From the "bragging about my kids file"….
My talented daughter is having to take a few more courses at the University of Regina to get her teacher certification here in Saskatchewan. She's taking an elementary science course and convinced her professor that perhaps she could combine her music skills for a major project. She's been using the Saskatchewan Science curriculum to develop songs as well as a songwriting guide for students. It's a wonderful blend of science, language arts and arts education. She's created 8 songs covering a range of topics. I'm bias but I do think they're pretty good. Not your typical kids songs but they are pretty diverse in content and style.
She's currently building an epub book that we'll share soon. For a little preview here's one of her songs and the study guide to go with it.
[podcast]http://ideasandthoughts.org/tunes/poo.mp3[/podcast]
Here's the m4a version if you prefer. (still not seeing this show up on an ipad…any ideas why?)
[podcast format=”video”]http://ideasandthoughts.org/tunes/poo.m4a[/podcast]
Analyze
What did you learn about living things?
How does a plant poo?
How do you know you are living?
What is the form of the song?
What is the rhyme scheme in the second verse?
How many lines long is the chorus?
Create 3 more interesting questions to analyze the song.Songwriting Activity
Pre-write
1.) Choose a plant or an animal that interests you.
2.) Is it living? How do you know?
3.) Create 3 of your own interesting questions about your species.
4.) Gather your information on your plant or animal.
5.) Start song writing!
a) What will your song be about (big idea)?
b) What information do you want to include?
c) Does this information help to communicate the big idea?
Write
Form: Verse, Chorus
Rhyme Scheme: Writers choice.
Lyrics: Must be original. Refer to your pre-writing work.
Melody: Choose 1.
a) Parody. Use the melody from "Does it Poo?" or use the melody of another song.
b) Original. Create your own melody!
Edit
Does your song show what you have learned about your plant or animal?
What is your rhyme scheme/ schemes?
How is the feel?
Is the melody clear and "catchy"?
How could you improve it?Perform
Perform your song for the class. Acapella (just voices), or with music if someone in your group can play an instrument!