"Shocking" Writing

I am a fan of rock/folk singer Michelle Shocked and LOVE pretty much every song on her Short, Sharp, Shocked album – I first got the cassette tape in the mail via the Columbia Music Club my senior year in high school.  Her name sounded cool and the cover was pretty edgy, so I ordered it without hearing a single note (these were the days WAY before iTunes previews).  When I first listened to the album, I was honestly not prepared for the soulful twang that came from my boom box.  Since that time, I completely wore out that cassette tape, as well as a compact disk or two – thank God for iTunes.  

One of my favorite songs on the album is called V.F.D.  It tells a story (autobiographical, I assume) of three kids who run into a bit of trouble after playing with matches in a hayfield.  The story begins with the kids playing with matches in the ‘tall, dry grass’, then the “little fire ran out of control”.  The Volunteer Fire Department is fifteen miles away, and by the time they make it to the fire it is pretty much too late – field and barn burned.   The kids sneak away and don’t fess up to their guilt, but eventually one of them confesses to their mother.   

I’ve often kicked around the idea of doing something relating to this song with kids – I really think they could identify with it. As I was lucky enough a few days ago to cover a 3^rd grade class for a few hours, I decided introduce them to Ms. Shocked.   We listened to the song during snacktime without much discussion beforehand, then the kids broke into groups and discussed what the basic story of the song was.  They really got into the rhythm and enjoyed this part of the activity.  We then read through the lyrics and identified several words/terms that the students were not familiar with – Volunteer Fire Department, inevitability, arson, etc.  In small groups, they looked for context clues in order to figure out their meaning.  Once they had the meaning of the story down, we listened to the song a few more times.

We then read through each stanza of the song and explored Michelle Shocked as a writer.  Tons of things came up – The way she established the setting (place/time/characters) in the first few lines, word choice to communicate specific details with limited words, relationships between the characters, etc.  After a 15-20 minute discussion, I really got the sense that the kids really identified with these characters – they ‘knew them’.  We then broke into groups and brainstormed what might happen next in the story.  The kids flew with this – picking up the dialect and cadence of the song.  The most surprising thing is how they caught on to the mischievous nature of childhood (rather naturally, I’m sure) 

Here are some of the endings:

Connor, Reed, Nehemiah and Allen

The very next day I was sittin’ around
My momma came and gave me a smack on the back
The next thing I knew I was in my room saying
I want to get out of Kelsey so soon.

So there I was on my way out of Kelsey
When I saw some boys playing with matches.
I went up to them and said,
“Let me tell you a story about me playing with matches…”

[ The kids struggled with how to end this – they came up with the idea that they happen upon a group of boys playing with matches, but were torn as to how the main character would react.  One suggestion was, “Let me show you a game I know about playing with matches…” as opposed to the “Let me tell you a story about me playing with matches…”  You could almost see the little devil/angel on their shoulders.]

Justin, Ariana, Logan, and Josie:

We was in big trouble with our parents.
We ain’t gonna do mischief again…
then later on we sneak out
and start all over again!

Molly, Abby, Abbigaile and Chaz:

I feel sleepy and didn’t want to get up
Worried, had a headache
My eyes were half way closed

My mama came and woke me up and
I was in a bucket full of trouble [LOVE this line!]

Next up we're going to email an overview of our lesson along with the kids work to Michelle Shocked. 

Here are a few videos of the kids reading their pieces:

My hope is to do this lesson with 4th and 5th grade students as well.  If you have suggestions on ways that I can improve, please let me know.

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Update  (2/2/11)

Within 12 hours of emailing Michelle Shocked's record company I received the following email from her.  The email was accompanied with an MP3 file of her song Eddie

Dear Roger

What a delightful message/story! Thank you for sharing it with me. The fact that my tour this year is focusing on advocacy for arts education in public schools fills me with a sense of amazement at an On-Time God.

Speaking of God, I have attached a song that is in fact a prequel/sequel to VFD. Now, please keep in mind that art really exists in the imagination of the person who appreciates it and gives it a home in their heart, so if this song I've attached is likely to ruin your relationship to VFD, don't read any further.

Eddie was like your young troublemakers who wanted to tell another group of kids about their experience playing with matches. Me and my friend were playing with matches and Eddie stopped us because he had set a field on fire. This song that reveals the possible depth of truth for why Eddie was playing with matches in the first place, and it is quite shocking. 

I usually introduce VFD in concert by pointing out that you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story. I introduce Eddie by saying that truth is stronger (and stranger) than fiction!

Hope you enjoy!

Michelle Shocked