Roll of Thunder,

Hear My Song

Angelica Rinebarger

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Song Response
This assignment is worth 120 points.
Overview:
After finishing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, students will create a
song that retells a part of the story in a lyrical or rhythmic way.
Students must choose which details to use in their lyrics so that they
convey an important event or feeling from the book and then present it
in a pleasing form. Students must also write a description of the lyrics
and what they mean. The song must be presented but students may
seek out friends or family members to help them with the presentation
(e.g. musical instrument or vocals).
Song Requirements:

A minimum of 24 lines of lyrics. Students may use words found

in the book and the words may be repeated.

The lyrics must be typed.

The song must somehow be performed (live, audio, or video).

Although the lyrics must be written by the student, the
performance does not have to be done by the student.
Description Requirements:

Must be 8+ sentences.

Must typed.

Must describe the chosen and/or written lyrics.

Please see rubric for guidelines.

Roll of Thunder,
Hear My Song
Roll of thunder
hear my cry.
Oer the water
bye and bye.
Old man comin
down the line.
Whip in hand to
beat me down.
Storms ahead,
both land and sky.
Breaking silence
in the night.
Fire burns
both black and white.
Send us rain
to end this fight.
Roll of thunder
hear my cry.
Oer the water
bye and bye.
Old man comin
down the line.
Whip in hand to
beat me down.
But I aint
gonna let him
turn me round.

Roll of Thunder,
Hear My Song
Description:
When writing this song I found inspiration in the
poem written by Mildred D. Taylor. I used the poem
as a building block for the lyrics. The event I chose to
write about was when Papa and Mr. Morrison were
leaving to help save T.J. at the end of the book. I
chose this event because its a very emotional part of
the story and leaves the reader in suspense.
Storms ahead both land and sky. Breaking
silence in the night.
These words mean that storms are coming. By
using these words, I meant that the storm on land was
the possible fight between the white men, Papa, and
Mr. Morrison. This possible fight would break all
silence towards the white men that Papa and Mr.
Morrison have been keeping in throughout the story.
Fire burns both black and white. Send us
rain to end this fight.
These lyrics relate to when the Logans cotton
caught on fire. Unlike the people of Mississippi, fire is
not racist and will burn any skin color. Without rain,
the fire and the fight would rage on until they both
eventually destroyed everything.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Song

5
Lyrics

Expression

Lyrics have
24+ lines.
Does an
excellent
job at
conveying
an
important
event or
feeling
from the
book with
creativity.
Vivid,
detailed
images
and
intensely
felt
emotion.

Lyrics have
Lyrics
23-20
have 19-16
lines.
lines.

Lyrics have
15-12 lines.

Lyrics
have less
than 12
lines.

The main
gist of the
event or
feeling is
conveyed,
but some
key parts
are left
out.

The event
or feeling
conveyed
does not
relate to the
book.

Confusing,
would be
unable to
tell what it
is about
without
knowing
already.

Language is
not creative
and does
not form
pictures in
readers
mind.

Wording
makes it
difficult to
visualize
images or
feel
emotions.

The song
was read
out loud.

The song
was not
performed
in any way.

Conveys an
event or
feeling but
is not as
stylistically
creative.

Clear
sensory
images are
used to
portray
event or
feeling.

Some use
of images
and
Sensory
feeling
Details
convey
the event
or feeling.
The song
The song
The song
was
was
was
performed
Performance performed performed
but
with
without
listeners
expression. expression. could not
hear well.
8+
Less than
8+
sentences
8
sentences
and
sentences
Description
and
somewhat
and
describes
describes
describes
lyrics.
lyrics.
lyrics.
Some
All items
Most items
Typed
items are
are typed.
are typed.
typed.

Less than 8
sentences
and
somewhat
describes
lyrics.
Hardly any
items are
typed.

Total: ________x4=________/120 points

No
description
provided.
No items
are typed.