Music and History, Part Two

Soldier Song: A True Story of the Civil War
by Debbie Levy
illustrated by Gilbert Ford
Disney Hyperion, 2017
review copy provided by the publisher

"That's amazing!" Zak said, after reading Soldier Song yesterday. "All that happened because of a single song!"

My 5th graders recently completed work on a standard that asked them to describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described. We talked about first- and secondhand accounts. Then in writing workshop, they crafted a piece of narrative nonfiction, blending researched facts (secondhand information) with invented firsthand points of view. I shared this book with them to show that the thinking they'd developed via the reading standard and their own writing are not just standards to study or hoops to jump in school, they are alive in books being published out in the "real world."

In Soldier Song, Debby Levy focuses small, on one standoff of the Civil War -- the battle at Fredricksburg and what happened within both sides and between the two sides via a musical volley across the Rappahannock River. Woven throughout the facts are snippets of actual soldiers' letters and journal entries. The woodcut illustrations perfectly invoke the mood/tone of the story.

Music and History, Part One

Stand Up and Sing! Peter Seeger, Folk Music, and the Path to Justice
by Susanna Reich
illustrated by Adam Gustavson
Bloomsbury, 2017
review copy provided by the author

After spending the month of April with the folk singer and activist Malvina Reynolds (list of posts here, or read from April 1 here), I was interested to find similarities and differences between her life and Pete Seeger's.

Both grew up in a house filled with music, and both had parents who were politically active, though Pete's parents weren't labeled Socialists, resulting in him being denied a high school diploma.

Pete and Malvina both learned from other folk singers/songwriters. They even learned from each other, having met in the late 1940's - early 1950's. It was Pete Seeger who made Malvina's song "Little Boxes" famous.

Both Pete and Malvina wrote and performed for children.

Pete Seeger went on to have a stronger voice and presence in the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War protests, and the fight for clean water. Because he lived until 2014 (Malvina died in 1978), his voice lingers more clearly in our collective memory.

Without either Malvina or Pete, American folk music would have been less of a treasure, and less of a force for good in our world. This book, Malvina's songs, and Pete's recordings can remind a new generation of the power of music to change the world.

For a closer look at Stand Up and Sing, see Jama's Poetry Friday Post at Jama's Alphabet Soup.

88 Instruments by Chris Barton

I loved getting a copy of Chris Barton's new 88 Instruments last week (direct from the author himself!) I got the package on Monday and read it for our #classroombookaday on Tuesday!  It was definitely a hit as a read aloud.

The book is simple and different from many of Chris Barton's other books. I love when an author has a variety of books as it will make for interesting conversation and study.  

The story is about a boy going into a store trying to choose an instrument that he wants to learn to play. There is quite a bit of humor in the decision as the parents give him a few limitation. Kids chuckled at some of the dialogue.  It made for a fun read aloud because Chris Barton created lots of original words to describe the instruments as the boy in the story tried them out. They were fun to read and fun to hear.  

The thing I loved most about this story is how it tied into the things we've been talking about these first few days of school.  We've been talking about so many things connected to learning, including growth mindset. This book is perfect for talking about growth mindset in a fun way--the last few pages of the book that include the decision of instrument and the plan for learning are simple yet powerful for conversations around learning and growth mindset.

This is a fun read and was a great #classroombookaday. I imagine it will be one that kids revisit often and one that they have fun reading together.

Poetry Friday -- String Theory

STRING THEORY
by Ronald Wallace

I have to believe a Beethoven
string quartet is not unlike
the elliptical music of gossip:
one violin excited
to pass its small story along
to the next violin and the next
until, finally, come full circle,
the whole conversation is changed.

(read the rest of the poem here)

Chelanne has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Books4Learning.

Poetry Friday -- Songs of Strength

I have a couple of songs to share this week. Music lyrics are one of my favorite forms of poetry.

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

[Chorus:]
'Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand...






[Beyonce:]
The heart is stronger than you think
Like it could go through anything
And even when you think it can’t
It finds a way to still push on though

[Carrie Underwood:]
Sometimes you want to run away
Ain't got the patience for the pain
And if you don't believe it look into your heart
The beat goes on

[Rihanna:]
I'm telling you, things get better, through whatever
If you fall, dust it off, don't let up

[Sheryl Crow:]
Don’t you know you can go be your own miracle

[Beyonce:]
You need to know!

[Chorus:]
[Sheryl:]
If the mind keeps thinking you’ve had enough
But the heart keeps telling you don't give up
[Sheryl & Beyonce:]
Who are we to be questioning, wondering what is what?
Don't give up, through it all, just stand up...

The third song I'll share is this one by Rodney Atkins.  The pertinent lyrics show up right about the one minute mark.

These songs go out, in general, to anyone who is going through tough times. Narrow the target a little bit more, and they are for breast cancer survivors who might not need an awareness month as much as they need a pep talk to stay strong. The center of the target? These songs are for you, Sylvia!

Irene has a very special Poetry Friday Roundup at Live Your Poem this week -- this week was the book birthday of her new book, DON'T FEED THE BOY, and she invited the Progressive Poem Poets to help her write a zoo-themed group poem. Don't miss that, or all of the rest of the offerings this week. (I finally have a calm weekend and am looking forward to reading around the roundup again!)

Poetry + Music = Fun

Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals
new verses by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Mary GrandPré
includes CD of music and verses
Alfred A. Knopf, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This music, long used to introduce children to classical music, does not need poems to suggest the animals each piece describes with sound.

These poems, written by the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate, do not need musical accompaniment to help their rhythms and rhymes suggest the animals they describe -- the lumbering elephants, the flitting birds, the obnoxious donkeys, the slow and ancient tortoises.

But this music and these poems together, make the music more fun to listen to and the poems more fun to hear and say. What a great way to introduce children to the sounds of language along with the sounds of the orchestra.

Google books preview is here.

Great Music for Kids from Shannon Tanner

We are vacationing in Hilton Head this week. We are having a nice time--very relaxing with just the right amount of things to do. Last night, we went to the Shannon Tanner show. For people who go to Hilton Head yearly, Shannon Tanner is a family tradition. He does concerts nightly in the Shelter Cove area. We have been to Hilton Head once before but skipped this event. This year, we decided to go.

I am not often a fan of these family concerts but I must say that Shannon Tanner was quite fun. I can see why families make it a tradition. His music is fun and he has just the right amount of adult humor to create a fun time for every member of the families. He has an amazing way with kids and our kids had a ball. He is quite popular here and I can see why. He puts on a really fun show and he seems like a genuine nice guy.

The other bit of good news is that he has some fun music to take with you after the show (and for sale on his website)--I purchased on to share between my daughter and my classroom. I imagine we'll buy more on his website. The music is fun, and great for elementary age kids. At the end of this school year, I realized that we had no music that we played in the classroom and I need some. It is tricky to find music for kids that are 8-10--they want it to be "cool" but they also want to be little kids. I think Shannon Tanner's music will meet their expectations when we need a burst of music in the classroom. I purchased one of his concert CDs. He also has DVDs of his show, etc. I highly recommend these for classroom use... I imagine lots of you already know about this but for those of us who don't go to Hilton Head regularly, I wanted to pass along the info and let you know that this would be good fun music for the classroom! (His website says he does school visits too:-)