TEACHER HACKS
“The Long and Winding Road” leads to student engagement Beatles theme provides fun, memorable learning experiences
Jason Wyatt
Grades 3/4, High Park School, Stony Plain
FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, my class has adopted a Beatles theme that permeates much of what we do. Each month, we select a popular song by the Fab Four, and while I learn to play it on guitar, my students use it for choral reading prac- tice, spelling, phonemic awareness and morphology. We regularly read and sing the song of the month, and at the end of each month, we record ourselves singing as a group and post a video on our class website to share with families. A few years ago, we learned about the Building Thinking Classrooms method in math, which involves solving problems at whiteboards in small random groups. Now, we use that method in language arts
as well. Using lyrics to a Beatles song as our resource, I point out a long vowel or a consonant blend and have students play finger twister to put a finger on as many examples as they can find on their copy of the lyrics. We then go to the whiteboards and break down words from the lyrics. How many syllables, how many phonemic sounds, what affixes? These songs are pop music, so they’re full of high-frequency vocabulary, and they present endless opportunities to give context to our linguistic practice. They’re fun, memorable and give us a reason to learn about long and short vowel sounds. Occasionally, a former student will catch me in the hall and, with a hint
“ My hope is to make my students’ time here meaningful and memorable.” meaningful and memorable. To quote the Beatles, “I've got to admit, it's getting better, a little better all the time.” of nostalgia and a knowing smile, ask “Hey, Mr. Wyatt, are you still doing the Beatles?” It’s starting to feel like a rite of passage. My hope is to make my students’ time here
ATA Magazine Fall 2026
55
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