Image Map

Thursday, February 21, 2013

When I First Came To This Land

A picture book that I just love is: When I First Came to This Land, by Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback. 
I use this book with my 5th graders to encourage writing in the music room.  We learn the song, via the book, and practicing singing it, taking note of the rhyme scheme used.  We also listen to several recordings of the song and compare and contrast the versions.  Lastly, we use the book as a mentor text to model writing our own verses.  I use the worksheet below:
This worksheet is simple, but is a free download at my TpT store, if it is a time saver for you.
We share our verses, and compile a list of our favorites to create an "add-on" version of the song.  The kids enjoy coming up with whacky verses that work with the rhyme scheme.  They usually perform this song with great energy and vocal clarity.


This wonderful picture book is also great to use as a listening closer with primary students.  Sing the song or share a recording of the song with the students along with the picture book, and have them listen to quality singing as a calming closer to your lesson.

1 comment:

  1. I love that song but I didn't know about the book. I will be putting it on my list of things to buy. Love the new blog look!

    ReplyDelete