Music Monday #3 (One Voice by Billy Gilman)

"One Voice" by Billy Gilman

 *This just might be the year of all new "Music Monday" selections.  Last week I picked a new song from America's Got Talent and this week I'm going a bit old school, but with a current twist.  Billy Gilman had this hit years ago and now is a contestant on The Voice.

*Today is our third Monday together and that means it is time for another musical selection. 

*I truly believe Mondays are my favorite day for our writer's notebooks.  

*Each Monday I present a piece of music to my fourth graders.  I usually present this song via a video so they are hearing and seeing the music.  

*After I share the video, we discuss the song/video for a few minutes as a class.  It is always a joy to hear what my young listeners have to say about the song.  

*They then get busy writing in their notebooks.  We start off at the beginning of the year writing for about five minutes.  This will gradually increase as the year progresses.  

*Here are some ideas I give the writers to think about during their writing time...

*Their opinions of the song.

*Their likes and dislikes of the song.

*What the song reminds them of.

*Any connections they may have to the music.

*What they think the message in the piece may be.

*What listeners can learn from the song.

*A fictional story about the music/video.

*These are just some ideas I give to the writers.  They are really free to write anything they would like as long as it connects to the song.

*After our silent reading, we spend a few more minutes sharing out what we wrote.  

*I keep a collection of the videos on our Schoology Site so that my students can always go back and rematch them anytime they wish.


Our Musical Monday Selections for 2016-2017 
Week #1 - "What I Am" by will.i.am                                           Click Here for Week #1 Music
Week #2 - "Clay" by Grace VanderWaal                                      Click Here for Week #2 Music