132. Energizing Democracy Through A Song
Songs to Educate by Talking Hands Talking Feet, an arts integrated education resource, invites teachers and parents to celebrate Constitution Day with a song that invites young lives to update and redefine “We The People”.
The creators of Songs to Educate encourage active participation in Constitution Day through a provocative song and workshop empowering students to understand their rights and freedoms as citizens of the U.S.A. in light of the greater quest of world citizenship.
The song is called ‘We the People’. The tune came out of a Talking Hands Talking Feet workshop relating to the constitution with a 4th/5th grade multi-age class at El Dorado Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to the workshop, the song includes the preamble to the United States Constitution.
Founder Melanie Zeir notes. “The Constitution Day Activity Kit was originally provoked by the fact that the founding fathers meant something different by ‘the people’ than we do today; the founders meant ‘wealthy, white, male landowners’. The song works to update and redefine who ‘We the People’ are, what do ‘We’ stand against, and what are ‘Our’ basic rights and freedoms?”
This is a marvelous and respectful way to open up the constitution for kids at elementary school age.
Constitution Day is September 17th, in honor of the birth date of the U.S. Constitution in the year 1787. It is the oldest constitution still in use in the world, written with extraordinary insight and foresight by the founding fathers. It is a living, breathing document, written to protect the integrity of the United States of America by encouraging citizen participation in law and government, in the realization of the Bill of Rights and to protect the citizens from abuse of power in any branch of government. The Constitution continues to be as important and relevant today as it was over 200 years ago.
To bring the constitution to life for kids is a fun, memorable, informative and inspiring process.
Watch the video and download the free Constitution Day Activity Kit here
The mission of Songs to Educate is to provide tools for teachers and parents to make a difference in young lives. All the best conceived formulae do not really matter unless education happens within the profound encouragement, warmth and security of our core humanity. Keeping it human is everything! That’s what these songs are all about. Yes, each one correlates within curricular requirements, whether social studies, language arts, math or one of the sciences, but always in the context of the fertile wonder: What does it mean to be human?
About Song To Educate by Talking Hands Talking Feet:
The founders Paul and Melanie Zeir have been working directly with thousands of children since 1997 to inspire and educate through music and movement. Interactive song theater with dances and lesson plans are now available for children ages 2 – 12 online at SongsToEducate.com.