Author:
Kathryn MacQuarrie – Middle School Literacy Teacher
This Reading/Language Arts unit is an intertextual exploration of ‘Lyrics and Liberation’: How musicians and writers use songwriting as a tool for storytelling, identity expression/exploration, and social justice. Throughout this unit, students will be able to explore how the medium of music can impact and often elevate storytelling, as well as understand the power in songwriting for liberatory/social justice movements. Students will participate in lyrical analysis and discussion, with the goal of identifying how writers are using different strategies to convey theme. The texts studied by students will center the stories and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We will not only consider the lyrical and literary choices made by writers, but also the identity work and social change that comes from storytelling and expression in this form. Students will also have the opportunity to put together an intentional ‘Protest Playlist,’ or write their own song/lyrics to showcase their learning from the unit overall. Students will get to utilize the tools we’ve learned about and construct their own stories by either writing songs, creating playlists, or experimenting with both. At the end of this unit, students should be able to not only acknowledge the unique power dynamics that exist within songwriting, but also, be able to effectively hone these skills to make effective, positive social change.
** Because this is an Ethnic Studies unit, teachers should preview all mentor texts and update if needed based on the relevant happenings in the teacher’s geographic locations and needs/interests/identities of the students.