Original+Lesson

Original Lesson

Title: “We Didn’t Start the Fire” Poetry By: Jennifer Blake Primary Subject: Language Arts Secondary Subjects: Social Studies, Other Grade Level: 7-12

Introductory Note: I’ve presented this poetry lesson for 9 years, now. Every year the kids love it, and they completely impress me.


 * Procedure:**


 * Distribute a printout of Billy Joel’s “//We Didn’t Start the Fire//”(see below). The lyrics of this song refer to 21st century headline events between 1949 to 1989.
 * Tell students that as they listen to the song, they need to circle the events or people they recognize
 * When the song is over, go through it and see what the students know (this usually includes some mini-history lessons)

Billy Joel’s “//We Didn’t Start the Fire//” Poetry Assignment
 * Assignment:**
 * Write at least two verses of your own version of Billy Joel’s “//We Didn’t Start the Fire//” about the last ten years.
 * It must follow the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the original song.
 * It is due tomorrow.

Let them listen to the song several more times during the class period so they can make sure they have the rhythm down.

Give students a day to write it and let them perform the next day

It’s amazing what your students will come up with! By the end of the second day, everyone in the school is singing the song, and my other classes that have done the assignment usually request to listen to the song “just once.”
 * Concluding Note:**


 * Lyrics**

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio,

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe,

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen, Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc,

Roy Hn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron, Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team, Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland,

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev, Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac, Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball, Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide,

Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia, Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go,

U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy, Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo,

We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land" Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion,

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania, Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson,

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex, JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again, Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock,

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline, Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan,

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide, Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz,

Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law, Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it We didn't start the fire

But when we are gone Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on