Topic/Big Idea: Pop Music as Critical Text and Political Activism 
Grade: 10 Subject: Music, Social Studies, Art Time: 1 ½ Hours 

Prior Learning:  
Different musical genres, in-depth look at political activism, exposure to popular music in 
the classroom. 
Prior Vocabulary: Political Activism, Identities, Marginalized Groups, LGBTQ2+, Feminist, 
Resistance 
Curriculum Expectations and Learning Goals 
Curriculum Expectations  Learning Goals 
Media Arts  I can:  
B1.1 identify and describe their initial responses to media art  - Think critically about the 
works (e.g., Marie Jo Lafontaine’s Tears of Steel), using  meaning of a pop song 
various strategies and modes of communication   - Recognize the importance 
B1.3 use the critical analysis process to assess the  of pop music as a form of 
effectiveness of media art works in communicating a  political activism  
message or expressing an emotion, and describe how their  - Understand the 
assessment of the works has evolved throughout the critical  perspectives and 
analysis process   experiences of marginalized 
B2.3 identify and describe ways in which media art works  communities 
can influence community or societal values    
 
Music 
B1.1 listen to selections that represent a variety of musical 
styles and genres, and describe and reflect on their 
responses to them 
B2.3 explain the ways in which traditional, commercial, and 
art music function in and influence community or cultural 
rituals and celebrations  
B3.1 explain how the study of music has contributed to their 
personal growth  
 
Part 1: Minds On     Estimated time: 15 minutes 
For a minds-on activity, students will be asked to thoughtfully   
answer questions about their prior experiences with pop music 
as a way of expressing emotions or identity. Depending on the 
classroom environment, students can do this in pairs or groups 
of their choice, as some of the questions might be emotional 
and hard to answer. 
Partner or group discussion: 
1. What is a song that’s meaning really resonated with 
you? Why?  
2. How can we use music and song to express our 
emotions and identities? What are some examples of 
artists that you know who do this?  

1
 

3. How can we use music and song as a form of political 

activism?  
4. Why is it important to write and release music that 
addresses marginalized identities? 
Part 2: Action Estimated time: 1 hour 20 minutes 

Activity 1: Freewriting    
 
1. The teacher will give an example of a song that 
resonated with them, and be vulnerable with the class by 
explaining why. The explanation should be related to the 
teacher’s identities and speak to why music can be a 
powerful tool of political activism.  
2. If students have a phone and earphones, they can listen 
to their song of choice based on the questions above. If 
they do not, the teacher will play the song out loud or 
they will be given a device on which they can listen to 
their song of choice. 
3. Students will be asked to take 10 minutes to journal as 
much as they can about the song based on the above 
questions. They will be encouraged to look at the lyrics 
and perform a deeper analysis of why the lyrics 
resonated with them. They will be given the prompt: ​Did a 
part of your identity affect your relationship with the 
song? 
4. Students will be told that they will not have to share their 
journal if they are not comfortable and that this journal 
will not be marked. 
 
Activity 2: Analysis of a pop song as an explicit political and 
critical text  
1. The class will be asked to close their eyes and listen to 
the song ​Pretty Hurts b​ y Beyonce. In a class discussion, 
the teacher will then ask:  
a. What are your initial reactions to the song? 
b. What do you think is the meaning behind the 
song? 
2. The class will watch the music video for Beyonce’s ​Pretty 
Hurts​, while being asked to pay attention and jot down 
notes about the messaging of the song and music video. 
They will be given a copy of the lyrics to follow along. In a 
class discussion, the teacher will then ask: 
a. What are your initial reactions to the music video? 
Have they changed now that you have watched 
the video? Why or why not? 
b. What do you think the meaning behind the video 
is? How does the music video emphasize the 
meaning of the song? Why is it effective? 
3. Students will then read the lyrics of the song out loud. In 

2
 

a class discussion, the teacher will then ask: 

a. How do the lyrics reflect the meaning of the music 
video? 
b. How do the melody, lyrics, and video work in 
tandem to portray the meaning of the song? 
4. In groups of 3-5, students will be given 30 minutes to 
write and answer the following question on a piece of 
chart paper: 
a. How is this song a form of political activism? 
To help students answer this question, they will be encouraged 
to consider the following prompts (not all of the prompts will be 
written on the board, but if students are struggling, more 
prompts can be given):  
b. Why do you think Beyonce made this video?  
c. How do the lyrics and video represent historical 
events? 
d. Which characters, if any, are playing into any 
known stereotypes? 
e. How do you think the melody and timbre of the 
song influences the meaning of the song? Is it 
effective in emphasizing this meaning? Why or 
why not?  
f. When was this song released? Considering the 
release date of this song, what current socio 
political issues could it be speaking to?  
g. What do you know about the singer’s identity? 
(gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, sexual 
orientation, abilities, language, etc.) 
h. How does the singer’s context and identity 
influence the way this song is presented and 
perceived?  
i. How does the singer’s context and identity impact 
how they are presenting the message of the song 
and music video?   
j. Why did the singer and her team release this 
song? 
5. The teacher will lead a class discussion about the 
different answers that students came up with.  
 
Activity 3: Analysis of a pop song as an intrinsic and passive 
political and critical text 
1. In groups of 3-5, students will be given the choice of 
listening to the song ​Sofia​ by Clairo, H
​ onest Man​ by Ben 
Platt, or ​Forrest Gump​ by Frank Ocean. They will also be 
given a copy of each of the lyrics. 
2. The groups will be given 15 minutes to write and answer 
the following question on a piece of chart paper:  
a. How is this song a form of political activism? 

3
 

To help students answer this question, they will be encouraged 

to consider the following prompts (not all of the prompts will be 
written on the board, but if students are struggling, more 
prompts can be given):  
1. What identities do the artists represent?  
2. Why is LGBTQ2+ representation in popular media and 
culture important? 
3. How do you think the melody and timbre of the song 
influences the meaning of the song? Is it effective in 
emphasizing this meaning? Why or why not?  
4. What do you know about the singer’s identity? (gender, 
race, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, 
abilities, language, etc.) 
5. How does the singer’s context and identity influence the 
way this song is presented and perceived?  
6. How does the singer’s context and identity impact how 
they are presenting the message of the song? 
 
Activity 3: Compare and Contrast 
1. In the same groups, students will discuss how Beyonce's 
Pretty Hurts ​and the second song they chose are both 
forms of political activism and resistance.  
2. The teacher will then facilitate a class discussion 
comparing the two forms of political activism; explicit 
and passive.  
 
Extension/Homework: As an extension to this activity, the 
teacher can write down impactful statements from students’ 
chart papers and create an art assignment through different 
mediums of art (graffiti would be great for this). This could then 
transition into a lesson about visual art as a form of political 
activism. 

Part 3: Consolidation Estimated Time: 5 min. 

 
Ticket-out-the-door activity:   
Students will be asked to answer the following question:  
Why is pop music an important way of expressing one’s identity 
and a form of political activism? What makes it effective in 
comparison to other genres of music? 

This lesson was adapted from: ​https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/pop-music-as-critical-text