Skip to main content

Linkin Park and Language Arts


“How do you just look at a music video and know how to use it in class?”

It is not just music videos, it is everything around me. I am always looking for new ways to get students involved and interested in their learning. I talk to an older person about their history and I immediately think – oral histories. Have the students interview them and compile a book. At town clean-up day I was thinking about ways to get the students more involved in the community. Working out every morning, I think about where I can get a grant to get a teen program going for typically inactive students. Museums. Events. Television shows. Movies. Music videos.

Music. Poetry. Theme. Compare and contrast. Persuasion. Higher level thinking. It all goes together. Today was no exception. The music of Linkin Park kept us all sane as the raucous of EOGs could be felt. Before we watched the video, I asked the students to determine the message that Linkin Park wanted us to get when watching it. To do so, they needed to pay attention to all their clues – both the lyrics and the visuals in the video. The challenge was to write down everything they saw that was not the band.

One class had a list of 50 images, while another was able to catch over 100. Three classes watched along with me. Each time I watched it, I saw something new. We watched it twice to add to the list. And then it was time to go through it slowly, stopping there was a new image. The real challenge came next – to work as a group to articulate, support, and present the message as they interpreted it. Discussions could be heard around the room as students talked with each other about Lincoln and Hitler; medicine and drugs; oil spills and transportation; and children waving flags and those waving guns. From all of the discussion came presentations including posters, power points, and speeches. Some were very general – There is good and bad in the world” to the more specific, “What we do impacts the world around us.” Lessons that go beyond the classroom.

 The lessons learned have nothing to how to take the EOGs; however, the skills used to determine the lesson can be used in finding theme in reading. (We have made this connection several times this year.) Linkin Park, Eminem, TI, 30 Seconds to Mars, Jamey Johnson, Bon Jovi, U2, Green Day, and a myriad of others. A variety of genres for a plethora of students. All meant to inspire to learn the skill being taught as well as being a better person. I am pretty sure after being in my class for the year, my students now think differently when hearing music.

Music. The language of teenagers. A great starting point for thinking.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing ...
2 comments
Read more

The Challenge of Five

Living alone is easy. Add one more person to the equation and it becomes a bit more challenging – especially when that person is a 13 year old. But in time, we figured it out. Somewhere in there, Beatrice joined us. With Thanksgiving came the joy of the five of us together for the week. And then reality set in as Tony and Sana began their trek back to New Hampshire. Our household of two was now a household of three as Sean made himself a home with us.   For the first five years of Sean’s life it was just he and I. How difficult could it be to have my 22-year-old son living with me again? A mother couldn’t ask for a better son. He is loving, kind, intelligent, and hard-working. He has grown into a fine young man who has lived on his own for the past three years. He has his own way of doing things.   I have my way of doing things. Needless to say, the two clash a bit. I tend to go with the flow and do things (supper, adventures, etc) as the mood strikes. He likes to plan eve...
2 comments
Read more

I Got the Call!

I began the day a bit down in the dumps. (As is very evident from the earlier blog entry of the day.) I was missing my family. Wondering about the risk we took. Uncertain how it would all work out. My brother, Jamie, insisted that Patti and I join his family for a Braves game. He bought us $1 tickets and told us to get to Turner Field. The great thing about Atlanta Braves games on a hot Sunday afternoon is that the turn-out is not very good. We followed Jamie toward his seats on the third base line and sat in a couple of empty ones about 20 rows back. By the end of the game, I was in the first row! Apparently it was too hot for many of the fans. The Braves trounced the Dodgers, 13-1. (Newly added to my bucket list: get to as many of the major league baseball parks as possible. I have been to three this summer alone!) Upon returning ‘home’ I decided to check out the possibility of more jobs. Curiosity led me to Manchester’s website. (Manchester is about 30 minutes away from whe...
3 comments
Read more