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SONG COLLECTIONS

Check out the activities for using songs to teach reading

Supermarket Flowers

Ed Sheeran

Question for Discussion

1) Why did the singer throw 'the day-old tea from the cup'?

2) Find and copy one word that means 'something remembered from the past'.

3) Which word better describes this song - 'hope' or 'loss'? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

4) Why does God say 'you're home'? Explain your answer.

5) Write a retrieval question about this song.

Click here for a link to the lyrics.

Silence

Marshmello Ft. Khalid

Questions for Discussion

1) Find and copy one word that means 'a heavy load, usually an emotional one'.

2) Find and copy a group of words that show the singer is happy and 'at peace' with themselves. 

3) In this song the singer describes how he has changed. In what way has his life changed? Use evidence from the lyrics to support your answer. 

4) Which theme better describes this song: 'fighting back' or 'giving up'? Explain your answer using evidence from the lyrics. 

5) Think of an alternative name for this song. Why have your chosen this name?

Click here for a link to the lyrics. 

Kids

MGMT

Questions for Discussion

1) Find and copy one word that means 'to be visited by a ghost'.

2) Find and copy one word that means 'a result or an an effect, usually a bad one'. 

3) 'Memories fade, like looking through a fogged mirror' - What does the word 'fogged' tell you about the mirror?

4) 'The water is warm, but it's sending me shivers' - does this sentence make sense? Explain your answer.

5) 'This song is about being young' - do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer, using evidence from the lyrics?

Click here for a link to the lyrics. 

What About Us?

P!nk

Questions for Discussion

1) Find a metaphor in the lyrics.

2) Find and copy a rhetorical question from the lyrics. 

3) Find and copy a word that means 'a sudden accident or natural disaster'.

4) Find and copy a word that means 'to be tricked'.

5) What are 'broken happy ever afters'?

6) Who is the singer singing to? In other words, who is being addressed?

Click here for a link to the lyrics.

The Man

Aloe Black

Questions for Discussion

1) Find one word that means 'run away'.

2) Find a line from the song that shows the writer is feeling 'strong'.

3) I played my cards and I didn't fold - What does it mean if you 'play your cards'?

4) 'Somewhere I heard that life is a test' - How could life be 'a test'?

5) 'This song is about change' - true or false? Support your opinion with evidence. 

6) 'It's a thin line between love and hate' - What does it mean if there is a 'thin line' between two things?

7) Choose one word that you think sums up this song. Why have you chosen this word?

8) Can you think of a film that has a similar theme to this song?

Click here for a link to the lyrics.

Am I Wrong?

Nino & Vinz

Questions for Discussion

1) Find a rhetorical question in the lyrics.

2) Find a line in the song that shows that the writer wants to be different.

3) Find a line from the song that shows the writer is ambitious.

4) 'Am I tripping for having a vision?' - What does it mean if you 'have a vision'?

5) 'Am I wrong for thinking out the box from where I stay?' - describe a time when you have thought 'out of the box'. 

6) Can you think of a different name for the song? One that better describes the meaning of it?

7) Which word better describes the singer: 'determined' or 'hopeful'?

Click here for a link to the lyrics.

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Who's Laughing Now

Jessie J

Questions for Discussion

1) 'The singer was bullied at school' - find evidence to support this statement. 

2) Find a phrase from the first verse that shows the singer was trying to keep her feelings secret.

3) The singer's life is better now' - find evidence to support this statement. 

4) Who adds the singer on Facebook? 

5) Why did someone tag Jessie J in old school photographs? What does this person want?

6) What is this song about? In other words, what is the message of this song?

7) Find a word that shows you Jessie J believes she will continue to be successful.

8) How should you react to negative things in your life? What should your attitude be?

Click here for a link to the lyrics. 

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Artists for Grenfell

Questions for Discussion

This song is a nice opportunity to discuss the positive things we can do when we are faced with troubles. 

1) Find a word that means 'worn out'.

2) Who is singing this song to whom? Use evidence to support your answer.

3) What does the 'Troubled Water represent? (You can relate this to the Grenfell tragedy, or just think more generally) 

4) What does the 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' represent?

5) Find a phrase that mean 'down on your luck'.

6) Describe someone who 'eases' your mind.

7) Why was this song chosen as the charity single for the Grenfell tragedy?

8) What is the most important thing to do when you are going through a bad time?

Click here for a link to the lyrics. 

Best Day Of My Life

American Authors

Questions for Discussion

1) I had a dream so big and loud//I jumped so high I touched the clouds//I stretched my hands out to the sky//We danced with monsters through the night - find the adverbial phrase in these lines which shows us when an action happened.

2) I howled at the moon with friends - what adverb would best describe how the singer howled at the moon? 

3) Find a phrase which shows you the singer is not thinking about the past. 

4) The sun was out 'til midnight - why is there an apostrophe in front of 'til?

5) Which two words would best describe how the singer feels in this song? (Avoid words like 'happy' - be expressive!)

6) Find an adverbial phrase in the lyrics that shows us where something happened.

Click here for a link to the lyrics. 

Rise Up

Andra Day

Questions for Discussion

1) What is the main theme of this song? 

2) What examples can you find in the lyrics to suggest that the singer is, or has been, 'down and out'?

3) How do you 'find the fighter'?

4) Find evidence from the lyrics that shows the singer wants things to change.

5) 'I'll rise up//In spite of the ache' - what is the 'ache'?

6) Find a simile in the lyrics. 

7a) What does it mean to 'rise up'?

7b) Give an example of someone, or something, that has done this.

Click here for a link to the lyrics. 

Believer

Imagine Dragons

Questions for Discussion

1) First things first//I'ma say all the words inside my head//I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been//oh-ooh, the way that things have been, oh-ooh - In these few lines, find an adverbial phrase that shows you where something happens.

2) What phrase from the first verse shows that the singer feels 'in control'?

3) What word does the singer use to describe himself as a child?

4) What do you think the 'masses' are?

5) How does the singer deal with setbacks? How do you know?

6) All the hate that you've heard has turned your spirit to a dove, oh-ooh - what is the singer describing here? 

7) What does the dove represent?

8) What other things represent this?

9) What is the moral of this song?

Click here for a link to the lyrics.

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