"They grew and grew in the old church year / Till they could grow no higher, / And there they tied in a true lover's knot / The red rose and the briar." "Barbara Allen" anonymous
Karaoke Ballads - The Songs of our Lives: A lesson on Ballads - the ones from the Middle Ages, from our own lives - and they intertwince. We listen to songs, act out ballads, and hear a story that reaches across the years in my classroom. This is also the first lesson - given its nature - that I've included an audio recording of the class.
No Quiz today! Maybe the 2nd time that's happened - but there is no time. As students are walking in the classroom, I have the song "Frankie & Johnny" playing in the background - it's a modern ballad and was given in their reading.
If there is a lesson that demonstrated what I tried to be as a teacher, and I got to choose - this is the lesson that I would choose. Everything up to this point has led to where we are in class today. From the first day of class - "we read literature to know that we are not alone" - to seeing the Beowulf story through the eyes of the very modern Grendel - to yesterday's lesson on Primary Sources in the Middle Ages. The idea, I hope ever-present in my classroom, that things are not as different now as they were then. The idea that Great Literature endures - it is what is now fashionably called (and usually in reference to modern writing) high interest writing. See my Ballads Lesson Notes for Detailed Instructions for this Lesson - I use a personal story - "My search for the song "Barbara Allen" as sung by Art Garfunkel to connect the ballads and threads of this lesson - you should find a story built around any song that has meaning to you.
This lesson interweaves my personal journey through teaching Ballads over the years - with the ballads themselves. We listen to some songs (Ballads) - first, I need to convince my students that these are songs, you know. Next, they act out a ballad: "Get up and Bar the Door". This is a very funny song and it never fails to get a huge laugh from the students. All the while - I tell them of the history of one of the Ballads that we will hear: "Barbara Allen". We hear more ballads - after each, because they have done the reading - I ask them what makes that particular song a ballad - as defined by their text book. Why do these songs (and by association - the literature that we are studying) survive and thrive. A student (sometimes 2) will get up and sing "Greensleeves" ala Karaoke - and the class will sing along.
We finally get to the ballad, "Barbara Allen", and after we listen to it - I finish my story - with the very real and poignant ending that reflects the ballads, and that reflects our lives. See my lesson notes for the complete lesson instructions.
Some of my more readable notes, I must say. I have been teaching these Ballads my entire career - and this lesson evolved over time. Weaving the story of Adam and Chris and "Barbara Allen" just made so much sense - it is, as the kids say, "meta".
Actually more Lesson Notes...in a primitive form
Ballads of the Middle Ages Handout: Docx PDF. Though the students read about 1/2 of these for homework in their textbooks - I want them to have a copy to take notes on (during our discussion) and I am giving them some that they didn't read for homework. I always think that 's a good idea - to mix up the known with the new. It allows the students to use the knowledge from their reading (there is a good intro to ballads in their text book) and apply it to something new. Almost the definition of learning. There are a total of seven ballads on the handout - though we rarely had time to get to the last one - "Saucy Sailor" - and I usually just ended up playing it as they exited the room. If you haven't noticed by now - I like to use every single second of class.
Ballads Prep Extra Credit: Docx PDF. This is a small little handout (4 to a page) to give out to students who will volunteer to sing the Karaoke Ballad on this day. I usually ask for volunteers - and give it out during the previous lesson (Middle Ages Jigsaw Group Work).
Back when we had more time with students in the classroom, I would follow up today's lesson with a group work that gave students a chance to use what we'd gone over.
I've decided to give these as a Spotify Playlist - but most of these (if not all of these songs can be found on YouTube as well).
I have also included "John Barleycorn" - a song that we used in the Anglo-Saxon riddles. It really is a Ballad, and you should know by now how much I love connections. There is an interesting story (see my Lesson Notes) about "The Bonny Swans" - after I played it, one of my students, a musician, was so taken by it - every single day for the rest of the year - he asked if I could play it again (I never did :( ). That student, Alistair, became the rap artist that gave me his first CD with the copy of his song "Deor" - a riff on the old Anglo-Saxon poem that we heard on the first day of class.
We did do this remotely - and I am looking for the Power Point (if there is one).
We will get back to the Middle Ages (nonChaucer) after the next unit - but, for now, it's time to learn about Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales.
An Introduction to the Middle Ages - A Jigsaw Style Group Work
I love this lesson - but it always took so much out of me. It is personal and it is heart-felt. It is the lesson that made some students fall in the love with the class and start to see the reason for all of that work - to see that it is "for real". That this very old stuff - can tell us something about our own lives, and perhaps sometimes be there for us when we need it.