Music Monday #13 (Clouds by Zach Sobiech)

"Clouds" by Zach Sobiech

*I know I say many of the Music Monday selections are my favorite, but I truly mean it with this one.

*I'm from Minnesota as was Zach and his story is quite special to our state.  To me, he is beacon of strength, hope, and what is possible.

*His story is one that I think is so important to share with young people.  Plus, the song and lyrics are some of the best I've ever heard.  Each year they honor Zach at the Mall of American and gather thousands of people for the largest "CLOUDS" choir!

*Today is our THIRTEENTH 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
Week #3 - "One Voice" by Billy Gilman                                           Click Here for Week #3 Music
Week #4 - "I Don't Know My Name" by Grace VanderWaal           Click Here for Week #4 Music
Week #5 - "Proud" by Heather Small                                                 Click Here for Week #5 Music
Week #6 - "There's a Hero" by Billy Gilman                                     Click Here for Week #6 Music
Week #7 - "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake                  Click Here for Week #7 Music
Week #8 - "Thriller" by Michael Jackson                                           Click Here for Week #8 Music
Week #9 - "Beautiful Thing" by Grace VanderWaal                          Click Here for Week #9 Music
Week #10 - "Live Like a Warrior" by Matisyahu                              Click Here for Week #10 Music
Week #11 - "Thankful" by Josh Groban                                            Click Here for Week #11 Music
Week #12 - "Hall of Fame" by The Script and will.i.am                    Click Here for Week #12 Music