NICHOLE WILSON HOW CAN USING MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM Nichole Wilson teaches ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO ACTIVELY ENGAGE Advanced Placement English Literature and WITH THE ANALYSIS OF POETRY ? English 4 at William Mason High School. She is also the Grade 12 ELA Team Leader at Mason, and a Teacher Most students enter our AP English Literature classrooms Leader Liaison for the state lacking experience with poetry analysis. Even those that of Ohio. claim to enjoy and even write poetry are intimidated by the She is an AP English Literature Consultant, Mentor, prospect of an academic approach to the genre. The students’ and Exam Reader, and has spoken about best practices at a number of conferences, including the fear leads to resistance, which leads to halting and superficial Advanced Placement Annual Conference (2017, discussion, which makes our jobs as teachers all the more 2018, 2019) and the College Board's National Forum (2013, 2015, 2017). Through the J. William Fulbright challenging. However, most students LOVE music and feel program, Nichole taught Literature, Language, and comfortable discussing it. Ask a student to memorize a sonnet, Media Studies at East Norfolk Sixth Form College in England. She has also worked as a journalist for a forget it. But ask them to recite the entire catalog of Beyonce daily newspaper, and as a Public Relations Director lyrics? No problem. And there is poetry to be found in song and adjunct instructor at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. She is not a musician. lyrics: striking diction and imagery, inventive use of metaphor, playful assonance and consonance, and most importantly, complex human stories. BLAKE TAYLOR This provides us with an exciting opportunity. It is our duty to present our students with rich and challenging texts in order Blake Taylor teaches AP to train them to analyze complexity in both meaning and craft. English Literature and Creative Writing at Walnut In this session, Blake Taylor (Walnut Hills High School) and Hills High School in Nichole Wilson (William Mason High School), a musician, a 1 Cincinnati, Ohio. For nearly two decades, Blake’s music lover, and both veteran AP English Literature teachers professional focus has been and AP Readers, will offer classroom-ready activities that will C on better serving an let the lyrics of songs be a gateway to the skills that students I increasingly diverse S population of AP learners need for studying the complex craft of poetry. From Bessie U M in urban public schools and beyond. An AP Reader Smith to Taylor Swift, from Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar, the and trained AP Mentor, Blake has given numerous F O national and regional presentations (often with his poetry of music can lead students to the music of poetry. Y colleague, Nichole Wilson) on topics ranging from R the influx of technology in the classroom, to T innovations in writing instruction, to issues of E O access and equity. A lifelong musician, Blake still P performs live multiple times a month, he just E released a new album with his duo, 46 Long, and is H a sought after studio harmonica player. T "SALT IN MY WOUNDS" One last slow blues To close the show I watched you dance with her And, you know, it hurt me so Why would you bring A new love around, around so soon? Shemekia Copeland Why would you have to rub Salt in my wounds? Shemekia Copeland I ain't bitter or want to judge never holds back. Her instantly recognizable She won fair and square voice—capable of And I hold no grudge being sultry, assertive and roaring—delivers every song with Why would you bring a new love around so soon unparalleled honesty Why would you wanna rub and passion. Her wide- open vision of Salt in my wounds? contemporary Couldn't you wait till these healing hands of time Americana roots and Squeeze the pain, the pain from my heart? soul music showcases the evolution of a Couldn't you wait till my bruised and bitter pride passionate artist with Till it ain't, till it ain't torn apart an up-to-the-minute https://www.shemekia musical and lyrical copeland.com/ approach. Take your price now, and just walk away We can both live to love another day Questions Why would you bring a new love around so soon? Why would you wanna rub Describe the speaker. From whose point of Salt in my wounds? view is the song being sung? What do we Why would you wanna rub know about this character? What can we assume? Salt in my wounds? Make me feel low down Make me feel so bad Why would you have to bring a new love What situation does the song present? Is Around so soon there a setting? Is there a plot or story being told? Why would you have to hurt me Oh, made me feel so bad Rubbing salt in my wounds Yea yea yea yea What is the speaker's emotional attitude 2 toward the situation? Circle the words or phrases that convey this attitude. Does it C shift? I S U M Support your responses with phrases and F O words found in the lyrics. Y R T E O P E H T "SALT IN MY WOUNDS" One last slow blues To close the show I watched you dance with her And, you know, it hurt me so Why would you bring A new love around, around so soon? THE PROMPT Why would you have to rub Salt in my wounds? Carefully listen to Shemekia Copeland's song, "Salt in My Wounds." Then, in a well-written I ain't bitter or want to judge essay, analyze how Copeland uses literary elements and techniques to develop the She won fair and square complex attitude of the speaker/singer. And I hold no grudge DIRECTIONS Why would you bring a new love around so soon Why would you wanna rub Salt in my wounds? Identify the "big ideas" or abstract nouns. Couldn't you wait till these healing hands of time Squeeze the pain, the pain from my heart? Select the top three most prominent words. Identify Couldn't you wait till my bruised and bitter pride the binary opposites, either explicit or implicit. Till it ain't, till it ain't torn apart Take your price now, and just walk away We can both live to love another day Why would you bring a new love around so soon? Why would you wanna rub Salt in my wounds? Why would you wanna rub Salt in my wounds? Make me feel low down Make me feel so bad Why would you have to bring a new love Select one word. Write a thematic statement about Around so soon that concept. Why would you have to hurt me Oh, made me feel so bad Rubbing salt in my wounds Yea yea yea yea 3 C Using transitional words and phrases, write a I S thematic statement about the opposite word. U M F O Y R T E O P E H T HOW WILL YOU USE MUSIC TO ENGAGE STUDENTS & PRACTICE SKILLS? GETTING STARTED Write down the name of a song you feel would engage students, allow them to practice Poetry I skills, and would lend itself to multiple interpretations. Explain why this song would engage your students. List which skill or skills your students would be able to practice. How does the song lend itself to multiple interpretations? What might those interpretations be? 4 C I S U M F O Y R T E O P E H T NICHOLE'S "STUDIO" BLAKE'S "STUDIO" P E R S O N A L I Z E D L E A R N I N G I S A T T H E C O R E O F M U S I C I S T H E L E N S T H A T I C H O S E T O G R I N D F O R O U R C L A S S R O O M P R A C T I C E S A T W I L L I A M M Y S E L F T H R O U G H W H I C H I V I E W T H E W O R L D , S O M A S O N H I G H S C H O O L , S O I T M A K E S S E N S E T O I T M A K E S S E N S E T H A T I V I E W L I T E R A T U R E B E G I N A N D E N D T H E Y E A R W I T H S T U D E N T T H R O U G H T H A T L E N S , A S W E L L . T O N I M O R R I S O N , C H O I C E & V O I C E . N O T E T H A T A L L A C T I V I T I E S “ S H E H E A R S T H E M U S I C D I F F E R E N T L Y . ” J U S T A S A L S O I N C O R P O R A T E C E D S K I L L F I G 6 .