teaching middle & upper grades activity

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

tolerance a project of the

southern poverty law center

www.teachingtolerance.org

Song Analysis Sheyla Olivas,

Abigail Gamboa and Danelia
Chaves
Directions: Choose a song and read the lyrics. If possible, listen to an online recording. Answer the
questions below. You will need access to the Internet to do so.

1. What do you think the song is about?

We Are The World' is about uniting and helping the world's underprivileged to make it a better place for
everyone who lives in it.

2. What emotional response does the song evoke?

Although it was not the first charity song, it was released with the same objective of raising funds to fight
hunger in Africa and raise awareness in society to give a better home to people with less privileges.

3. Write a paragraph or a few sentences that describe the message, viewpoint or lesson the songwriter was trying to
convey. Share examples from the song in your explanation.

We think that the writers were trying to light up that sense of humanity in the world, stopping us from
being so selfish and start thinking about others and what they are going through

4. Conduct research to learn the actual message of the song. There are several online sites you could use such as
www.wikipedia.org, www.songfacts.com, and www.lyricinterpretations.com. Summarize what you learn below.

The song was made to collect funds for the victims of famine in Africa, the message of the song is to start
thinking and worrying about others all around the world, they said that with this song "we are helping those
who need it the most, while we are saving ourselves".
5. Do you believe the message of the song is relevant today? If so, is it relevant in your school, your community, the
nation, the world, or all of them? If not, why not?
We believe it is as relevant as it was back in the day, maybe even more. Nowadays thanks to technology
songs can reach a bigger audience, which now makes it easier to spread kindness and positivity to everyone,
everywhere, that is why this song has made such an impact in past and present generations, and we hope
that it can also make an impact in future generations.

6. What words, lines or phrases in the song do you personally relate to?

We can’t go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere soon make a change
We are all a part of God´s great big family
And the truth, you know, love is all we need

7. What might be an alternate title for the song?

What the world needs