Read A Calendar
by John Riggio
Last year John wrote "Read A Clock," so it made total sense to follow-up that song this year with "Read A Calendar." Look for "Read A Sundial" next year! (Kidding…)
It's cross curricular – so be sure to tell your school's math and science teachers! This song has some basic conversions in the lyrics to help students get a grasp on units of time: One day is twenty-four hours, one week is seven days, and so forth. Even the song descriptor is "Chronologic Rock." In the Greek, chr nos means time, and chronological relates to dates and times and sequences. Be sure to also discuss the concept of a leap year and the 29th day of February. And if you want to really go there, be sure to check out John's song "Leap Year" (Singles Reproducible Kit).
Although the song is a bit wordy, the rhythms are very simple and the wordy bits are repeated exactly. Also, the song isn't meant to be comprehensive. For instance, it doesn't mention the names of the weekdays or the names of all the months – it's more of a launchpad for those ideas. A classroom discussion of the calendar with your students in tandem with the song will help solidify the concepts. (It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that we have songs for that, too. Like "The Months Of The Year" and "Thirty Days Has September," both available as Singles Reproducible Kits. Visit MusicK8.com to listen.)
Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.