Music is magic. And the magic is in the music. Words have power. They have the power to change the world. When music is used to connect young people to the power of words it is a revolutionary thing. This is the basic idea behind "Mind Your Music". Recently, I have started incorporating my music into my middle school English classroom, using my songs as a way to engage students and as a means of providing analysis and context of history and literature for my students. I have written and recorded fifteen original songs, some of which I have used in my classroom and some of which are designed for use with content I do not teach; they are songs about books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Giver, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men and more. I have also written songs about historical topics like Martin Luther King, Jr., Hurricane Katrina, the Harlem Renaissance, the Scottsboro Boys, and resistance to slavery. These songs allow me to build essential historical background for my students in a fun and engaging way--offering them knowledge they did not have in a medium that really grabs their attention. These songs, that I am incredibly proud of, are contained on the full length album, "Searching for Paradise, Got Lost on the Way". In an age where arts and creative avenues of expression are continuously being cut from school budgets, I am using music as a way to inspire students and teachers about literature and history and offering students multiple creative avenues to express their own thinking. I have developed the album "Searching for Paradise, Got Lost on the Way" as a component of my innovative curriculum model. I am offering this project as a model for others, and hoping to have an impact on the teaching of middle schoolers in the 21st century--in the age of "accountability and testing." My use of music, videos, and other multi-modal means of access and expression is embedded with high expectations and inspires students to meet those expectations.