWKM0P6x3mI/AAAAAAAAAEw/kV99WOFsfho/s200/7.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<b><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/downloads/BHM_HighSchool.pdf">Urban Renewal XVIII</a></b> by Major Jackson</div><blockquote style="color: orange;">How untouchable the girls arm-locked strutting<br />
up the main hall of Central High unopposed<br />
for decades looked. <u>I flattened myself against</u><br />
<u>the wall, unnerved by their cloudsea of élan,</u><br />
<u>which pounced upon any timid girl regrettably</u><br />
<u>in their way, their high-wattage lifting slow motion</u><br />
<u>like curls of light strands of honey.</u> The swagger<br />
behind their blue-tinted sunglasses and low-rider<br />
jeans hurt boys like me, so vast the worlds<br />
between us, even the slightest whiff of recognition,<br />
<u>an accidental side glance, an unintended tongue-piercing</u><br />
<u>display of Juicy Fruit chew, was intoxicating</u><br />
<u>and could wildly cast a chess-playing geek into</u><br />
<u>a week-long surmise of inner doubts, likelihoods,</u><br />
<u>and depressions.</u> You might say my whole life led<br />
to celebrating youth and how it snubs and rebuffs.<br />
Back then I learned to avoid what I feared<br />
and to place my third-string hopes on a game-winning<br />
basketball shot, sure it would slow them to a stop,<br />
pan their lip-glossed smiles, blessing me with their cool.</blockquote>Here are some questions I have in mind for the classroom:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>Choose either of Simon & Garfunkel's ballad, Rita Dove's or Major Jackson's poem. Which of the three declarations of love best replicate your views on infatuation or relationships? Explain.</li>
<li>Describe Dove's short line structure and how it connects to the poem's message. How does she describe the symbol of the heart? In your opinion, what is the speaker trying to say literally and implicitly about love? </li>
<li>How does the speaker in Major Jackson's poem use hyperbole to describe his admiration for his high school crush?</li>
<li>Write a song or free verse poem describing your views on love or experiences of heartbreak.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uC8K8RoAlw4/TWKMQkiW4PI/AAAAAAAAAEs/d2C59_qDvh8/s1600/pon%252Band%252Bzi%252B4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uC8K8RoAlw4/TWKMQkiW4PI/AAAAAAAAAEs/d2C59_qDvh8/s200/pon%252Band%252Bzi%252B4.png" width="200" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>All Pon and Zi cartoons by deviantartist Azuzephre were taken from <a href="http://www.ponandzi.com/">www.ponandzi.com</a>. I love Pon and Zi! <3 Aren't they cute?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-17966046836395849452011-02-07T21:20:00.006-05:002011-02-12T21:29:39.518-05:00Book Review: Hip Hop Speaks to Children<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVCoijbTB0I/AAAAAAAAAEA/lYsZr8bGY3s/s1600/hiphopcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVCoijbTB0I/AAAAAAAAAEA/lYsZr8bGY3s/s200/hiphopcover.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVB1pmCTeeI/AAAAAAAAAD4/Bojfo6YlfuI/s1600/51KhmKZYhIL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
I just got home from TES class where we had our School Life Involvement poster exhibit from our last practicum. Right behind my group's <i>Feel Fit Club</i> display was <i>Boys Rap: Reading and Perspective</i> by Ana Pascolo, Susan Lee, and Danielle Triagini. Providence? I think so :).<br />
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The objective of their club is basically what my whole blog is all about. They had this book on display and as a source for a couple of their club's activities at St. Dominic's. I was flipping through it, and look what I found...!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVCi3HtfvEI/AAAAAAAAAD8/jBRO05aU49A/s1600/source-600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVCi3HtfvEI/AAAAAAAAAD8/jBRO05aU49A/s400/source-600.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"! I totally called this song <a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/2011/01/relevant-teaching.html">back in January</a> before I got hold of this book. At least now I have print reference. Books sound more convincing than blog posts, especially New York Times Bestsellers. The book is geared towards junior students in elementary. Just goes to show that primary kids can learn about the issues and messages in these songs too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book references a variety of poets and lyricists, almost indistinct from each other - unless you're familiar with the work and artists. From Gwendolyn Brooks to Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah. Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr. to Tupac Shakur and Kanye West. I highly recommend the book. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The only drawback is that the CD tracks are mostly spoken readings by the author. So you'll have to find the songs sung by the artist yourself. They're not included in the CD. Otherwise, great find! I'll be referencing a couple songs and poems from here in my future posts. Research #10! Why do I get the sinking filling that my Research page gets longer while my postings are way overdue for updates? :S</div><br />
<a name='more'></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-65902326571909661152011-02-05T22:41:00.015-05:002011-02-21T18:28:54.599-05:00Survival and Dreams - Tupac Shakur | Langston Hughes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVCt0fxCVFI/AAAAAAAAAEE/KqdhX07ofyk/s1600/concrete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVCt0fxCVFI/AAAAAAAAAEE/KqdhX07ofyk/s200/concrete.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />
I browsed through this book during a recent visit to Chapters. As much as I enjoy his music, his poems on print did not do it for me. The title poem, the first in the book, is probably the best piece of writing in there from a literary perspective at least. But this poem is a great idea for a minds on or hook activity. There's lots to unpack. The imagery and metaphors are loaded. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>The Rose that Grew from Concrete</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6fa8dc;"> by Tupac Shakur (sung by Nikki Giovanni)</span><br />
<blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">Did you hear about the rose <br />
that grew from a crack in the concrete? <br />
Proving nature's laws wrong <br />
it learned how to walk without havin feet. <br />
Funny it seems but, by keeping its dreams, <br />
it learned to breathe fresh air. <br />
Long live the rose that grew from concrete <br />
when no one else even cared. <br />
No one else even cared.. <br />
The rose that grew from concrete.</blockquote><br />
The song version below is from a tribute album compiling some of Tupac's written work after his death.<br />
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In Ippolito's article, she mentions the lesson planning process behind teaching literacy. One teacher wanted to approach music and poetry precisely: Langston Hughes, rhythm and blues structure, and the Harlem Renaissance. But she had to take a broader approach and explore the big idea. The relationship between music and poetry. Its evolution and influence over time. The teacher suggests comparing a poem and a song side by side, before asking students to gather and present their own examples (Research #1). <br />
<ul><li>What makes a poem a poem? What makes a song a song? Explore the stylistic differences and thematic similiarities.</li>
</ul>Why not put Tupac's poem turned song next to Hughes' <b>Harlem. </b>Some big ideas in both texts are...<br />
<ul><li>struggle</li>
<li>survival</li>
<li>ambition</li>
<li>identity</li>
<li>hope</li>
<li>dreams</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KkQqOoL_J3c/TWLyiKPV0vI/AAAAAAAAAFg/pVQHT_qvDb0/s1600/langston+hughes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KkQqOoL_J3c/TWLyiKPV0vI/AAAAAAAAAFg/pVQHT_qvDb0/s320/langston+hughes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=175884"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Harlem</span></b></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"> by Langston Hughes</span></span><br />
<blockquote style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;"><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;">What happens to a dream deferred? </span></div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Does it dry up </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> like a raisin in the sun? </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Or fester like a sore— </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And then run? </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Does it stink like rotten meat? </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Or crust and sugar over— </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> like a syrupy sweet? </span></div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Maybe it just sags </span></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> like a heavy load. </span></div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Or does it explode?</i></span></div></blockquote>Some <b>critical literacy</b> type questions you can ask are...(based on <a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #10</a>)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li> What words, images, and phrases come to mind when you think about Harlem, New York (incidentally where Tupac was raised until the age of 13)? What about the Bronx? Vancouver's Downtown Eastside? Toronto's Rexdale or Parkdale? </li>
<li>How would Tupac's or Hughes' poems be different if they were written from the perspective of a man who grew up in Manhattan? West Vancouver? Toronto's Rosedale? If it were told from the perspective of a child, parent, or older sibling in the same stigmatized neighbourhood?</li>
<li>How do people in society judge each other based on hometown, financial status, race, sex, ambitions and dreams? What messages are Tupac or Hughes presenting in their poems? How are they different?</li>
<li>Would Tupac's message ring true for a young child attending a slum school in an impoverished country? If you went to a squatter area in Metro Manila and told some of the little children that they could be anything they wanted to be someday if they studied and worked really hard, how can you justify your message of hope. What environmental condititions are needed for dreams to take root and actually flourish? </li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C1zJ_Ce5sig/TWL0QFZyHtI/AAAAAAAAAFk/hCGsj1r-ZMo/s1600/There+is+always+hope-251688.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C1zJ_Ce5sig/TWL0QFZyHtI/AAAAAAAAAFk/hCGsj1r-ZMo/s320/There+is+always+hope-251688.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div> From a <b>reader response</b> perspective (based on <a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #8</a>), you can ask...<br />
<ul><li> Looking at Tupac's poem, has anyone ever told you that you could not do something? That you are incapable of accomplishing a goal you set out for yourself? How did you feel? What did you do?</li>
<li>Describe a time when you succeeded against all odds.</li>
<li>Answer Hughes' question: "What happens to a dream deferred?"</li>
<li>Do any of the speakers in either poem, remind you of a sibling, friend, or classmate? In what ways?</li>
<li>Have you ever dreamed of doing anything that you did not pursue or act on? What emotions or thoughts do you feel looking back at the past? </li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-43987911531820667152011-01-30T15:36:00.020-05:002011-02-20T15:29:42.500-05:00Praise Poems<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.mozilla.com/metrics/files/2009/07/voice_of_user2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://blog.mozilla.com/metrics/files/2009/07/voice_of_user2.jpg" style="height: 212px; width: 320px;" width="200" /></a></div><br />
For Equity Day, I took a workshop on teaching First Nations history to youth (Research #11). The presenters from the <a href="http://cus.oise.utoronto.ca/">OISE Centre for Urban Schooling</a> showed a YouTube song video of <a href="http://warparty.weebly.com/music.html">War Party</a>, a hip hop First Nations group based in Alberta. The song was "Feeling Reserved" about life in reservations, the gang mentality the youth adopt, and the issues they can't leave home but bring with them to school.<br />
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Karen Murray was one of the presenters and taught high school English. She said she taught poetic devices through song lyrics and rap before bringing the kids to Shakespeare. Also, Jeff Kugler talked about Regent Park students here in Toronto who wrote songs about gentrification in their neighbourhood. Song writing is a craft teachers could use to get students riled up about writing.<br />
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A culminating writing task they highly recommended was Praise Poems. They are based on an African tradition used by tribes for young adults. Here's the format of the handout they gave us.<br />
<blockquote><blockquote><u></u></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="color: #8e7cc3;"><u>Praise Poems</u></blockquote><blockquote style="color: #8e7cc3;">The format is:</blockquote><blockquote style="color: #8e7cc3;">1. Your lineage: I am the son/daughter of...who was the son/daughter of...etc. Talk about your cultural, ethnic, or other aspects of your identity or lineage.</blockquote><blockquote style="color: #8e7cc3;">2. Physical description: I am tall, with long dark hair and full wide hips. My belly is round...My eyes are bright and...</blockquote><blockquote style="color: #8e7cc3;">3. Who you are: You can say whatever it is that makes you you that is special about you or important to you...</blockquote>They also provided a student exemplar that resonated with me:<br />
<blockquote><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">I am the son of Carl Sr. who is the son of Levi.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">I am the only boy out of 5 children.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;"><u>I am a useful and worthy vessel of brown skin </u></div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">with a thin frame but all structure,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">with two large foundations.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">Yet at 6’6" and 215 pounds, </div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;"><u>I’m just a teenager eager to learn,</u></div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">still able to mold, the center of the crowd.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">I’m athletic but artistic, open-minded but optimistic, </div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">with a heavy desire for success. </div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">Friendly sociable, intelligent, and strong willed,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">blessed with courageous and God fearing parents,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">who always push to keep me in the right direction.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">I love to be with my church, family as well as my own,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;"><u>with a strong-will to play basketball and develop literary skill</u><b>.</b></div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">There’s much I think I know, </div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">but there’s still lots of wisdom to enstow.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">I will be successful, I will survive, </div><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">and I can achieve anything with God on my side. </span>(See <a href="http://groupprocessconsulting.com/flow/praise.shtml">Research #14</a> for other examples) </blockquote>The lines underlined circled around in my head. This kind of writing empowers students and validates who they are. And what they value. Equity. Social Justice. Bullying. Close the achievement gap. Key terms at OISE. But I think before we can even begin to address those issues fully, we need to give students power and voice. Writing allows for that. You can tell them how able and brilliant they are all you want. But it doesn't reach the same level as them searching for it and publishing it themselves.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-81433606501932613252011-01-28T17:24:00.046-05:002011-02-20T18:13:50.625-05:00Mary J. Blige | Shakespeare<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUNCzrMz09I/AAAAAAAAACQ/uKijFJhSz_Y/s1600/516DnU55NrL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUNCzFyjUvI/AAAAAAAAACM/22upVF4P4t4/s1600/shakespeare1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUNCzFyjUvI/AAAAAAAAACM/22upVF4P4t4/s200/shakespeare1.jpg" width="155" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUNCzrMz09I/AAAAAAAAACQ/uKijFJhSz_Y/s200/516DnU55NrL._SS500_.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
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From Mary J. Blige's 2002 album "No More Drama," Track 16 features the spoken poem "Forever No More". You can listen to a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-More-Drama-Mary-Blige/dp/B00005V9DW">clip</a> of it from Amazon.<br />
<blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">No more invisible, speechless, deaf and blind child<br />
If neglected <u>pleasures</u><b> </b>being addicted to denial<br />
Floating through time, gravitating towards a warm arm<br />
With <u>an appetite for the emptiness that promises, no harm</u><br />
<br />
No more <u>uncontrollable eruptions of emotional depression</u><br />
A primal SOS from the barren prison of selfless expression<br />
That only the guilty with innocent souls know<br />
Buried in the social scar tissue of <u>a defective ego</u><br />
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No more relentless sifting through bodies seeking self<br />
Settling through competitive combat for what's left on the shelf<br />
A mad melee of supply and demand driven by a gullible pride<br />
That leads to sedating the you that suffocates inside<br />
<br />
No more, forever no more, because I've unshut my eyes<br />
And <u>the difference between God's word and man's will</u> was realized<br />
Seeing opposed and parallel lives, some liquid and others frozen<br />
Led me to <u>never seek from man what God has chosen</u></blockquote>Tracy Wagner who taught high school students in the States used these lyrics to teach sonnets from <u>Romeo and Juliet</u>. She has clear instructions about group work and questions on tone, rhyme scheme, couplet, quatrain, word choice, and theme (<a href="http://englisht.intrasun.tcnj.edu/Tracy%20Culturally%20Relevent%20Pedagogy.ppt">Research #13</a>, Slide 22-27).<br />
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She doesn't lay out interpretations of the lyrics in the slides, so I had to do some analysis myself. Students would have their own of course. I think the first stanza talks about lust and failed relationships. When I read the fourth stanza, I am reminded of the religious metaphors and foreshadowing in the shared sonnet between the doomed lovers challenging fate near the end of <a href="http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/romeo/T15.html">Act One Scene 5</a>. <br />
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<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.lunch.com/d/d7/262081.png?2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" s5="true" src="http://media.lunch.com/d/d7/262081.png?2" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: orange;">ROMEO</div></blockquote><blockquote style="color: orange;">If I profane with my unworthiest hand<br />
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:<br />
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand<br />
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.<br />
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JULIET<br />
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,<br />
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;<br />
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,<br />
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.<br />
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ROMEO<br />
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?<br />
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JULIET<br />
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.<br />
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ROMEO<br />
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;<br />
They pray — grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.<br />
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JULIET<br />
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.<br />
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ROMEO<br />
Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take (lines 93-106). </blockquote>Wagner asks more open-ended questions, letting students explore the words and meaning without specific guided questions. She does a thorough job of looking at rhyme scheme and tone though. But I have some key questions in mind for those having trouble with theme:<br />
<ul><li>From the song, who is the "invisible, speechless, deaf and blind child" (line 1) in the first half of the poem?</li>
<li>What do you think the speaker means by the image of "gravitating towards a warm arm" (line 2)?</li>
<li>Explore the phrase "an appetite for the emptiness that promises no harm" (line 4)?</li>
<li>Compare Mary J. Blige's lyrics to the friar's warning in <a href="http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/romeo/T26.html">Act 2 Scene 6</a>:</li>
</ul><blockquote><blockquote><div style="color: orange;">These violent delights have violent ends</div><div style="color: orange;">And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,</div><div style="color: orange;">Which as they kiss consume. The sweetest honey</div><div style="color: orange;">Is loathsome in his own deliciousness</div><div style="color: orange;">And in the taste confounds the appetite.</div><div style="color: orange;">Therefore love moderately; long love doth so;</div><span style="color: orange;">Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow</span> (lines 9-15). </blockquote></blockquote><ul></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-50943918803442003072011-01-23T21:11:00.012-05:002011-02-01T16:44:32.258-05:00August's Rhapsody<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/plrDXfhcoa4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<u>Me Read? No Way!</u> lists great writing activities using music without lyrics to spur or inspire students.<br />
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Students can:<br />
<ul><li>"create word lists,</li>
<li> phrases,</li>
<li>lyrics,</li>
<li>descriptions of feelings,</li>
<li>word-images,</li>
<li>letters,</li>
<li>dramas or dialogues,</li>
<li>slogans or protests,</li>
<li>poems or chants,</li>
<li>or an imagined description of the composer" (Research #8, 24).</li>
</ul><ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUOFq0NghGI/AAAAAAAAAC4/g3D2Brni5Zc/s1600/augustrush1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUOFq0NghGI/AAAAAAAAAC4/g3D2Brni5Zc/s200/augustrush1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
August's Rhapsody is from the final scene of the 2007 movie <a href="http://augustrushmovie.warnerbros.com/">August Rush</a>. This 7-minute medley tracks the different emotions and adventures of the musical boy genius as he is separated and finds and brings his parents together in the end through music.<br />
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Without lyrics, students are free to explore their own feelings and responses to the orchestra and jot down some of their ideas. You can ask:<br />
<ul><li>Pick a section that you identify with emotionally and write about a memory or feeling that it evokes.</li>
<li>Create a short narrative poem about the life of the character this music medley tracks.</li>
<li>Write a story (with a partner) based on the line spoken in the end, "Music is all around us. All you have to do is listen."</li>
<li>What role does music play in your life?</li>
</ul>I got this last idea from my music class with Alison Kenny-Gardhouse. We listened to Edvard Grieg's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRpzxKsSEZg">"In the Hall of the Mountain King"</a> and did all kinds of fun of activities. One of them was a brainstorming chart. So for "August's Rhapsody" why not have your students...<br />
<ul><li>Do a <a href="http://www3.edu.gov.mb.ca/cn/support/ela/k/eyychart.html">See, Feel, Hear Chart</a> as a guide for brainstorming words and emotions. (This will pull out rich vocabulary and gauge reader response as well.)</li>
</ul><ul></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-38508049635879719642011-01-22T22:14:00.006-05:002011-01-28T22:32:23.634-05:00Let's Get Lyrical - a song lyrics and literacy campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TTxH8VOCJgI/AAAAAAAAABs/X2wl4bqrr-E/s1600/Lets-get-Lyrical_cover-211x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TTxH8VOCJgI/AAAAAAAAABs/X2wl4bqrr-E/s1600/Lets-get-Lyrical_cover-211x300.jpg" /></a></div>Scotland based event<br />
A reading campaign by Edinburgh UNESCO <a href="http://www.cityofliterature.com/index.aspx?sec=1&pid=1">City of Literature</a> Trust <br />
Share your stories about song lyrics that changed your life.<br />
Online submissions.<br />
Check it out <a href="http://letsgetlyrical.com/">here</a>! <br />
<a href="http://letsgetlyrical.com/"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-28419275151444395432011-01-22T21:39:00.014-05:002011-02-12T23:42:12.834-05:00Culturally Relevant Pedagogy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUN6itcrbEI/AAAAAAAAACs/edkpbn963y4/s1600/Capa.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUN6itcrbEI/AAAAAAAAACs/edkpbn963y4/s1600/Capa.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
In my School & Society course, we learned the term "culturally relevant pedagogy" from one of the readings. Ladson-Billings coined the phrase and I heard about it in my Science & Tech course later on too. Both instructors are with the Inner-City option. No surprise.<br />
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One of the the examples in the article is of an African American primary teacher named Patricia Hilliard who used rap music in the her Grade 2 poetry lesson. They brought in sample lyrics themselves. But before that of course they talked about acceptable songs and non-offensive lyrics. In class they discussed figurative meanings and poetic devices like "rhyme scheme, alliteration, and onomatopoeia" (Research #5, 161).<br />
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Teaching is just common sense, for many people. As controversial as that common idea is, it's somewhat true. How can you begin to teach a bunch of kids Keats and sonnets, if you don't tap into a resource they're already familiar with? Why teach them about dead poets when they don't see the connection to their youth or ethnic culture?<br />
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So my argument is, if you can break from the cat in the hat rhymes for a couple lessons and get away with teaching poetry with these words, then why not? Especially if it makes sense to kids and you're hitting expectations all the same.<br />
<blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;">I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">to the hip hip hop, ah you don't stop</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat...</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">See I am wonder mike and I like to say hello</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">to the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">But first I gotta bang bang the boogie to the boogie</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Say up jump the boogie to the bang bang boogie</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Let's rock, you don't stop</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">-from Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"</div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/b6gD_CwF5YM/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b6gD_CwF5YM&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b6gD_CwF5YM&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-50143561090442032772011-01-22T21:35:00.016-05:002011-02-21T10:13:57.769-05:00Critical LiteracyMuch of my reflection questions here draw on the "Four Dimensions of Critical Literacy" (Research #7)<br />
<ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">Disrupting the commonplace</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">Interrogating multiple viewpoints</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">Focusing on sociopolitical issues</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">Taking action and promoting social justice</span></li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUOS0w1Uh5I/AAAAAAAAADE/UKl9SBt5gFI/s1600/Immortal_Technique_Stencil_by_supermanisback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUOS0w1Uh5I/AAAAAAAAADE/UKl9SBt5gFI/s320/Immortal_Technique_Stencil_by_supermanisback.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The thing is, many artist claim to be educators of youth. Their agenda often hits on points 1 to 4 as well. And convincingly. They're bashing politicians (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIUzLpO1kxI">#KanyeWestOnGeorgeBush</a>) and singing about waving flags. But teachers can turn it around and teach students about media literacy: to take much of what they hear and see with a grain of salt. Because often they take these messages literally.<br />
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So what's the difference between an underground rapper and a Master's graduate? Dinner table debates are the worst. So a couple years back, my brother quotes me <a href="http://www.myspace.com/immortaltechnique">Immortal Technique</a> and some conspiracy theory he advocates. I tune it all out without telling him my honest thoughts. If I didn't read it from an academic source, I couldn't believe it. Months later, I have a very similar conversation with a co-worker - a Master's graduate in American political history from UofT. He told me not to rule out conspiracy theories all together.<br />
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Artists often do have legitimacy to their words, but there's always room for investigation and critical interrogation.<br />
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<ol></ol><ul></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-11020493382169228302011-01-22T21:34:00.032-05:002011-02-20T17:53:52.263-05:00Book Review: 1000 Songwriting Ideas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AvjvLWmmZoA/TVdQpn-2aPI/AAAAAAAAAEU/uRbEzRPL12Y/s1600/1000-songwriting-ideas-lisa-aschmann2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AvjvLWmmZoA/TVdQpn-2aPI/AAAAAAAAAEU/uRbEzRPL12Y/s200/1000-songwriting-ideas-lisa-aschmann2.png" width="160" /></a></div><br />
Lisa Aschmann's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/1000-Songwriting-Ideas-Music-Guides/dp/1423454405">1000 Songwriting Ideas</a> is a great teacher resource! The best kind won't always be on the Curriculum Resources shelf. Some of the writing ideas and topics can help students explore the songwriting genre or free verse poetry too! I classified some of my creative, non-clichéd favourites (straight from the book) under Giving Advice, What's Your Story?, Looking through Someone Else's Eyes, and Random Surprises:<br />
<div><div style="text-align: right;"><i><b> </b></i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Giving Advice</div></div></div><div><ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li>#350 Write guidelines for kissing frogs or for getting out of the swamp.</li>
<li>#711 Everybody's doing something. You aren't. What is it? You're out of school, out of line, out of step, out of sync, out of sorts, out of turn, or maybe just out.</li>
<li>#911 Where do rivers join, boundaries converge, roads cross? How about when you've come to the fork in the road? The top of the hill/heap? The bottom?</li>
</ul><div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i> </i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">What's Your Story?</div></div></div></div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;"><ul><li>#753 Shadows. What are yours?</li>
<li>#925 Write about seeing someone for the last time. Nora Ephron's dying mother said, "Take note, it's all copy."</li>
<li>#946 Tell the story of the ripple effect, cascade, avalanche, dominos, snowball, or paying it forward.</li>
<li>#238 Somebody reminds you of somebody else. Write about deja vu or the way your memories play tricks on you.</li>
</ul></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i> </i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Looking through Someone Else's Eyes</div></div></div><div><ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li>#4 Make up life stories of people in stores, airports, or bus terminals.</li>
<li>#401 There's no such thing as telling a story too many times. Point of view makes all the difference, e.g. Grendel by John Gardner or The Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf (told by Jon Scieszka).</li>
<li>#505 If you overheard somebody's confession or you had your own to make, how would it make you feel?...Songs about forgiveness are very powerful. One of my favourites is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY5MOUO464Q">"The Randall Knife"</a> by Guy Clark.</li>
<li>#719 Talk somebody out of a bad mood.</li>
<li>#2 Eavesdrop at a cafe. </li>
<li>#997 Who's been overlooked today among the people you've encountered? The<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TKQcWEXSKU"> bathroom attendant</a>. The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxJ6n0xUweY">car wash attendant</a>. The cafeteria worker, the bus driver, the janitor, the phlebotomist? Gotcha.</li>
<li>#698 Take an existing song and write a parody.</li>
</ul><div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i> </i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Random Surprises</div></div></div></div><div><ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li>#349 Finish this thought: When you opened the door __________.</li>
<li>#826 Write about something that came in a box.</li>
<li>#749 Keys, doorways, halls, balcony, a summerhouse. Standing in a doorway.</li>
</ul><div></div><div>The book also lists some useful online lyric writing tools and software as tip #983</div></div><div><ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li><a href="http://masterwriter.com/">MasterWriter.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://phrasefinder.com/">phrasefinder.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wordnet.princeton.edu/">wordNet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://rhymezone.com/">rhymezone.com</a> (rhyming dictionary)</li>
<li><a href="http://rapdict.org/">rapdict.org</a> (a rapper's dictionary)</li>
<li><a href="http://dir.yahoo.com/reference/dictionaries/slang/">http://dir.yahoo.com/reference/dictionaries/slang/</a> (a slang dictionary)</li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">Happy songwriting! :)</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-75067623859319014692011-01-22T21:34:00.019-05:002011-02-12T20:47:43.263-05:00Reader Response Theory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUWRrZZ77sI/AAAAAAAAADM/t1GECDSJEzI/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUWRrZZ77sI/AAAAAAAAADM/t1GECDSJEzI/s200/images.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Reader response theory supports the idea that teacher's do not have the answer key for every poem, novel, or story. Studies show that boys especially believe that there's one right answer or hidden message in what they're reading. When teachers ask questions using this approach, it's no surprise that all they get is "I don't know" or "I don't get it". This will happen anyway but a more open-minded, student-directed approach opens it up to more lively discussion.<br />
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Reading is an active process, a social act. The text isn't by itself with a secret code to be unlocked. The reader and text wrestle back and forth. The reader responds to the text by drawing on their personal insight, knowledge base, and past experiences (Research #8, 3). They need all three in order to construct meaning and experience the text, in a way.<br />
<br />
So one's reading isn't so much about the writer's intention or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Soul-Exclusive-Personal/dp/1935096400">story behind the poem or song</a>, but on how the reader or listener reacts and responds. Personal insight is based on reader's identity shaped by...<br />
<ul><li>age</li>
<li>culture</li>
<li>ethnicity</li>
<li>religion</li>
<li>gender</li>
<li>sexuality</li>
<li>values</li>
<li>education</li>
<li>lived experiences</li>
</ul>Knowledge base is your critical thinking component. Hardcore RR theorists hold that to gain full benefit, teachers should just throw a poem or novel to a student without building background knowledge or context (<a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #8, 1</a>). I would have to disagree with that, especially if the topic touches on social studies key historical events like the Holocaust or the slave trade. You need to situate the literature in an accurate historical context. Otherwise, interpretations and discussion become a free for all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-45321723498261295852011-01-22T21:33:00.007-05:002011-02-20T14:36:08.646-05:00Critical Literacy - Big IdeasReading lyrics to rap songs becomes an empty, fun activity if you take out critical thinking. Students can do that at home without the teacher's help. No problem. Mainstream hip hop itself is void of much substance these days. But that's a whole other story. What you want students to explore are big ideas or themes. Good songs are infused with them. That's why they resonate for years and for so many people.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUWPuS5p09I/AAAAAAAAADI/qRMf4zpptVU/s1600/2000-251_P38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TUWPuS5p09I/AAAAAAAAADI/qRMf4zpptVU/s200/2000-251_P38.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><br />
You can share, discuss, and pick apart these big ideas:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Identity and Relationships</li>
<li>Conflict and Justice</li>
<li>Change, Growth and Destruction</li>
<li>Survival and Struggle</li>
<li>Power and Success</li>
<li>Rights and Freedom</li>
<li>Peace and Conflict</li>
<li>Justice and Genocide</li>
<li>Beauty and Perspective</li>
</ul><br />
What's key to promoting sound critical literacy skills is in how you phrase the questions. Which I swear must be an art form. As a student, you go through school answering questions left, right, and simple. It's not until you get to teacher's college, that you realize how painful it can be to come up with a good, open-ended question.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-20303720778164971822011-01-22T21:28:00.012-05:002011-02-12T21:26:43.483-05:00Boy's LiteracyWhen my brother was in high school, he told me how his English teacher had asked the class for anyone to come up to the board and give an example of rhyme. He laughed as he told me what he wrote:<br />
<blockquote>Curiosity at a high velocity. Maybe possibly she had the hots for me.</blockquote>The teacher wasn't as amused as he was but thanked him for his example. Eric B. and Rakim's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnOdLAXWi3o">"What's on Your Mind?"</a> is no sonnet. It's about a guy on the subway trying to pick up a girl.<br />
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It doesn't surprise me that for many students song lyrics are their modern-day poetry. Teachers can use lyrics as a vehicle to show students other writers with similar or different purposes from spinning tracks and selling labels.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TTzeDJKiSgI/AAAAAAAAABw/n_O83KICSYQ/s1600/Me+Read+No+Way.jpg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TTzeDJKiSgI/AAAAAAAAABw/n_O83KICSYQ/s320/Me+Read+No+Way.jpg.gif" width="223" /></a></div><br />
This Ministry document suggests providing boys with musical texts. Exploring lyrics not only helps develop literary skills but encourages discussion on their <a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/2011/01/lesson-plans.html">personal taste in music</a>, its role in their lives and society (Research #8, 10).<br />
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Today, Ontario elementary report cards require a mark for Media Literacy for our young YouTubers. That really makes me feel old. I mean when I was in Grade 7 all I had to worry about was checking my Hotmail, now even my Grade 5's from last practicum had Facebook and who knows what other online accounts and passwords to manage. Taking a look at lyrics will not only help hit expectations for assessment purposes but they are much needed by today's youth bombarded with messages from the media through all kinds of technological gateways.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-86475549088153942112011-01-22T18:24:00.022-05:002011-02-20T15:06:19.711-05:00R. Kelly - The World's Greatest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WgcovIu3k9o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Inspired by the life of the Muhammad Ali, R. Kelly wrote this tribute song for the film "Ali" starring Will Smith in 2001. I remember singing this song back in Grade 8. It was even the warning song over the PA system at my high school. It's a good inspirational song, not to mention that every line's practically a metaphor. You can use this song teach students in elementary school about metaphors and symbolism too. <br />
<blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>I am a mountain.</u><br />
<u>I am a tall tree.</u><br />
Oh, <u>I am a swift wind.</u><br />
sweeping the country.<br />
<u>I am a river</u><br />
down in the valley<br />
Oh, I am a vision<br />
and I can see clearly.<br />
If anybody asks you who I am,<br />
just stand up tall look 'em in the face and say...<br />
<br />
Chorus:<br />
<u>I'm that star up in the sky.</u><br />
I<u>'m that mountain peak up high</u>.<br />
Hey, I made it.<br />
I'm the world's greatest.<br />
And I'm that little bit of hope<br />
when my back's against the ropes.<br />
I can feel it.<br />
I'm the world's greatest.<br />
<br />
<u>I am a giant.</u><br />
<u>I am an eagle.</u><br />
<u>I am a lion.</u><br />
Down in the jungle.<br />
I am a marchin' band.<br />
I am the people.<br />
I am a helpin' hand.<br />
And I am a hero.<br />
If anybody asks you who I am.<br />
Just stand up tall look 'em in the face and say...</blockquote>This activity is also a great minds on activity for doing <a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/2011/01/praise-poems.html">Praise Poems</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-6266899195902844032011-01-22T18:20:00.014-05:002011-02-20T20:16:35.696-05:00Critical Literacy - Perspective | K'naan, Dave Matthews BandK'naan's <b>Until the Lion Learns to Speak</b> and Dave Matthews Band's <b>Don't Drink the Water</b> look at songs from two different racial and cultural perspectives that students can explore more in depth.<br />
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I found out about this K'naan song from my classmate Allison Harding at OISE when we were doing literature circle presentations and novel promotions. They played this song for Katherine Applegate's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Home-Brave-Katherine-Applegate/dp/0312367651">Home of the Brave</a>. <br />
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Hailing from Somalia, Canadian musician K'naan plays with themes of migration, diaspora, and exile. This song looks at the call to rename, reclaim and retell histories and modern day realities of oppression and violence from the voice of the "Other". Students can explore issues of racism and teachers can explore histories outside the Euro-centric curricula.<br />
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<div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>Until the Lion Learns to Speak</b> by K'naan</div><blockquote><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>Until the lion learns to speak</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>The tales of hunting will be weak</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">My poetry hales within the streets</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">My poetry fails to be discrete</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">It travels across the earth and seas</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">From Eritrea to the West Indies</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">It knows no boundaries</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">No cheese</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">It studied in parts of Greece</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">(runtaa hadii kale waxaan lahaa aaheey)</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">I am sick as far as lyrics</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">And with this far as gimmicks</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">I spit par age and limit</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">The shit they talk in rapid</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">I am hip the hop as living</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">I skip the obvious woman</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">Don't get what I am presenting</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">No rims my mind spinning</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">(runtaa hadii kale waxaan lahaa aaheey)</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>I was born and raised in a place</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>Where torn of flame would place</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>Where the foreigners not embrace</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">Where they warn you jog and pace</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">Where loners low what they gaze</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">Where the corners slow at a chase</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">Where they tarts and turn in the maze</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>With the pistol upon your face</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">(runtaa hadii kale waxaan lahaa aaheey)</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">So come with me to my longs</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">The death and deal we run</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">With passion see how I come</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">No cash I am free in the slums</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">The past can we overcome</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>I am asking we be the ones</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>To actually be the ones</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><u>To free our people from gun</u></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc;">(hadii kale waxaan lahaa aaheey)</div></blockquote>I heard about this next song by Dave Matthews from another OISE classmate Stephen Cunneen who conducted a School and Society seminar on Peggy McIntosh's controversial article "White Privilege and Male Privilege". This song discusses the appropriation of Native land in the States, but definitely also an issue in many parts of Canada. What's interesting about this song is it looks at the issue from the perspective of a white privileged benefactor of a history of oppression. <br />
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<b style="color: #6fa8dc;">Don't Drink the Water</b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> by Dave Matthews Band</span><br />
<blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">Come out, come out, no use in hiding.<br />
Come now, come now, can you not see<br />
There's no place here, what were you expecting?<br />
No room for both, just room for me.<br />
<br />
So you will lay your arms down,<br />
Yes, I will call this home.<br />
<br />
<u>Away, away, you have been banished.</u><br />
<u>Your land is gone, and given to me.</u><br />
<br />
And here I will spread my wings.<br />
Yes, I will call this home.<br />
<br />
What's this you say, you feel a right to remain?<br />
Then stay and I will bury you.<br />
<br />
<u>What's that you say, your father's spirit still lives in this place?</u><br />
<u>Well, I will silence you.</u><br />
<br />
Here's the hitch, your horse is leaving.<br />
Don't miss your boat, it's leaving now.<br />
<br />
And as you go I will spread my wings.<br />
<u>Yes, I will call this home.</u><br />
<u>I have no time to justify to you,</u><br />
Fool, you're blind, move aside for me.<br />
<br />
All I can say to you my new neighbor,<br />
You must move on or I will bury you.<br />
<br />
Now as I rest my feet by this fire<br />
Those hands once warmed here, but I have retired them.<br />
I can breathe my own air and I can sleep more soundly<br />
Upon these poor souls,<br />
I'll build Heaven and call it home.<br />
Cause you're all dead now.<br />
<br />
<u>I live with my justice</u><br />
<u>And I live with my greedy need</u><br />
<u>I live with no mercy</u><br />
<u>And I live with my frenzied feeding</u><br />
<u>I live with my hatred</u><br />
And I live with my jealousy<br />
I live with the notion that I don't need anyone but me<br />
<br />
Don't Drink the Water<br />
Don't Drink the Water<br />
<u>Blood in the water</u><br />
Don't Drink the Water</blockquote>Teachers can juxtapose these two songs and allow students to critically look at the position the musicians take. Eddy (2007) suggests holding a debate on the socio-political issues embedded in the songs (<a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #2</a>, 145). Here are a few of my own questions and suggestions:<br />
<ul><li>Describe the tone of K'naan's song. What images come to mind as you listen to the drum beat and background vocals? How does this compare to the Dave Matthews' song?</li>
<li>Use a graphic organizer or venn diagram, to compare the concerns of both artists when it comes to issues of race and history.</li>
<li>How does the theme of migration play out in K'naan's song? What words, imagery, and elements does he use to present the idea of travel and movement in his song?</li>
<li>Dave Matthews' song looks at the issue of First Nations appropriation from an outspoken, present day voice. How does the theme of exploitation and rootedness play out in this song? Explain the image of "blood in the water" through historical examples of mistreatment of First Nations peoples in Canadian history.</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-13797262122719453802011-01-22T18:19:00.038-05:002011-02-21T10:20:33.248-05:00Lost Lyrics MovementYou don't have to go far to find inspiration. Brought to life by <a href="http://www.thebrokenheeldiaries.com/2011/01/01/amanda-parris-lost-lyrics/">Amanda Parris</a> and Natasha Daniel, Lost Lyrics is an education program connecting students and mentors in the Jane/Finch and Malvern communities.<br />
<br />
I actually went to high school with Amanda and my older brother was in her graduating class two years before mine. Parris uses her background in political science and women's studies to speak to the youth of a history filled with voices missed in many Toronto classrooms and the Ontario Curriculum. Much needed in the education system but blocked in for February.<br />
<br />
Lost Lyrics is self-described as "created in response to unimaginative teachers, negative labels and boring classes." They use Hip Hop culture as a means to draw and empower students through songwriting, creative writing, street art, dance, photography, and theatre performance among others. <br />
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Check them out on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=64465662994#%21/group.php?gid=64465662994&v=info">Facebook</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-79813421278242418302011-01-22T18:18:00.026-05:002011-02-20T20:51:45.205-05:00Alternative Texts: Tupac Shakur, Langston HughesMcLaughlin and DeVoogd (2004) suggest writing alternative texts as a way to expand reader response and develop critical literacy comprehension (<a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #3,</a> 60). From whole and small group discussions to individual assignment, they suggest writing <b>alternative poems</b>.<br />
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They tried the activity with eighth grade students after reading Hughes' poem "Mother to Son". Students discussed the metaphor of the crystal stair and the predominantly negative outlook on life the mother speaker holds. Some students wrote poems with a more optimistic take on the future.<br />
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I would suggest playing Tupac's "Dear Mama" which complements Hughes' poem very well.<br />
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<div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b></b><br />
<b>Dear Mama</b> by Tupac</div><blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">When I was young me and my mama had beef<br />
Seventeen years old kicked out on the streets<br />
Though back at the time, I never thought I'd see her face<br />
Ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place<br />
Suspended from school; and scared to go home, I was a fool<br />
with the big boys, breakin' all the rules<br />
I shed tears with my baby sister<br />
Over the years we was poorer than the other little kids<br />
And even though we had different daddy's, the same drama<br />
When things went wrong we'd blame mama<br />
I reminisce on the stress I caused, it was hell<br />
Huggin' on my mama from a jail cell<br />
And who'd think in elementary?<br />
Heeey! I see the penitentiary, one day<br />
And runnin' from the police, that's right<br />
Mama catch me, put a whoopin' to my backside<br />
And even as a crack fiend, mama<br />
You always was a black queen, mama<br />
I finally understand<br />
for a woman it ain't easy tryin' to raise a man<br />
You always was committed<br />
A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it<br />
There's no way I can pay you back<br />
But the plan is to show you that I understand<br />
You are appreciated<br />
<br />
Lady... <br />
Don't cha know we love ya? Sweet lady<br />
Dear mama<br />
Place no one above ya, sweet lady<br />
You are appreciated<br />
Don't cha know we love ya?</blockquote><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://download.profxengine.com/gallery/renders/old_stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://download.profxengine.com/gallery/renders/old_stairs.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div style="color: orange;"><b><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=177021">Mother to Son</a></b> by Langston Hughes</div><blockquote style="color: orange;">Well, son, I'll tell you:<br />
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.<br />
It's had tacks in it,<br />
And splinters,<br />
And boards torn up,<br />
And places with no carpet on the floor—<br />
Bare.<br />
But all the time <br />
I'se been a-climbin' on,<br />
And reachin' landin's,<br />
And turnin' corners,<br />
And sometimes goin' in the dark<br />
Where there ain't been no light.<br />
So, boy, don't you turn back.<br />
Don't you set down on the steps.<br />
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.<br />
Don't you fall now—<br />
For I'se still goin', honey,<br />
I'se still climbin',<br />
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair. </blockquote>Here's an example of an alternative text a student named Jason wrote in the article by McLaughlin and DeVoogd (<a href="http://lyricsandliteracy.blogspot.com/p/research.html">Research #3</a>):<br />
<blockquote><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">Life hasn't always been easy,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">But when hard things come just calm down and</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">take them in stride.</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">When things seem to get tough,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">Take a break and cool off,</div><div style="color: #8e7cc3;">You'll find that things will get a lot easier and good</div><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">things will come your way. </span>(p. 60)</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-2253990883179008352011-01-22T18:14:00.032-05:002011-02-20T21:30:12.324-05:00Poetic Devices: Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eZGWQauQOAQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Now this selection might get some resistance.<br />
<br />
Back in high school, my music teacher recommended I do a saxophone solo of a song by these guys for the spring concert, I gave him a look thinking - Okay, buddy. I don't think so. And I've never even heard any of their songs. I just know it was one of the less cooler bands my dad listened to.<br />
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You can always convince your students that Simon & Garfunkel where around way before the explosion of YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtXr0pIRSg4">acoustic cover artist</a>s. But the lyrics are rich with poetic devices (similes, metaphors, oxymoron, personification, rhyme, imagery and so on), it's just ridiculous not to use it in a poetry class. <br />
<br />
<b style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Sound of Silence</b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> by Simon & Garfunkel </span><br />
<blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">Hello d<u>arkness, my old friend</u><br />
I've come to talk with you again<br />
Because <u>a vision softly creeping</u><br />
<u>Left its seeds while I was sleeping</u><br />
And the<u> vision that was planted in my brain</u><br />
Still remains<br />
Within the sound of silence<br />
<br />
In restless dreams I walked alone<br />
<u>Narrow streets of cobblestone</u><br />
'<u>Neath the halo of a street lamp</u><br />
I turned my collar to the cold and damp<br />
When <u>my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light</u><br />
That split the night<br />
And touched the sound of silence<br />
<br />
And in the naked light I saw<br />
Ten thousand people, maybe more<br />
<u>People talking without speaking</u><br />
<u>People hearing without listening</u><br />
People writing songs that voices never share<br />
And no one dared<br />
Disturb the sound of silence<br />
<br />
"Fools", said I, "You do not know<br />
<u>Silence like a cancer grows</u><br />
Hear my words that I might teach you<br />
Take my arms that I might reach you"<br />
But my words,<u> like silent raindrops fell</u><br />
And echoed<br />
In the wells of silence<br />
<br />
And the people bowed and prayed<br />
To the neon god they made<br />
And the sign flashed out its warning<br />
In the words that it was forming<br />
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls<br />
And tenement halls"<br />
And whispered in the sounds of silence</blockquote>The song also reminds me of T. S. Eliot's <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/198/1.html">"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"</a>. But that might be too advanced for high school students, maybe try it with gifted students. <br />
<br />
This idea actually reminds me of a contemporary lit course I took in first year at UofT. Nick Mount teaches a course called "Literature for Our Time" and we had a course website and our own soundtrack with songs related to the poems and novels we read throughout the year. He still teaches the course at UofT and has <a href="http://individual.utoronto.ca/nickmount/soundtrackcurrent.htm">ENG 140: The Soundtrack</a> for 2010-2011. Check it out!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-37342187688494682622011-01-22T18:12:00.071-05:002011-02-20T21:12:58.303-05:00Hate and Hope - Billie Holiday | Abel Meeropol, Langston Hughes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVILRMGU17I/AAAAAAAAAEM/UgY1VhTkXdg/s1600/ThomasShippAbramSmith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aAon0AQGOI/TVILRMGU17I/AAAAAAAAAEM/UgY1VhTkXdg/s400/ThomasShippAbramSmith.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Jewish high school teacher Abel Meeropol wrote the poem <b>Strange Fruit </b>after seeing the photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith on August 7, 1930 in Indiana. From visual to written to song representations, all attempt to capture the core message of this hate crime.<br />
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Teaching<b> Strange Fruit </b>requires background historical knowledge for rich reader response and fair critical analysis. I would suggest offering direct instruction and discussion on the history of lynching and hate crimes in the United States before reading the poem.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.teachervision.fen.com/civil-rights/lesson-plan/4839.html">Teacher Vision</a> <span id="goog_994660455">offers a very comprehensive lesson plan </span>with background research activities for students. The website even provides copies of primary sources from <a href="http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/page1.cfm?ItemID=7206">newspapers</a> and activist <a href="http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/archive/06/0608001r.jpg">documents</a> students can read through.<br />
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The photograph is overwhelming itself, but it might be better to show it to students <b>after</b> a reading of the poem.<br />
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<div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>Strange Fruit </b>by Abel Meeropol (sung by Billie Holiday)</div><blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">Southern trees bear strange fruit,<br />
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,<br />
Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze,<br />
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.<br />
<br />
Pastoral scene of the gallant South,<br />
The bulging eyes and twisted mouth,<br />
The scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,<br />
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.<br />
<br />
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,<br />
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,<br />
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,<br />
Here is a strange and bitter crop.</blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4ZyuULy9zs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Billie Holiday lends her voice to Meeropol's words in this haunting rendition of perhaps one of the most memorable and controversial recordings in jazz history. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktsU01lfzLU">Nina Simone</a> also sings her version of "Strange Fruit", but Billie Holiday's for me is more powerful.<br />
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Drawing on reader response, you can ask your students:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>After learning a little bit about the history of lynching in the States, describe your thoughts after reading the poem. What words or phrases resonated with you?</li>
<li>How do you feel after reading about Meeropol's vivid description of the fruit and plantation crops?</li>
<li>Would the poem be as effective or disturbing if Meeropol simply described the bodies of lynch victims without using nature metaphors? </li>
<li>When you think about farms and crops, what thoughts and emotions do you commonly associate with this pastoral scenery?</li>
</ul><br />
Langston Hughes' "Daybreak in Alabama" offers a visually hopeful view of the future despite the history of hate and violence in the southern States.<br />
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<div style="color: orange;"><b><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/downloads/BHM_HighSchool.pdf">Daybreak in Alabama</a></b> by Langston Hughes</div><div style="color: orange;"><b><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/downloads/BHM_HighSchool.pdf"></a></b></div><blockquote style="color: orange;">When I get to be a composer<br />
I’m gonna write me some music about<br />
Daybreak in Alabama<br />
And I’m gonna put the purtiest songs in it<br />
Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist<br />
And falling out of heaven like soft dew.<br />
I’m gonna put some tall tall trees in it<br />
And the scent of pine needles<br />
And the smell of red clay after rain<br />
And long red necks<br />
And poppy colored faces<br />
And big brown arms<br />
And the field daisy eyes<br />
Of black and white black white black people<br />
And I’m gonna put white hands<br />
And black hands and brown and<br />
yellow hands<br />
And red clay earth hands in it<br />
Touching everybody with kind fingers<br />
And touching each other natural as dew<br />
In that dawn of music when I<br />
Get to be a composer<br />
And write about daybreak<br />
In Alabama.</blockquote> From a reader response perspective you can ask students the following:<br />
<ul><li>Hughes paints a song for his readers. He describes the song he would write in the future using colours, symbols, body parts, elements of nature (like rain, dew, and flowers). What do you think these visual images represent?</li>
<li> Both Meeropol's and Hughes' poem blur the distinction between human body parts and elements of the natural world. But how are their messages different? </li>
</ul>You can even ask your students to...<br />
<ul><li>Create a watercolour painting of Hughes' "Daybreak in Alabama". Try to collect images from the poem as he describes them while offering your own artistic interpretation and representation.</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-70025086740690680042011-01-22T18:11:00.009-05:002011-02-20T17:17:11.859-05:00Book Review: Music Listography Journal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pbTh6_tAZGQ/TVc5ret3ubI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/hyY2zCV3rAk/s1600/Music-Listography1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pbTh6_tAZGQ/TVc5ret3ubI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/hyY2zCV3rAk/s200/Music-Listography1.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><br />
There's no better inspiration for writing this blog than Chapters Indigo. Bios. Great Music Selection. Poetry. Starbucks. It's no wonder my last Associate Teacher loved it there so much. I love it there too. I'm a frequent visitor of the Bay and Bloor location, a great study break from OISE and libraries.<br />
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Lisa Nola's <i>Listography </i>series is a best-seller at Chapters Indigo. Writers eat it all up. Documenting everything - your love life, friendships, and even a bucket list. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Music-Listography-Journal-Lisa-Nola/dp/0811869466/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297561828&sr=1-1">Music Listography: Your Life in Playlists</a> is a list of journals chronicling the most significant songs, albums, concerts of your life.<br />
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Here's some ideas from the journal that teachers can easily tweak for any writing assignment on how music plays a role in the students' lives. <b>Rather than "list", students can "choose" and write why they selected those songs. </b><br />
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I chose my favourite list topics from the book applicable to the classroom and grouped them under musical evaluation, biography, and exploration.<br />
<br />
Musical Evaluation<br />
<ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li>List the twenty albums you'd bring if you were leaving planet earth on a spaceship.</li>
<li>List the best soundtracks.</li>
<li>List the songs that drive you crazy.</li>
</ul><div>Musical Biography</div><div><ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li>List the songs to play at your funeral.</li>
<li>List the songs you thought were about you (a.k.a. your theme song).</li>
<li>List your motivational self-help anthems.</li>
<li>List the most treasured music memorabilia you've owned.</li>
<li>List advice you follow from lyrics.</li>
<li>List a song to dedicate to each of your friends.</li>
<li>List your summertime road trip mix.</li>
</ul><div>Musical Exploration</div></div><div><ul style="color: #8e7cc3;"><li>List your obscure musical discoveries.</li>
<li>List your guilty pleasures.</li>
<li>List bands and genres of music to explore someday.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: right;">Happy writing! :)</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941778573870617099.post-4983703026266368162011-01-22T18:09:00.023-05:002011-02-20T21:16:39.420-05:00Point of View: Kings Of Leon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gnhXHvRoUd0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Sometimes, I walk around thinking I'm a creative genius until I google my idea and find out I wasn't the first one to think about it. When I listen to this song, I automatically think about (excuse the reference but I'm in the GTA Catholic option after all) God. The song could've been written from an all-seeing God looking down at the world, the condition and state it is in. The Office of Catholic Youth of the Archdiocese of Toronto lists it as one of the songs on its online resource <a href="http://www.ocytoronto.org/resources/files/media_resource1.pdf">Video Divina</a>. It asks reflecting questions about the divine, hope, and faith.<br />
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You can also use this song as a <b>minds on</b> activitiy for students to think about perspective and point of view, or even activism and call to action in social justice.<br />
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<div style="color: #6fa8dc;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b></b></div><b>Use Somebody</b> by Kings of Leon </div><blockquote style="color: #6fa8dc;">I've been roaming around, <br />
I was looking down at all I see<br />
painted faces fill places I can't reach<br />
You know that I could use somebody...<br />
you know that I could use somebody...<br />
<br />
Someone like you <br />
and all you know and how you speak<br />
countless lovers undercover of the streets<br />
You know that I could use somebody...<br />
you know that I could use somebody...<br />
<br />
Someone like you<br />
<br />
Off in the night, why'd you live it up, <br />
I'm off to sleep waging wars <br />
to shape the poet and the beat<br />
I hope it's going to make you notice...<br />
I hope it's going to make you notice...<br />
<br />
Someone like me...</blockquote><br />
In class, students can explore perspective and point of view using this song.<br />
<ul><li>Who is the "I" referring to in the song?</li>
<li> Whom are they addressing? Explain your reasoning using evidence from the lyrics.</li>
<li>Reflect on the line, "I could use someone like you and all you know and how you speak". Describe a time when you were moved by an injustice or disaster you've seen in the news or learned about in school. How were you inspired to take action? How have important people in the past taken action and changed the world for the better?</li>
</ul><ul></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0