This lesson guides students to explore social commentary in music and slam poetry through works like “The Sound of Silence” and “Paper People” that critique societal behaviors and values. Using the AWARE framework (Assert, Wonder, Accept, Respect, Establish), students will analyze how poets use word choice, rhetoric, and extended metaphors to reveal their perspectives on social issues and group dynamics. Through structured discussions and reflective journal writing, students will examine the role society plays in shaping individual identity while developing critical thinking skills about how authors express social commentary through creative forms like music and slam poetry. 

• Utilize steps in AWARE to engage in small and whole‐​class discussions

• Analyze word choice, rhetoric, and other patterns in slam poetry that reveal the speaker’s point of view and purpose

• Analyze word choice, rhetoric, and other patterns in slam poetry that reveal social commentary and theme

• Reflect on the role of society and how it relates to one’s own identity through journal writing

• How do authors express social commentary through literature, art, and poetry?

• How can the AWARE framework help determine a speaker’s point of view and purpose?

• What role does society play in shaping my own identity? 

• “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel
• “Paper People” by Harry Baker
• Copies of the AWARE Framework for Poetry Analysis graphic organizer

• Introduce the essential questions and play “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel on YouTube for the class. The video in the link includes lyrics to the song. 
• Introduce the idea of social commentary in art, music, and literature. Explain to students that social commentary is a critique of how institutions and groups behave. Then ask students what social commentary the speaker makes in “The Sound of Silence.”
  • Note: If you previously did a memory circle lesson with questions about society, ask students to recall the topics their class addressed during that discussion. 

• Play “Paper People” by Harry Baker on YouTube. The poet speaks very fast, and students should focus on patterns with the teacher’s help for the first listen. 
• Play the video a second time. On the second listen, students should identify repeating ideas and analyze the speaker’s opinions of at least 2 human characteristics (such as greed) and write key terms in their notes. 
  • Note: You may choose to give students the AWARE Framework for Poetry Analysis graphic organizer to keep track of their notes. 

Have students independently answer the questions from the AWARE framework that are outlined in the table below. 

After students have finished the graphic organizer, use their responses to guide the whole‐​class discussion. See step 3 to help students get ready for a discussion about the poem.

• Prepare students for a whole‐​class discussion about the poem “Paper People.” 
• Share expectations for discussion and review sentence stems for responding to peers on the AWARE Framework for Poetry Analysis graphic organizer. Provide a printed copy of sentence stems for English language learners or students with processing challenges.
• Explain that the purpose of the discussion is not to come to an agreement on what the poems mean but to share different perspectives and opinions related to the poems.
• Remind students that they should use evidence from the poems to answer the essential questions during the discussion. Students may need guidance to see how the questions on AWARE relate to the essential questions. 

As an extension activity, ask students to revise the information they wrote from one of the organizers into a multiparagraph analysis about the poem.

• Have students select a writing prompt about others (included in the Unit Overview) and record their thoughts in their journal. 
  • Note: Teachers can choose to add a grammar and usage standard to journal writing prompts. 

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9–10.3: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9–10.1.d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9–10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9–10.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9–10.2.c: Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. 
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9–10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9–10.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.