I Want To Know

by Teresa Jennings

As we typically do with our all-school revues, we bring you at least one song that is easy enough to use with your youngest singers, should you wish to include them in the revue, too. For Hungry To Learn, that song is "I Want To Know." However, despite the simplicity of the melody and words, this tune is a lot of fun, so we think older students will enjoy it, too. If you feel the need to make it easier for say, first graders, you could have them repeat verses instead of trying to learn four of them. Or you could use cue cards or projected lyrics (like the PowerPoint® lyrics we provide – see page 63 for details on these).

The lyrics are comfortable and familiar, and as mentioned before, refer to things learned that are not necessarily of an academic nature. Have fun with this aspect by letting kids do quick, simple actions for some or all of the stated things. For example, just pointing right or left, up or down for those lyrics. Drawing a smile or frown on their faces with their index fingers is easy enough to do. Some of the more abstract ones may need a little help from you to invent a gesture. But it doesn't have to be rocket science. Particularly if you're using little kids for the song. Anything they do will be golden.

The music itself has a charming folksy, but quirky tone to it. We label it "pop" because it reminds us of some of the pop songs currently making the rounds. Which hopefully means your students will relate.

As with "Hungry To Learn," let the message become a topic of discussion for the classroom, if you have time. What other things do they want to know? What else could they learn? Feel free to substitute their own ideas in the song. (What a great way to validate and reinforce their contributions!)

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.