LESSON 4: Social Justice in Other Mediums

Grade 11 English- Social Justice Portfolio: Part II

Standards Addressed:

Writing Into the Day: What do these songs have in common? How do they
make you feel? (I play snippets from 2 different social justice/protest songs (i.e.
Imagine by John Lennon, We Shall Overcome by Pete Seeger).
(3 min total of songs, 3 min writing)
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
Identify genre of music as protest songs
Different definitions of this genre A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change

and hence part of the broader category of topical songs.- Wikipedia

Term which gained currency (first in USA) in 1960s for song which voiced
feelings of protest about some social or political injustice, real or imagined, or

about some int. event which aroused strong emotions, e.g. Amer. part in Vietnam
war. A famous example is We shall overcome. -Encyclopedia.com
A song that expresses disapproval, usually about a political subject.Cambridge Dictionary
Note that the genre of the music itself can vary (pop, classical, folk, etc.), what
separates these songs into their own genre is their subject and purpose.

(5 min)
DISCUSSION
Can you think of any other protest songs?
(3 min)
CLASS ACTIVITY
Students will partner up and search the Internet for a protest song (subject to
approval for content and appropriateness). The list at Protest Songs from the
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty is a good place to start:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080124172717/www.ocap.ca/lyrics.html
Students choose songs and print out their lyrics.
Students analyze songs content and purpose through discussion with partner
and filling out this handout as a team:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson979/ProtestS
ongResearchGuide.pdf
Additionally, annotate lyrics making note of:
Anything that stands out to student
Key words/phrases
Themes
Anything that seems contradictory or out of place to primary message
(30 min)

DISCUSSION
Ask students to share their song selections out loud. Each team shares authors
purpose and whether they think the author was effective or not and why.
On the board, teacher compiles a list of the selected artists and issues these
artists are protesting against.
Questions:
Do you notice any trends in the issues addressed?
How does portraying this issue in a song create a different effect than portraying
a social justice issue in another format such as a tweet or an article?
(15 min)
Wrap it Up!
Today we explored another medium that can be used to portray a social justice
issue. The use of a song as the form to express the authors thoughts on an
issue created a different use of rhetorical elements than other forms we have

looked at. As you begin working on your visual representation, think about how
form affects your purpose, audience, and context.
(1 min)
ASSESSMENT
Collect handout from each partner team. This handout would reveal student
understanding and it would count as a participation grade.
(1 min for collection)
WORKS CITED
This lesson plan was taken from www.ReadWriteThink.org. See full lesson plan
and resources here: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lessonplans/collaboration-sites-sounds-using-979.html