A Tuesday Tutorial About Monday Melodies

Last year, I had an idea. And that idea was to create something I like to refer to as "Monday Melodies."

Do you know how cool it is for me to hear my students come into my classroom each Monday having the following conversation?

(Side note: Things like the above confuse me. Do I put a question mark after the word "conversation," like I did? Or do I use a colon and then conclude what I'm about to write with a question mark? It's very confusing. These are things that make me rewrite entire sections of novels... simply because I don't know what to do about the punctuation.)

Anyway. Here's the conversation that was had in first period yesterday:

Squirrelly Bird: Ugh. Today's a Monday Melody, isn't it?

Lover of Noah Kahan: It is Monday, isn't it?

Squirrelly Bird: Yes...

Fashionista: How do you know it'll be bad? The song might be great.

Squirrelly Bird: Doubt it.

Fashionista: But you don't know. Give it a chance. Sometimes they're fun.

Lover of Noah Kahan: Oh my gosh I love this song!

So what's a Monday Melody, you're wondering? Well, let me tell you! It's an idea I came up with last year to get my students ready for the Keystone Exam.

Truth: I hate data.

Truth: I hate standardized testing. (I am HORRIBLE at multiple choice exams -- except for the ASVAB, which was insanely fun and which I did really well on and which caused the military to call me regularly and request my services. I declined.)

Truth: I love Monday Melodies.

In a nutshell, this is what my students do every Monday: They enter my room, someone passes out highlighters, and then I distribute the papers. Mary and I (Mary and I both use Monday Melodies to the chagrin/enjoyment of our students) have also made a playlist for Spotify that is updated each week and which is posted in Google Classroom) go over the instructions, explaining the close-read activity that accompanies the song lyrics (a poem, essentially), and a close-read activity that accompanies the nonfiction text (it somehow ties in to the poem/song lyrics), and the multiple-choice questions (three test-prep-esque questions to prep our students for the Keystone). Once the directions are understood and the students have highlighted their tasks, the song is played. Sometimes kids sing along (this would not be allowed on the Keystone). They never complain, even if they hate the artist. Sometimes they immediately ask what next week's song will be because they're excited/hopeful/dreading the artist. Lately, a lot of kids have been requesting Zach Bryan. Good news, kiddos! Zach Bryan is coming up!

Bad news, kiddos. Zach Bryan is at least two weeks away.

Yesterday we listened to Noah Kahan's "Part of Me" and read a very factual publication about teenage breakups.

Last week we listened to Trampled By Turtles sing "I Went to Hollywood" and read an article about Hollywood. Did you know the sign used to read Hollywoodland? Now you do.

The week before that we listened to Tyler Childers' "Universal Sound" and learned about the Cranberry Glades. There's a lot of stuff going on at the Cranberry Glades that's great for the environment.

Before that, we listened to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" (that was Mary's pick) and learned about an earthquake in California that was caused by Taylor Swift's concert. It was called a "Swiftquake."

Anyway... this idea that I had brings music into the classroom and enables me to share my love of songs and concerts with my students. And they're getting better at annotating and multiple-choice questions at the same time! Seriously, though: their annotations have gotten SO MUCH BETTER in just four or five weeks. It's crazy-impressive. I'm proud of them.

Oh! And those students who earn perfect scores on their Monday Melodies are entered into a drawing that happens each week. Winners get to choose a full-size candy bar from our stash, so that's incentive, is it not?

Next week's song is going to be a surprise for everyone... I am SO IMPRESSED with myself for coming up with this next Monday Melody! I'm not saying the kiddos are going to love it, but they're going to be introduced to some new music (to them) that's got a very powerful message. And the nonfiction text I've paired it with? Brilliant. I mean, when Mary read it, she all but flopped around on the floor like a fish -- she was THAT excited.