Magical Moments: Not Always Curriculum Related

When I asked my students for feedback a few months ago, many said that they would like to be able to choose their own article on occasion.  This seemed like a reasonable request, so every four weeks they get to choose their own article. They LOVE it. Yesterday in class, one of my students turned in his Article of the Week on how the song "Baby Shark" has gone viral.  

Anyhow, as I read his response to the article about the song, I became intrigued. I had never heard of the song, and apparently I am pretty out of it.  The song has been around for years, but a few years ago Pinkfong, a Korean children's entertainment brand,  created a  new version of the song on Youtube.  To date, it has 1.6 BILLION views!  

I looked up from my student's paper and asked, "How many of you know the "Baby Shark" song?"  Some began singing, some began laughing, some began imitating a shark opening and closing its mouth, and they ALL begged me to play it. So I did!  I projected the video onto the big screen and what ensued was nothing short of pure bliss for this English teacher.  My students began to sing together and get out of their seats to do the hand and arm movements for daddy, mommy, baby, grandma, and grandpa shark.  

When the song was over, one of my students said, "This is why I love middle school.  Our elementary teachers would never do that!"  To which I responded, "This is why I love teaching middle school.  High school students would never do that."

I have a feeling that twenty years from now my students won't remember the awesome lesson I did on paraphrasing. However, they may remember the time their English teacher played "Baby Shark".