Lyric Lesson Plans

Eighth graders analyze lyrics from songs from a variety of genres. In this musical analysis lesson plan, 8th graders write an essay about their life plans in which they discuss the lyrics of U2's song, "One." They tell how the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King and song tell about diversity and interdependence.

Explore popular music from the culture of the foreign language that young scholars are learning in this intriguing lesson. Choose a song and create a cloze activity with the lyrics written in the corresponding language the songs will be performed as lip sync while classmates complete the missing words on the lyrics cloze worksheet. 

Students listen to the lyrics of modern songs by Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and others to enhance their study and to connect to characters, conflicts, and themes of the play, A Raisin in the Sun.

Students watch selected film clips about Cole Porter and discover his uniqueness. In groups, they research associates of the Porter's and present reports on them. Then, they write position papers on prominent people of the Jazz Age. They conclude with their descriptions of Porter's song, You're the Top, and write their own song lyrics.

Fourth graders study folk songs and fables to draw conclusions about inferred meanings. In this inferred meanings lesson plan, 4th graders read fables and use the text to support their understanding of the tale's meanings. Students write their own folk song lyrics and fables with inferred meanings.

Learners analyze lyrics. In this language arts lesson, students identify the people, places and events described in a song's lyrics. Learners research the background of the song.

Students examine the themes and structure of a bluegrass song and identify the common themes in bluegrass music. They practice songwriting by rewriting the lyrics of "Oh! Susanna" as a bluegrass tune.

Students interpret the lyrics of a selected song through the use of photos and a presentation program. They search for photos on Pics4Learning to illustrate their interpretation of the song. Photos are downloaded to a folder on their hard drive.

Learners examine the lyrics to songs and describe how the music and words relate to their life stories. In this lyric analysis lesson, students create a photostory using songs lyrics to describe their life stories.

Students explore the relationships between story structure elements. In this literacy and higher level thinking activity, students listen to the lyrics of "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. Students identify the characters, settings, and viewpoints portrayed in the song. Students analyze the change in viewpoint present in the song, and possible reasons for this change. A copy of the song lyrics is included.