Hey, I Know that Song: Literary Analysis of Popular Music

1. Students will review the literary concepts of levels of diction, speaker, setting, scene, connotation, denotation, slang, jargon, idiom, metaphor, imagery, and meaning/theme.
2. Students will practice the steps of poetic exposition. 
3. Students will perform a teacher-guided exposition of “I was a kaleidoscope” by Ben Gibbard. 
4. Students will take notes on the literary tools of levels of diction, speaker, setting, scene, connotation, denotation, slang, jargon, idiom, metaphor, imagery, and meaning/theme. 
5. Students will investigate the literal, figurative, and psychological levels of poetry. 
6. Students will examine primary texts of Gibbard, analyze his meaning, and discuss their findings.
7. Students will produce annotations detailing their findings. 

This lesson introduces students to poetry as a living, contemporary art form and promotes active engagement in poetry through annotation.  

Length of time needed:  45 minutes

This lesson was written by Case Unverzagt.

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