We are on the cusp of publishing the next set of modules in our online professional learning ImmersiFIRE series. With a focus on music and science, we want to highlight a collaboration that took place between these two curricular areas several years ago.
Musical creation, both in large group and small group formations, can also amplify learning in other subjects.
To support their work in Science, these small groups of 4th and 5th grade students are writing verses about different elements on the Periodic Table. Through their work as lyricists and performers, they developed new pathways for understanding and remembering the scientific content of the Periodic Table.
Sing along with the lyrics in the video or read below.
Periodic Table
On an old piece of paper, Mendeleev drew some squares
Anything you can find on the Earth, Mendeleev put it there
Organized by atomic weight, some are common some are rare
There are many that are in the ground, there are many in the air
Hydrogen on the left side, helium on the right
Only one and two protons, so they’re really, really light
Copper’s used to make pennies, throw some zinc in there too
Gold is used to make jewelry, it always looks brand new
CHORUS:
Welcome to the periodic table Such a lovely place (echo)
Such a lovely place (echo)
Plenty of room on the periodic table
What you find somewhere (echo), you can add it there
If you’ve ever used a light bulb, then you’ve seen Tungsten
It might come as quite a surprise that Sn stands for Tin
Cesium explodes in water, so does sodium
But nothing can explode quite as big as… Francium!
Diamonds last forever, but iron rusts away
Silicon makes computer chips, we use ‘em everyday
If something stole your electron, could be a halogen
They used to put a little lead in the wine, that’s what got Beethoven
CHORUS
If you’ve ever seen the bright lights, then you’ve seen number ten
Like the other noble gases, it has trouble making friends
Lanthanides and Actinides, hanging out down below
If they didn’t make the chart so long, THIS is where they’d go
Every living thing has carbon, we all breathe oxygen
If you want to grow something in the ground, you need some Nitrogen
If you want to build a space ship, get some zirconium,
But watch out for the asteroids, full of iridium
CHORUS