A Song of Love (Una Canción de Amor)

Educators can use this activity to help students write songs about the people they love.

Materials Needed: Chart paper, markers

1. Have students think of some loved ones that are special to them like family members, friends, etc., and tell them they’re going to be writing a song about those loved ones.
2. To begin the songwriting process, ask students to call out people in their lives who bring them the most joy, using terms like mom, dad, grandma, uncle, cousin, best friend, etc. Scribe this list so that you can use it in your songwriting process.
3. Then, ask them to think of words that remind them of their loved ones, such as: love, kind, funny, caring, happy, etc., and scribe them on a large piece of chart paper.
4. Next, ask them to come up with words that describe how they greet (hello, hi or hola) and say farewell (goodbye, see ya or adios) to their loved ones.
5. Then, as a class, choose a tune that is familiar enough to help you construct your song. Guide them through this process by asking questions like:
   • What kind of sound should our song have?
   • Should it be happy? Should it be sad? Can it be both?
   • What would happen if we make it funny?

   This will help choose the tune to which you’ll set your lyrics.

6. Now that you have a list of loved ones, emotions, salutations, farewells and a tune to croon, it’s time to start writing your song! Guide students through the songwriting process by asking questions like:
   • What should our song be about?
   • What emotions do we want to convey?
   • What should the title of our song be?
7. Once you’ve created your musical masterpiece, share your song with another class or record it to be shared with loved ones!

Reflection Questions:

• What was it like to write your own song?
• How did it feel to create a song using everyone’s ideas?