Writing a poem or song lyrics to convey what has been learned about a topic gives students the opportunity to exercise their creative muscles.

Writing poetry has many emotional benefits, but it also sharpens cognition.

Poet Donald Fomby notes:

"Poetry isn't just beneficial for our emotional side. It also has a positive impact on our brand and cognition, so we can almost say that it's making us smarter. Here's why this is the case:

• Writing poetry is a complex process.

• It requires us to combine the words, hidden meaning, symbols, rhymes, and rhythm.

  • This process makes our brain active and stronger.

• Poetry helps us train our brain into being sharper and working smoothly. As a result, our overall cognition, memory, and focus are improved."

Performer Dave Ruch notes these benefits of song writing:

1. Music very often reaches the kids who are the most difficult for the teachers to engage.

2. Students want to contribute to the creation of the song (which forces them to actually think about the topic.

3. They love seeing their lyrics added to the song, and love singing the song because it's in their words.

4. They learn new things about the topic without even trying because they're having fun.

5. The song sticks around for a long time after I leave; same for any facts we managed to get in there.