Back to School: Beatitude Jingles and Cheers

Jesus taught us what happiness is all about in a Christian lifestyle and summed it up in the Beatitudes. Many people know the Ten Commandments by heart, and that is great. But as a Christian, we should also know the Beatitudes by heart. This would mean not just knowing the words but living them in our lives.

I first ask students to list some jingles or commercials with a musical element from radio or television. I ask why these come to mind so quickly. Typically the response is that they are catchy, easy to sing or remember, or "cool" (i.e., Gap commercials!) I also ask students to identify school cheers that they know and why they are so easily remembered. I then explain to students that we will use these techniques to get to know the Beatitudes better!

I randomly assign students to eight groups. Each group is assigned a beatitude to put into an easy-to-remember jingle or cheer. I remind students that jingles are typically short, and their lyrics are already given to them in the beatitude itself. Some rearrangement of words is fine as long as the meaning is not altered. I also tell students to consider repetition for emphasis. Generally 20-30 minutes is enough time for students to come up with these jingles. Groups then present them to the class. After each group presents, the whole class sings the jingle or does the cheer with the group.