SOMERVILLE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts kindergarten class is drawing attention for using a lullaby to teach students about lockdown drills.
Taped to the classroom’s chalkboard is a rhyme set to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” rewritten telling students what to do if there’s a shooter.
It begins “Lockdown, lockdown, lock the door. Shut the lights off, say no more.”
A mother visiting the Somerville school posted an image of the poster Wednesday to Twitter. It has been shared thousands of times.
This should not be hanging in my soon-to-be-kindergartener’s classroom. pic.twitter.com/mWiJVdddpH
— Georgy Cohen (@radiofreegeorgy) June 6, 2018
Georgy Cohen, who took the photo, tells The Boston Globe it was “jarring.” Online commenters say it’s sad children have to be ready for a shooting.
Cohen and Somerville Public Schools declined to identify the school. The superintendent says lockdown drills are a sad necessity, adding that “unfortunately this is the world we live in.”
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.