Courage in Lyrics

Overview

In this fourth lesson of the unit “The Sound of Choices”, students explore how music and lyrics can express courage. They will analyse selected lines from “When I Grow Up” and connect the message to emotions, actions, and choices they might face in real life.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify and describe how lyrics in “When I Grow Up” communicate courage.
• WALT explain how musical elements (such as mood/energy and performance choices) help convey feelings and experiences.
• WALT practise sharing ideas respectfully and justifying opinions using evidence from the lyrics and music.

Success criteria

• I can point to specific lyric lines that show courage or bravery.
• I can describe what emotion or message the lyrics communicate and why.
• I can connect a performance or musical moment (e.g., loud/soft, fast/slow, confident/hesitant) to the courage message.
• I can listen actively and respond respectfully to other people’s ideas.

Curriculum links

• Music: Understanding how the elements of music and lyrics communicate meaning and emotion (linked to analysing and responding to music).
• Music: Developing skills in sharing ideas, using evidence, and reflecting on how music communicates experiences.
• Key competencies: Thinking (making meaning from lyrics and music), Communicating (talking about ideas clearly), Managing self (staying focused during listening), Participating and contributing (respectful discussion).

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Opening & listening setup. Teacher greets students, reminds them this is lesson 4/8, and names the focus question: “How does courage show up in lyrics and music?” Students quietly recall a courage moment from their own experience and one word they associate with courage (e.g., brave, steady, nervous-but-try).

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach: lyric clues. Teacher shows two short lyric excerpts (chosen in advance) and models how to “read for meaning” by highlighting courage clues: actions (what the speaker does), feelings (what the speaker feels), and turning points (a decision). Students annotate the teacher’s examples using a simple class method: Circle action words, underline feeling words, box a choice/decision word.

3. 12–20 min · First analysis listening (teacher-led). Teacher plays the audio/video section containing the selected lyrics and cues students to listen for mood/energy shifts that fit the words. Students focus on one task card: “When the courage lines happen, the music feels like…” and choose from given options (strong/quiet, fast/slow, brave/nervous) with a brief reason.

4. 20–30 min · Small-group lyric analysis. Teacher puts students in groups of 4 and gives each group a short set of 4–6 lyric lines (same song, different section). Students discuss using sentence starters:

• “These lines show courage because…”
• “The emotion is…”
• “The music helps by sounding…” Teacher circulates, prompting evidence-based answers: “Which exact words make you think that?”

5. 30–38 min · Share & justify (whole class). Teacher selects 3 groups to share. Students present their lyric evidence and one musical/performance connection. Teacher models respectful listening and summarises: “So we can hear courage through the choice in the words and the way the music supports that feeling.” Students use a “two stars and a wish” style comment: one strength + one helpful question.

6. 38–44 min · Quick creative response: courage choice line. Teacher asks: “Write one new couplet line that shows courage in a ‘When I Grow Up’ style.” Students write a single line (or two short lines if able) starting with “When I grow up, I will…” and include either an emotion or an action. They may choose a confident tone or a realistic nervous-to-brave tone.

7. 44–45 min · Exit ticket. Students complete an exit ticket with two prompts:

• “A lyric line that shows courage is: ____________________.”
• “The feeling/message is ____________________ and the music supports it by ____________________.”

Resources

• Audio or video recording of “When I Grow Up”
• Printed lyric excerpts (teacher-prepared for groups; age-appropriate, short sections)
• Student lyric analysis task cards and sentence starters
• Highlighters/colour pencils
• Group discussion cards: “Action / Feeling / Choice”
• Exit ticket slips
• Projector/board for modelling annotations

Assessment

• Formative during listening: teacher checks task card responses for understanding of courage cues.
• Formative during group discussion: teacher listens for evidence-based justification using specific lyric lines.
• Summative/closure via exit ticket: checks that students can identify courageous lyric evidence and connect to emotion and musical support.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters, word banks (courage/brave/nervous/steady; strong/quiet; fast/slow), and sentence frames for analysing lyrics.
• Support: allow students to work in mixed-ability groups with clear roles (reader, evidence finder, music-feel describer, reporter).
• Extension: ask students to compare two sections—“What changes in the lyrics and music when the courage becomes stronger?”
• EAL/SEN: reduce reading load by giving shorter lyric excerpts; allow verbal responses or drawing an emotion symbol with a short label.