I Write the Songs that Make My Whole Class Sing

                          

I just couldn't pass up a nod to Barry Manilow in this blog title.  Are you a big a Fanilow as I am?

I digress.  But, that man was onto something.  Integrating music into my lessons brought a whole new level of fun to my class.  After teaching a song, for weeks, I'd hear students randomly breaking into "Don't worry, about a king.  Cause Washington is here.  And he will lead."  (to the tune of Three Little Birds by Marley)  You can't get better history PR than that!  

"But I can't sing," you might say.  "I have no background in music and don't know how to write a song," you may protest. "No one has ever called me a lyrical genius," you may weep. "My class will think it's weird," you may cry, rocking in the corner.  Have no fear! I said all of those things too.  So let me calm your fears with some simple steps that will have your class belting out historically accurate facts in no time!

Fear 1: "But I can't sing."

I'll let you in on a little secret.  Neither can I!  I hadn't sung formally since my 6th grade choir concert (and even then the reviews were mixed).  I'll let you in on another secret.  Your class will just be so impressed that you're singing to them, they'll compare you to Adele or Bruno Mars in no time.  Seriously.  The first time I broke into song with any class, undoubtedly someone says, "Wow, Ms. Sewell. You have a beautiful voice!"  


Do I?  NO!  But the bar is set low for them.  They have little life experience and have been to few if any concerts.  They will just be impressed you're putting yourself out there.  And who knows, maybe you'll give just a little courage to that shy child in the back of the room.

Fear 2: "I have no background in music and don't know how to write a song!"

I didn't either! I learned a trick though that made song writing so much easier--syllabication.  And as a teacher, I was sort of an expert at clapping out syllables (please, hold your applause until the end of this post).

I've made up a handy dandy planning sheet that shows my thinking process.  It's often how I organize my songs when I sit down to write them.  

I start with the standards I want to cover.  It may take me 3 or 4 songs to to cover everything I want to.  That's ok.  You'll start to get the sense when a song becomes to content heavy or unorganized, and you need to add another.

Then, I google the lyrics to a song I want to use.  I try to use popular songs that my kids have heard.  If I find one that they probably don't know but would be perfect to teach a concept, then I try to play it for them.  (i.e. When 'We are the Champions' becomes 'We Are Loud Amplitude.')  Often after I play an 'old song', they'll go, "Oh, my dad listens to that," or " I heard that song on Kung Fu Panda."  You know, something that will make you feel really old.  

After I find the lyrics, I count the syllables for each line.  That's the red parthensesed numbers. I then write my lyrics trying to get close to that same syllable number for each line.  It will make your song sound more like the original.  

Am I sometimes off a syllable or two?  Sure.  Sometimes it's not a big deal.  Sometimes when the kids sing, I'll have them stretch out a word or two to get the right rhythm.  

Fear #3: No one has ever called me a lyrical genius.

Just because you've never won a rap battle or had a chance to do a mic drop (in public at least), doesn't mean you can't come up with creative lyrics.

If spittin' rhymes isn't your thang, then you can use www.rhymezone.com!  This has saved me many a time when trying to rhyme something with 'president' or 'acoustics'.  

If that doesn't work, switch some words around in a line of your song.  Try to end lines with easy-to-rhyme words.  For example, this lyric to the tune of MJ's Thriller:  
"Cause this is higher, higher pitch.  It makes your voice go way up like the cackle of a witch."  
Pitch isn't too hard of a word to rhyme with, so I try to get it at the end of my line.

When possible, try to leave as much of the lyrics in tact as you can, especially at the end of lines.  Professionals have done the hard work for you already!  So, for example, 'We are the champion my friends, And we'll keep on fighting til the end' is easy to change to 'Washington's the champion my friend, And he kept on fighting til the end.'

Fear #4: "My class will think it's weird!"

They may, at first.  But don't they already think everything you do is a little weird (I'm talking to you, upper grade teachers).  

To ease your fears, let me give you the most helpful piece of teaching advice I could ever give to any colleague.  Are you ready for it?

When in doubt, involve your students!

Don't know what the cool kids are listening to these days?  Ask your students.

Don't know a word that rhymes with transcontinental?  Make it the challenge of the day for your students.

Can't carry a tune?  Have your students sing the songs and just give feedback when needed.

Stuck on a lyric?  Ask your students to finish a line or the whole song.

They will love the challenge. Of course a few won't, but then again, a few never like any lessons we present.  Unless it involves food.  They probably like that.  


Still not convinced?  I'll leave you with a quote from one of my students.

"Ms. Sewell, when I took the Egypt test just now, I sang some of the songs in my head, and you know what? I knew all the answers!!  Is that cheating?"

"No, child.  It's called learning.  Maybe we should try it more often!"

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Not ready to spit your own lyrics?  Check out some of my already created rhymes embedded into reader's theater scripts!  Enjoy!




Want your class writing their own lyrics about a topic?  Check out my lesson on writing songs about rocks.  It could easily be used for any content area: