Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.

Eve Dorfman
Grade: 2nd
Subject: ELA
Lesson Title: Poetry Through Song
Time: 30 minutes

Standards:
2SL1a: Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and participate by actively listening,
taking turns, and staying on topic.
2SL2: Recount or describe key ideas or details of diverse texts and formats.

Objectives:
● Students will become more familiar with poetry in its many forms; specifically through
music and song lyrics
● Students will compare different songs, focusing on literary elements of poetry within
each piece, and learn how lyrics are a form of poetry
● Students will reinforce their knowledge of rhyming, lines, and stanzas as they engage
with poetry in song form
● Students will use close listening and close reading skills as they analyze lyrics
● Students will learn a new literary element of poetry: rhythm
● Students will identify repeating rhythms in song lyrics

Materials:
● Song: “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars - minutes 0:00-1:00
● Song: “When I’m Sixty-Four” by The Beatles - minutes 0:00-0:38
● Copies of lyrics to both songs printed for each student (attached)
● Large-text version of lyrics to both songs displayed for all of the class
● Speaker (or other method of playing songs for all of the class to hear)
● Marker or some other (preferably colored) writing utensil to annotate the large-text
version of both songs
● Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14u2VoB-VVZn8oYKnWZLwVt9xprBjGpSfzM_
7l9E6Wp0/edit?usp=sharing

Procedure:
● Begin lesson by asking students to remain seated, to listen, and mention they may sing
along quietly if they know the words to what they’re about to hear.
● Play the cut of “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars (0:00-1:00) that the class will be
analyzing.
 Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.2

● Play the cut of “When I’m Sixty-Four” by the Beatles (0:00-0:38) that the class will be
analyzing.
● When songs have finished: “Weren’t those nice songs? Raise your hand if you’ve heard
either of those songs before.” Wait for students to raise hands.
● “In our last lesson, we looked at two poems: ‘Hug O’ War’ by Shel Silverstein, and ‘If I
Were in Charge of the World’ by Judith Viorst. Can anyone tell the class something that
they learned about poetry last time?” Wait for responses from 2-3 students.
○ If students don’t mention rhyming, lines, and stanzas, be prepared to prompt
them:
■ “What were some things that the two poems we did our scavenger hunt
with had in common?” (Prompting for lines and stanzas)
■ “What is one thing in some poetry that makes a poem sound nice when
you read it?” “What do we call it when two words have the same ending
sound?” (Prompting for rhyming)
■ “Challenge question: does anyone remember what a poem is called when
it doesn’t rhyme?” (Prompting for free-verse poem)
● “Today, we’re going to be examining how poetry can be used in music! Raise your hand
if you’ve ever listened to the words of a song really closely.” Wait for students to raise
hands. “In this lesson, we’re going to practice those close listening skills! We’ll also use
close reading skills to look at the words of the two songs you heard at the beginning of
class, and then do an activity with them to learn more about literary elements of poetry!”
● Hand out copies of “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars to each student.
● Display a large-text version of the lyrics to “Count on Me” at the front of class (either on
the board or on a big sticky-note paper).
● “Now that you have our first song in front of you, does anyone know what the special
name is for the words of a song?” Wait for students to respond “lyrics”. “The lyrics are
what we call the words to a song. So, what kind of literature does an author write?…”
Prompt students to chime in: books. “Books! And a poet is a person who writes…”
Prompt students to chime in: poetry. “Poetry! A lyricist is a person who writes the lyrics
to a song! Can you all say lyricist?” Wait for students to pronounce lyricist (this may take
a few tries as it is an unfamiliar word to many). “Amazing! What’s really interesting is
that in many ways, the lyrics to a song are a form of poetry!”
● “Let’s begin by listening to this first song again. This song is called ‘Count on Me’ and
it’s sung by Bruno Mars. As you listen, I’d like you to follow along on your lyric sheet.
You can use your close reading skills to look out for anything that you recognize based
on what we learned last week. Can anyone remind us one more time what we did a
scavenger hunt for in the last lesson?” Wait for students to respond: lines, stanzas, and
rhyming. “Great! Let’s examine our lyric sheets as we listen.”
● Play “Count on Me”
 Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.3

● Allow students a brief moment to process after song cut ends. “Okay! Can anyone tell the
class one thing they noticed about the way the lyrics are organized, or structured, as they
were following along?” Wait for responses about lines and stanzas.
● “Did anyone find a line that they really enjoyed?” Wait for 2-3 responses. “Why did you
enjoy that line?” With each response, allow the student to come up to the large text
version and highlight or underline the line they chose.
● “Did anyone find a stanza that they really enjoyed?” Wait for 2 responses. “Why did you
enjoy that stanza?” With each response, allow the student to come up to the large text
version and highlight or underline the stanza they chose.
● “Amazing job everyone! You all discovered two ways in which lyrics are like poetry in
the form of music: both poetry and lyrics are organized into lines and stanzas!”
● “We’ll come back to this song in a few minutes, but let's first listen to our second song of
the day which is called ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ by The Beatles.” Hand out copies of
“When I’m Sixty-Four” by The Beatles to each student.
● Display a large-text version of the lyrics to “When I’m Sixty-Four” at the front of class
(either on the board or on a big sticky-note paper).
● “Now, as you listen to this song, I’d like you to follow along on your lyric sheet again,
but this time, use your close listening skills to see if you can find any rhyming in the
song. If you’d like, you can use a pencil to circle some words that rhyme as you listen.”
● Play “When I’m Sixty-Four”
● Allow students a brief moment to process after song cut ends. “Great! Were you all able
to use your close listening skills to find some rhyming words?” “Would anyone like to
share some words that they found that rhyme?” Allow 3-4 students to respond. With each
response, allow the student to come up to the large text version and circle the rhyming
words they chose in the same color. Each rhyming pair should be circled in a different
color so students may differentiate between pairs (if possible).
● “Wonderful work! Rhyming is another way in which lyrics to a song are like poetry!”
“You might have noticed there is also rhyming in the first song that we listened to today,
and you might have noticed that the second song we listened to today is also organized
into lines and stanzas! Both of our songs are forms of musical poetry!”
● “Now, we’re going to do an activity where we will make some musical patterns! Can
everyone please stand up quietly?” Wait for students to stand. Once everyone is standing:
“I’m going to clap out a few patterns, and then you’re all going to repeat each one by
clapping your own hands. Ready?” Clap out a simple pattern (maybe even one that
students are already familiar with, such as a clap pattern that signals quiet in the
classroom). Repeat that clap pattern with students. Clap out a second simple pattern.
Repeat that clap pattern with students. Clap out the first pattern again. Repeat that clap
pattern with students. Finally, clap out the first and second patterns together. Repeat that
clap pattern with students.
 Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.4

● “Great job everyone! Please have a seat again.” “Now we’re going to clap out a pattern in
one of our songs. Can everyone take out ‘Count on Me’? I’m going to play this song
again while you take out your lyric sheets.” Play cut of “Count on Me” while students
settle with materials.
● “I’m going to clap out the first two lines of this song so you all can hear the pattern.
Then, I’d like you to all try your best to clap the first two lines yourselves. Let me show
you:” Clap out the first two lines of ‘Count on Me’ by their syllables, singing (or
speaking) the lyrics that go along with each syllable. “Now let’s all try together!” Repeat
clapping and singing, this time with students. “Great job everyone! You’re really getting
the hang of this! Now, let’s all try to clap out the third and fourth lines of this song
together. Ready?” The whole class should clap out the third and fourth lines of ‘Count on
Me’ by their syllables, singing the lyrics that go with each syllable.
● “Did anyone notice that the clapping pattern of the first two lines is almost exactly the
same as the clapping pattern for the third and fourth line? When we were clapping, it was
as if we were creating the beat of the song, right? A lot of times in music, instruments
like the drums help us hear the beat of a song. In poetry, we recognize the beat of a poem
as the rhythm. So, you all just created the rhythm of the song, ‘Count on Me’!”
● “As we discovered when we were clapping, the rhythm of the first two lines matched the
rhythm of the third and fourth lines in the song. A lot of times in poetry and songs, the
rhythm repeats many times.” “Let’s see if we can find the repeating rhythm in our second
song.”
● “Could you all please take out ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’?” Wait for students to settle with
materials. “In this song, the repeated rhythm is a little harder to identify. I’m going to
play the first two lines of the song so we can listen for the rhythm pattern.” Play the first
two lines of “When I’m Sixty-Four” (0:00-0:16). “Now, I’m going to play the first two
lines again, and lets try to clap out the rhythm together.” Play the first two lines of “When
I’m Sixty-Four” again (0:00-0:16), this time, clapping out the rhythm with students.
● “In this song, the rhythm pattern doesn't repeat again until the first two lines of the
second stanza. Can everyone find the beginning of the second stanza on their lyric
sheet?” Wait for students to find the second stanza. “Now, I’m going to play the first two
lines of the second stanza, and, since we already know the rhythm pattern that is going to
repeat, let’s all clap it out together! Ready?” Play the first two lines of the second stanza
of “When I’m Sixty-Four” (0:24-0:30), clapping out the rhythm with students.
● “Amazing! You’re all experts in repeating rhythms! Now, just for fun, let's listen to
‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ one last time and clap out the parts that have the repeating rhythm
that we found. Remember to use your close listening skills so we don’t rush the rhythm!”
Play the whole cut of “When I’m Sixty-Four” (0:00-0:38) and clap out the parts where
the repeating rhythm occurs with students.
● “Great job everyone! You all should be so proud of all that you accomplished today! We
learned how poetry can be put to music in the form of a song! You were able to use your
 Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.5

close reading skills to find the lines and stanzas that were the building blocks of the two
songs we listened to. You also used your close listening skills to hear some fun rhyming
words that make the songs sound nice to our ears. Finally, you all became experts at
identifying repeating rhythms in songs that create the beat of a poem!”

Assessment:
● Throughout the entirety of the lesson, make note of which students are able to recall the
elements of poetry taught in the previous lesson (lines, stanzas, rhyming), and which
● As the song cuts are being played, observe students’ ability to utilize close reading skills.
● Collect annotated student lyric sheets after the lesson and evaluate their success in
identifying lines and stanzas within song lyrics.
● As students clap out the syllables to the rhythms within each song, observe their ability to
accurately identify repeating rhythm patterns and follow the tempo of the class.

Differentiation:
● For a student who might not like changes in routine, the clapping portion of this lesson
that teaches rhythmic patterns might be uncomfortable. To help ease the transition to this
part of the lesson, a teacher can move at a slightly slower pace, provide more time
between each clapping example for students to process their task, and reiterate the fact
that the whole class will be doing this activity in unison, creating a fully supported
environment.
● For a student who may get distracted easily, a teacher could use supportive reminders to
draw the student back to the task at hand. The teacher could pose skills such as using
close reading or close listening as something worth being proud of and demonstrating
directly to the teacher. Examples of this redirection of attention could be: “Could you
show me how great you are at close reading by finding all of the stanzas in this song?” or
“Make sure you’re using your amazing close listening skills to really pay attention to the
musical poetry that is playing. Could you show me one rhyme you heard?”
● This lesson would need to be modified for any students who may be hearing impaired.
Rhythm could be taught in ways other than clapping, such as a gentle tap on the arm of
the student (if deemed appropriate) so they could still recognize a pattern, even if they
can’t hear it. Instead of practicing close listening skills to identify rhymes, close reading
skills could be used through the practice of identifying similar looking word endings.
Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.6
Dorfman, Poetry Lesson B, p.7