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