Shake, Rattle and Learn
By Karen LeVasseur

The first time I played a song from the 1950s in my classroom, my fourth graders looked at me like I was from Mars. "Come on, sing along!" I shouted, pointing toward the lyrics I had placed in front of them. My enthusiasm was rewarded with blank stares from 20 bored faces.

In the era of Eminem, P. Diddy and Ja Rule, where lyrics romanticize sex and violence and louder is better, the oldies were as foreign to my students as the record players on which they were originally played. But every year, when I introduce fifties songs as a vehicle for teaching skills, I know that before long, I will have a roomful of budding Elvis, Fats Domino and Little Richard fans. Using fifties tunes to teach skills is a great way to hold your students' interest and have a little fun. Here's how it works.

Get ready to rock. Unless you're an avid fan of the oldies and have a stack of cds ready to use, you'll have to pick up a CD or two at your local record store. Lyrics are usually not included with the oldies, so check out www.rockabilly.nl/lyrics This site offers a huge collection of lyrics from every era. Search for lyrics by song title, make a copy for each student, and you're all set to rock and roll!

I like to start my lesson with a choral reading of the lyrics. This not only familiarizes students with the vocabulary they'll be using, but it also helps set the reading/singing pace. Focus on the pauses in between words, stopping points for instrumentals and words that are drawn out or repeated.

Next it's important to carefully listen to the song. This gives students a chance to familiarize themselves with the melody and calm their performance butterflies. Direct your students to read along silently as the song plays. They will become even more familiar with the vocabulary.

Now it's time to sing. I have a firm rule that everyone in the classroom must sing (lip syncing is okay for the first few songs). My students groaned about this rule until the principal wandered in one day and was promptly handed the lyrics and directed to sing. Much to their delight, he became a rock and roll star.

Twist and shout. During the instrumental sections of the song, I allow my young performers to "chair dance." This involves controlled movement of the upper body. Feet and chair legs must remain on the floor and bottoms must stay on the seat. The kids love this part of the lesson!

You'll find that your students will recognize a lot of songs from movies and television commercials, so they'll become quite enthusiastic about singing along. I usually play a song a couple of times before moving into the skill lesson.

Teaching a skill. When I select a song, I look for lyrics that are fun, peppy and clean and that will also lend themselves to teaching a skill. For example, "Catch a Wave," by The Beach Boys is full of idioms. I direct students to identify and underline the idioms in the lyrics and then brainstorm and list other common expressions. We spend time talking about the literal and figurative meanings and then select an idiom to illustrate.

I also like to use "Johnny B. Goode," by Chuck Berry to practice subject and predicate. We read through each line of the song and discuss who did what, identifying words or phrases as either subject or predicate. "Splish Splash," by Bobby Darin is filled with action and therefore offers a good opportunity to identify and list vivid verbs.

I usually use the oldies mid-week. This gives me a chance to introduce the skill I'll focus on in a more traditional manner, making our song time a fun way to practice. I reinforce the skill even further through morning work and homework.

As Danny and the Juniors sang decades ago, "Rock 'n roll is here to stay, it will never die." By using fifties tunes in your classroom, you can help keep the oldies and good learning alive and well.

Songs from the 1950s like Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" are perfect for teaching certain skills.

Schoolhouse Rock
There are lots of great fifties tunes to use when teaching skills. Check out the list below for song and skill ideas.

"Hound Dog," Elvis Presley – problems and solutions
"Hippy Hippy Shake," The Swinging Blue Jeans – creative writing
"We Go Together," the cast of the musical "Grease" – vowel sounds
"Yakety Yak," The Coasters – nouns
"Love Potion #9," The Clovers – rhyming words
"Rock Around the Clock," Bill Haley and the Comets – time
"At the Hop," Danny and the Juniors – verbs and adverbs
"Rock 'n Roll Is Here To Stay," Danny and the Juniors – contractions

If your students are interested in learning more about the 1950s, check out the following websites:

www.fiftiesweb.com is a great retro 1950s, 1960s and 1970s website that offers trivia games, pop history, classic TV trivia, information about fads, fashions, slang and more. Also, http://members.fortunecity.com/babyboomer offers a fantastic collection of photographs and other terrific information from 1946 through 1980.