Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources:
Background information: Tim McGraw wrote the song “Live Like You Were Dying” as a tribute to his father Tug McGraw, a major league baseball pitcher who died of brain cancer early the same year. His message is to live life fully and in the moment.
Pre-step…before sharing the song: From Temoca Dixon, this lesson's creator: "I have the students create a 'Someday List' as a writing warm-up activity. The students create a list of what their life would look like if they had no obstacles, limitations, and money was not an issue. Using a shoulder partner, I have the students brainstorm the different lists people create. Once we have several ideas, I pick two lists, one that may be very important and one that is not as crucial and we discuss the differences in the lists. The idea is to show how some lists are important and well-written whereas others are quick, random thoughts that are recorded.
"We also review idioms. The idiom 'kick the bucket' is reviewed with the students. Before I have the students guess the idiom, I draw a bucket on the board and ask the students what we use buckets for. They usually come up with ideas of what the bucket holds. I sketch out a dead person kicking the bucket and ask what they think the bucket was holding for the idiom to 'make sense.'"
Step one…sharing the song and other inspiring media: The teacher should discuss values. What are values, and what does a person's values tell us about them? What are the different ways people display their values, for example working for charity events or volunteering? Instruct students to pay attention to the values they notice from the song and the video. Ask them to think about these two questions: "What are the values? How do you know and what does this say about the people in the song and video?"
Play the song by Tim McGraw, or show the video of the song if possible. Students will use the values comparison graphic organizer to list and compare the values from the song or video. Then students will take out their “Someday List” they created earlier and list their values on the back page. They will compare their values to the items listed on their someday list. Ask, "Does your someday list reflect your values?" Tell students to imagine they have just found out they only have 3 months to live. Ask, "What would they do with your life now? Have your priorities changed? Does your new bucket list reflect your values?"
Step two…introducing student models of writing: In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups will certainly talk about the sentence fluency, since it's the focus of the lesson, but you might prompt your students to talk about each model's idea development as well.
- Because this is a new lesson at WritingFix, we're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! Help us get some, and we'll send you a free resource for your classroom! Contact us at publish@writingfix.com for details.
 Step three…thinking, talking, and pre-writing: If possible, read the book These Things I Wish by Lee Pitts. The book will give the students an idea of what good sentence sentence fluency sounds like. Tell students they will need to try and capture a similar-sounding sentence fluency in the rough drafts of their own bucket lists.
Also, if possible, read the poem "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou to the students before they draft their bucket list. The poem “Phenomenal Woman” is a great example of rhythm for the students. Ask students to pay attention to the rhythm and the short and complex sentences that make up these texts.
Teachers will need to explain the expectation of the writing. Explain the assignment is to create a meaningful and original list that shows rhythm and a unique style. The students need to have examples of lists or text to reference and possibly use as a model for their draft. Students may need to bullet point each of their values or activities they want to take care of before the 3 months is up. Then from the list they can turn the ideas into sentences. Ask them to think about this question: "What is the message you are trying to create that creates a picture in their reader’s mind of who you are as a person?"
As students prepare to create their Bucket Lists, you might have them use this rough-drafting sheet.
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