To help you visualize how this all comes together, let's walk through a hypothetical student's choices of poems, songs, and theme.  To keep things simple, let's call our student William, in honor of the original bard named William.

• William's Classical Piece:  The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats.  Because William got this off of the list of approved poems available here at www.mrschristianson.com, it is okay that the poem is less than 16 lines.

• William's Theme:  Solitude

• William's Introduction to this Poem:

You're all probably familiar with the line, "he restoreth my soul," from the Twenty-third Psalm.  Amid the storm that is everyone's life, there are places, events, activities, or even people who help us to find solitude and restore a sense of balance.  My classical selection, which is "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by William Butler Yeats, describes one man's way of escaping turmoil in his life.  It is the place where he goes to restore his soul.   

The Lake Isle of Innisfree, by William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear the water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

• William has paired this selection with a song called "Cool Change" by The Little River Band.  William will connect the poem above to the contemporary song with the following introduction.  Note how William repeats key concepts and words to help delineate how both pieces fit his theme.

Many years ago, I learned how to sail a small Sunfish on the calm waters of Lake Keesus.  I remember the feeling of skimming across the water at sunset, dipping my hand in the wake, and thinking there was no better feeling than that of the wind in my hair.   Those sunset sails had a way of restoring the tranquility in my life in a way that no other activity could.  I'm not the only person to remark on the ability of the water to produce solitude.  The Little River Band notes the same effect in their song, "Cool Change."

If there's one thing in my life that's missing

It's the time I spend alone

Sailing on the cool and bright clear waters

There's lots of those friendly people

Showing me ways to go

And I never want to lose your inspiration

Now that my life

is so pre-arranged

I know that it's time

for a cool change

Well I was born in the sign of water

And it's there that I feel my best

The albatross and the whales

they are my brothers

It's kind of a special feeling

When you're out on the sea alone

Starin' at the full moon

like a lover

I've never been romantic

And sometimes I don't care

I know it may sound selfish

But let me breathe the air

If there's one thing in my life that's missing

It's the time that I spend alone

Sailing on the cool and bright clear waters

It's kind of a special feeling

When you're out on the sea alone

Staring at the full moon like a lover

Time for

a cool change...

I know that it's time

for a cool change

Now that my life is so prearranged

I know that it's time

for a cool change 

• William has also prepared a photo montage that will play after he recites his lyrics.  The photo montage was prepared using Windows Movie Maker and is around one minute long. 
• Notes:  Either Windows Movie Maker or Photostory 3 work very well for creating the montage.  William chose Movie Maker because it allowed him to trim the song, which had a very long musical introduction before the words actually started.  Photostory is definitely a more user-friendly application but it does not allow editing of musical clips.
• The final product should be about thirty seconds to one minute long.
• Don't forget to keep track of where your images came from! Here's William's Works Cited.