Let's Hear It For Learning!

For the past four years, I have made music videos with my class. They are all rooted in some part of our curriculum. They are fun, but they are a good amount of work. After 4 of them, I can honestly say that they are worth it.
When students now come to me, they know that I like to do them. They are excited about what lies ahead, but I am sure to tell them that they must 'earn' it and that it won't be easy, but it will be worth it. This year, I asked my students what they would like to 'sing and dance' about. Before I tell what what they chose, let's take a look at what previous classes have done...

1) Class of 2007-2008
June 2008
It is based off of the song "Crank Dat" by Soulja Boy, but we used what we were exploring in multiplication.



2) Class of 2008-2009
January 2009
It is based off of the song "YMCA" by the Village People, but we used what we were exploring in long division. This time we added the lyrics to the video.



3) Class of 2009-2010
January 2010
It is based off of the song "Empire State Of Mind" by jay-Z and Alicia Keys, but we used what we were learning through our Social Studies exploration of New York State. Once again we added the lyrics to the video.



That brings us to good old number 4. As I said before, I asked the class what they wanted to do a music video about, and they chose almost unanimously "crayfish". The study of crayfish is our fourth grade life science unit. So there I was... faced with the incredibly daunting task of figuring out how to sing and dance to a crustacean them.

First, we brainstormed vocabulary that we could use for the song. We had a digital word wall on the Smartboard, and we would update it whenever we found something. We chose the song "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. At 5 am one morning, the chorus came to me. (I know we shouldn't think about work but teachers know this can't be done!) I told my class those lyrics, and they loved it. Later that night, it all just came together. The song was done.

I gave the lyrics to the class, and they loved it. They practiced during snack and recess. They practiced so much at home that I embedded the instrumental version of the song on our class blog to make it easier for them.

Next were the scenes. I experimented with some stop motion photography using a model crayfish I had made our of paper towel rolls and construction paper. They liked that. We shot the singing a few times along with some scenes they came up with. Ultimately, a few hours with Windows Movie Maker and Audacity and it was all together. I am very proud of this song and our class.

4) Class of 2010-2011
December 2010
It is based off of the song "Tok Tok" by Ke$ha, but it is based off of our knowledge of crayfish. The lyics are again there for the viewer.



Will I do one again next year? Only time will tell.. but I am pretty sure that I will. Why? I had fun, and the class had fun. On a side note, the grades on this year's crayfish unit test were MUCH better that past years. Does singing a concept work? Does memorizing lyrics really help? I don't know.. but I can tell you that I remember every word of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution because of SchoolHouse Rock.

I wonder if I can sing the Common Core Standards...