Francisco from Argentina is spending some time in our little town. I invited him to teach some of our students about the instrument he plays, violin. He visited the school on Thursday for Multi-Cultural Day. To get the students engaged in the understanding of how music words, he used a most basic and familiar tune “Happy Birthday.” He asked them questions that led them to understand you first have a note, a sound, then a beat, a melody, but he also talked about how that song is so much a part of our culture that we all know it.
We all sang along. Everyone knew the words.
In her weekly newsletter, Maggie Smith wrote about how art can be synchronistic, that the universe crisscrosses and shows us something new. “Art begets art begets art.”
On Friday, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater posted a lesson and video on her blog “The Poem Farm”. She called the method for finding a meter to use in poetry “Tapping it Out.” For my students, this essence of how song influences poetry was inspiring. I was inspired, too.
Find your beat,
and find your sound,
sooner or later,
to your heart, be (it) bound.
Adelyn, 5th grade
James used the beats of the song “Happy Birthday” to create a sweet poem about friendship. Sing it with me.
If excitement cheers you
Everybody likes you
If nobody is like you
You still have friends too.
James, 3rd grade
My poem came from the beat of “I’m a Little Teapot”.
Looking at the raindrops falling down,
Margaret Simon, draft
One on the windshield
One on the ground.
When I find my jacket, cozy warm,
I thank the clouds for their swift storm.
Thanks, Amy and Francisco, for inspiring us to see the magic of a simple tune, how music is in our hearts everyday.
Reflections on the Teche 
Love that the same post/quote inspired two very different experiences!
Such a clever and creative way to use an existing form/structure to create a new piece of writing. I wouldn’t have thought to use the meter and music of a familiar song as a place to discover poetry, but I love this idea!
I was amazed too at how well it worked for my students and me. Now I want to try to sing all of my poems.
Oh, I love this focus on music and poetry. This is such a wonderful idea, and what a fun entry point to poetry. Amy’s video series is such a gift! I still haven’t read Maggie Smith’s post but am headed there now. Thanks for sharing more results of your (and your students’) creative energy! You’re a marvel!
I love the way poems and songs connect/are the same. It is the power of rhythm and words intermingled with compact ideas and images Great post.
This is so fun. I love the idea of art that begets art that begets art–and that music is poetry (or can become poetry too). Francisco’s lesson was placed so perfectly!
I love it when everything comes together, the world is small, and we are singing poems together from faraway places…. xo