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Song Analysis Project

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Activity Website:

https://www.eapfoundation.com/vocab/academic/highlighter/

Tech Product/Equipment:

Computer and projector, Mobile devices for students, Computer, Speakers

Activity Description

Source: Pixabay by RyanMcGuire (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Music is a powerful way to learn English. For this project, students choose a song in English and explore its language, meaning, and cultural background.

Preparation

Check the website to ensure it is not blocked at your site.
Read through the lesson plan.
Print and make copies of any handouts.

How-To

Select a song for modeling the analysis and find the audio or video and lyrics online as an alternative to the song included for the listening cloze in this lesson, as desired.

Use the EAP Foundation.com Gapfill Maker to create a listening cloze after location the lyrics for the song online. Navigate to the site, scroll down, and follow the instructions. A Large Language Model such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Claude can also be used to create the listening cloze.

Prepare a mini lesson on present and past passive and an activity to help students memorize needed past participles.

Decide on the tool for students to make their visual aides for the projects. Options are Padlet, Google Slides, PowerPoint, or other. Practice how to insert audio/video for whichever tool is decided on to be prepared to demonstrate and/or provide instructions for students.

Program Areas

ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

Intermediate Low
Intermediate High
Advanced

View Lesson Plan

Warm-up

Engagement

Ask students if they like music and how often and where they listen to music.

Ask students if they listen to music with lyrics in English. Ask them to name some English-language artists and songs they know.

Introduction

Engagement

Tell students that they are going to practice listening and vocabulary by discussing music and analyzing an English-language song to present to the class.

Begin by definining the word "genre" as it applies to music and give a few examples. Conduct a round-robin of brainstorming and naming genres of music and list students' contributions on a document. Students may name genres specific to their home countries/cultures. Open up YouTube or Vimeo and search for video clips of some of the unfamiliar genres - and/or instruments - to show the class.

Use the attached document on conversation for students to converse and build fluency on the topic of music. Put students in pairs or small groups and circulate to ask questions and give feedback on needed vocabulary.

Presentation

Engagement Enhancement

Go over select vocabulary and give examples from the following:

Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (e.g., "Double, double, toil and trouble").

Chorus: The "hook" or main message of the song; it usually repeats with the same lyrics and melody.

Lyrics: The words of a song

Metaphor/Simile: Comparing two unlike things to create a vivid image.

Metaphor: "My heart is a stereo."
Simile: "Life is like a highway."

Mood: The overall atmosphere or emotional "weather" of the song (e.g., somber, nostalgic, defiant).

Personification: Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., "The guitar gently weeps").

Refrain: A recurring line or phrase, usually at the end of a verse, that ties the theme together.

Rhyme: A correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of music (balloon rhymes with moon)

Tone: The songwriter’s attitude toward the subject matter. A song about a breakup could have a bittertone, a resigned tone, or even a humorous tone.

Verse: The part of the song that tells the story and changes lyrics each time it returns.

Review with this Padlet Arcade flashcard deck.

Practice

Engagement Enhancement

Tell students that they are going to practice listening comprehension with a famous English-language song, "Imagine" by John Lennon. Ask them if they have heard of this singer and what they know of him and this song. Give brief information about both, as needed.

Note: You may choose a different song and can easily create a listening close with the EAP Foundation gapfill maker or by using a Large Language Model such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, etc.

Distribute the listening cloze document. Navigate to the official video of the song on YouTube and allow students to listen and fill in the missing lyrics.

Follow up with discussion questions on the document and by providing a modeled analysis of the song based on the information on the project description document.

Presentation

Conduct a mini lesson with sentences about the song used for listening cloze or another song to demonstrate how present and past passive are used to discuss works of art.

The song is sung by ...

The song was written by ...

The song was released in ...

The song is listened to by ...

Practice

Have students practice present and past passive with the handout.

Practice

Enhancement Extension

As desired and based on your students' interest and level, include a text on Amercian music, such as CommonLit's Protest Music is as American as Apple Pie (free account needed to access). Prepare a mini lesson in advance to help students understand the historical context of the songs in the article and find audio/video clips of some of the songs, as desired.

Evaluation

Enhancement Extension

Explain the project using the project description document. Demonstrate for students how to find audio/video and lyrics for the songs they select. Give feedback on their first versions of their projects.

Have students present their song analyses projects to the class. Use a rubric or checklist to provide feedback.

Application

Extension

Follow up by having students find another song and optionally create a YouTube playlist of students' favorite English-language musc. Students will engage with vocabulary building and prosody practice by listening to and reading lyrics.

View Documents

View Standards

Reading Foundational Skills
- RF.2 - Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). (Phonological Awareness)
- RF.3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. (Phonics and Word Recognition)
- RF.4 - Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. (Fluency)
Reading
- CCR Anchor 1 - Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Writing
- CCR Anchor 4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
- CCR Anchor 7 - Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
- CCR Anchor 8 - Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Speaking and Listening
- CCR Anchor 1 - Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
- CCR Anchor 3 - Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
Language
- CCR Anchor 1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCR Anchor 3 - Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

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Song Analysis Project

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Activity Description

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