Hairspray the Musical - Lyric Study for the ELA Classroom

Looking for a way to shake things up in your ELA classroom? Want to incorporate more arts and theater but don't know where to start? Look no further than Lyric Study with Hairspray the Musical You don't have to know anything about Hairspray or theater to teach it!

Lyric Study is a program introduced to me by Anthony Lombardi and my colleagues at PS/IS 49 in Queens. It is the study of a song's lyrics for 5-10min at the beginning of each ELA class - like a Do Now, but a musical one! Students answer questions based on the text while listening to the song, and practice writing short responses and note-taking.

Hairspray the Musical Lyric Study takes that idea and attaches it to an entire musical. Due to its repetitive nature and short time frame, it is really great for ELL and students with neuro-diversities. This curated set of songs focus on the relationship between power and representation, body-positivity, racial segregation, and ally-ship and activism.

This packet contains:

• An introduction and explanation page
• A guide for note-taking
• A song list
• An introduction to the setting: Baltimore, VA.
• A song page with a brief synopsis of the play up to that point
• 3 prompts for students to answer
• Lyrics complete with bolded vocabulary words
• CCSS alignment and 1-point rubric.

The songs:

1. Good Morning, Baltimore!
2. Nicest Kids in Town
3. The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs
4. Welcome to the Sixties
5. Run And Tell That
6. Without Love
7. I Know Where I Been
8. You Can't Stop The Beat