The “5 W” Questions Lyrics

The "5 W" Questions

WHO is singing?

In Whitman?

In Hughes?

WHAT America are they singing about?

In Whitman?

In Hughes?

WHERE? The setting of the poem?

In Whitman?

In Hughes?

WHEN? The time period of the poem?

In Whitman?

In Hughes?

WHY are they singing?
In Whitman?

In Hughes?

Are these differences significant? Why or Why not?

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

This interactive handout is aligned with the three day unit plan Singing America: Whitman, Hughes and You. Scholars use this interactive handout to organize their thinking as they compare Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” and Langston Hughes' “I, Too, Sing America.”

Assignment: The first student to respond to each question will create an annotation; subsequent students should leave their responses in suggestions on that annotation. See green teacher annotation for an example. Each student must respond to every question.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

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