Introducing the Compare Contrast essay.
Find two songs that are similar subjects, but different genres of music. For example, I
used Pink’s song Dear Mr. President and a spoof song of George Bush I had found on the
Internet. Make sure both songs have at least 3 things that are similar and mentioned in
both songs.
Find the lyrics for the songs and print out enough copies of each song so every student
has a copy.
Pass out the lyrics for the first song and have students read along as the song is played.
Repeat with the second song.
Have students find 3 similarities and 3 differences for each song. They may work with a
partner. We used a T chart to write the similarities and differences. We compared
answers and wrote them on the board. The students enjoyed this lesson because they
didn’t have to listen to me lecture to them and they liked listening to the songs.