Lesson Title: "I've Been Everywhere"
Author: Steven H. Inzer, Syracuse University MLS Student
Related Curriculum: Music, Social Studies, Information Literacy
Grade Level: 4th and 5th grade
Brief Description: This lesson is a collaborative effort between the music teacher, the 5th grade (social studies) teachers and the teacher-librarian. In this lesson, 5th grade students in Music class will listen to and learn to sing the song “I’ve Been Everywhere” made famous by Johnny Cash in 1996. This song contains references to 76 US cities, states and geographic points of interest. In Social Studies class, students will compile a list of all the sites listed in that song, taken from the lyrics sheets provided by the music teacher. After instruction on the use of atlases from the teacher-librarian, students will use this buILder in order to find many of these places on a map. They will then indicate on their own blank map where these cities and towns are located. Lastly, the students will perform the song during morning program (all-school assembly).
Teaching Idea: The purpose of the buILder is to give 4th and 5th grade students the opportunity to learn how to use various types of atlases, get experience using them, and also to locate some of the varied cities and towns in the United States.
21st Century Learners Information Literacy Standard(s):
Standard #1 Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge
1.1.1 Follow and inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make real-life connections for using this process in own life
1.1.4 Find, evaluate and select appropriate sources to answer questions
1.2.6 Display emotional resilience by persisting in information searching despite challenges
Standard #2 Draw Conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations and create new knowledge
2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful
2.4.2 Reflect on systematic process, and assess for completeness of investigation
Standard #3 Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society
3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry-based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on learning
Standard #4 Pursue personal and aesthetic growth
4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning
Related Content Standard(s): New York State Teaching Standards
Social Studies Standard #3—Geography: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national and global—including the distribution of people, places and environments over the earth’s surface.
The Arts Standard #1—Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts
Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts and participate in various roles in the arts.
The Arts Standard #4—Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts
Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse culture of the past and present society.