As they learn how writers revise their work and use literary devices, the students gear up for a school assembly led by Australian rap star Nelson Dialect
When superstar Taylor Swift writes a song, she deploys the same creative tools used by a girl named Henley, a Denver fourth grader.
Henley, a fourth-grade student from Asbury Elementary School in Denver, recites her poem "Bullies Stand Down" during a poetry workshop at the Innisfree听Poetry Bookstore and Caf茅, an event that was part of Pop in the Classroom at CU 麻豆影院.听 Photos and video by Justin Golightly. At the top of page, Taylor Swift performs in 2018. Getty Images.
In a first draft of her hit song 鈥淥ut of the Woods,鈥� for instance, Swift repeats the phrase 鈥淚 remember鈥� three times in a row. In the studio recording, however, she sings it once.听
Henley noticed the difference when she and her classmates were in a sound room at the 麻豆影院 comparing an听听补苍诲听听of Swift鈥檚 hit song and others. She said the final version is better. And that鈥檚 the point of the exercise: learning that writing well means revising carefully.
This is one of several eureka moments during a half-day poetry boot camp organized by Adam Bradley, CU 麻豆影院 English professor and director of the Laboratory of Race and Popular Culture鈥攐r听RAP Lab. The lab鈥檚 Pop Lyrics in the Classroom program brought kids from Asbury Elementary School in Denver to 麻豆影院 last month.听
But why teach elementary-school kids about rhyme, meter and the process of revision? What do popular songs have to with the art of language? And who cares about poetry?
Bradley and teachers at Asbury Elementary strive to help kids learn鈥攁nd love鈥攚riting, which can be equally wonderful and laborious. Popular songs are crammed with literary devices, and students who understand this are more likely to love wordplay, or at least feel comfortable tackling essays, book reports and, later, professional writing.听
In previous years, Bradley ran a program called Hip Hop in the Classroom, which worked with high school and middle school students. This year鈥檚 program, which will culminate in May with a school assembly led by Australian rapper Nelson Dialect, focuses on younger children.
Desi Kennedy is a personalized learning coach at Asbury who taught Bradley鈥檚 daughter in 麻豆影院 and has known Bradley鈥檚 family for years. At Asbury, Kennedy鈥檚 role is to connect students鈥� learning to 鈥渁uthentic real-world experiences.鈥�
The songs kids love teach them the tools of poetry鈥攔hythm, rhyme, figurative language鈥攚ithout the intimidation that some students feel when approaching a more conventional work of literature."听
鈥擜dam Bradley
As Kennedy devised the fourth-grade poetry lesson plan with an Asbury literacy teacher, 鈥渨e brainstormed and imagined ways we could integrate rap music and poetry in collaboration with our music teacher.鈥�
Then they consulted Bradley.
Pop in the Classroom dovetails perfectly with those aims, Bradley said. The goal is to use the comfort students have with rap and popular music of all types as a way to open the door to literary studies, the practice of composition, the discipline of close reading鈥斺�渁ll the things we want them to learn in the language arts.鈥�
Bradley and his graduate and undergraduate students in the RAP Lab have developed lesson plans for younger students, and those plans were executed last month.听
Josette Lorig, a PhD candidate in English and lab manager of the RAP Lab, records sounds in the "sample songs" exercise, in which听kids made and recorded sounds such as chirping or clapping, and Lorig mixed the sounds into a song.
The Asbury students鈥� field trip to 麻豆影院 included a visit to Innisfree Poetry Bookstore and Caf茅, where caf茅 co-owner Brian Buckley discussed Robert Frost鈥檚 poetry and the kids鈥� favorite words, which included 鈥渇iddlesticks,鈥� 鈥渟patula鈥� and 鈥渟opapilla.鈥澨�
He also invited kids to the stage to recite their own poetry. Henley was one of the first to volunteer, reciting her poem about bullying, 鈥淏ullies Stand Down.鈥�
The fourth graders then went to the RAP Lab on campus, where they absorbed five sections of poetic instruction:
Judging by the fourth-graders鈥� reactions, the exercises were fun, and Bradley said that鈥檚 the idea. Teaching composition, revision and close reading in abstract terms can seem wooden and boring to kids.听
Nelson Dialect, an Australian Hip Hop artist, poses with a group of Whittier Elementary School students in 麻豆影院 recently. Image courtesy of Nelson Dialect.
"Pop songs are laboratories for language,鈥� Bradley says. 鈥淭he songs kids love teach them the tools of poetry鈥攔hythm, rhyme, figurative language鈥攚ithout the intimidation that some students feel when approaching a more conventional work of literature. I鈥檓 not saying that Ariana Grande should replace Shakespeare, but her songs can help us read Shakespeare鈥攁nd everything else鈥攂etter.鈥�
In the final element of the program with Asbury,听听will perform at a school assembly and will do a freestyle rap, in which kids prompt him to create lyrics on the spot.
In an email interview, Dialect said his grandmother, who was a poet, fostered his interest in language. He started reading and writing poetry and rap lyrics when he was about 11. 鈥淎s I discovered hip hop music through my older brother鈥檚 collection of albums, I was fascinated by the rhythm, storytelling and wordplay,鈥� he said.
Like Bradley, Dialect thinks the effort can help the kids: 鈥淚f we can encourage the students to enjoy writing, it can strengthen their confidence and comprehension of their day-to-day lives in a creative way beyond social media, text-messaging or essays, which can be routine and standardized.鈥�
Bradley said he hopes the students will leave next month鈥檚 assembly with 鈥渁 greater sense of wonder at the art that surrounds them鈥攖he music, the films, the things we take for granted in popular culture.鈥�
The hope is that students will be 鈥渆mpowered鈥� to know that when an idea floats into their minds, 鈥渢hey can grasp it, look at it from all angles, let it grow. . . They will understand themselves as capable of creation, and they will have the tools to observe the creative energies that are around them at all times.鈥澨�(See video below with Bradley鈥檚 five tips on using language and music to express your creativity.)
Henley, the fourth grader, has gotten that message. She said she hopes next year鈥檚 fourth-grade class will be able to do the field trip, too. Her favorite part: 鈥渕aking rap and poems out of similes. And the sound room.鈥澨�听
听Adam Bradley's听Five Tips听
on how to use language听and music to express your creativity
- Listen like a child
- Speak in simile
- Don鈥檛 throw out your demo tapes
- Sing like you know the words even when you don鈥檛
- Enjoy the silence
(see video for explanation)
Anadiplosis: 鈥淎 figure of word repetition that links two phrases, clauses, lines, or stanzas by repeating the word at the end of the first one at the beginning of the second.鈥�
听鈥淒rove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry鈥� 鈥� Don McLean, 鈥淎merican Pie鈥� (1971)
Chiasmus: 鈥淭he repetition of a pair of sounds, words, phrases, or ideas in the reverse order, producing an abba structure鈥�
听鈥淎nd if you can鈥檛 be听with听the one you听love, honey, Love听the one you鈥檙e听with.鈥�听鈥� Stephen Stills, 鈥淟ove the One You鈥檙e With鈥� (1970)
Zeugma: 鈥淭he use of a single word, most often a noun or a verb, to govern multiple clauses, often with divergent contexts.鈥�
听鈥淵ou took my heart and my keys and my patience鈥� 鈥� Rihanna, 鈥淲ork鈥� (2016)
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