Bears
by Pacoima Charter Elementary School

To the tune of “Yankee Doodle”

The polar bear lives in the arctic, it’s his habitat sir
Hibernates in winter, in the summer he gets fatter
Slides across the arctic snow while hunting seals and fishes,
He’s a carnivore you know, ‘cause meat is all he wishes

Bears have fur and bears make milk,
Just like dogs and camels
They regulate their temperature
That’s how we know they’re mammals!

Pandas like to chew bamboo up in the hills of China
Panda bears are really rare in North or South Carolina
Panda bears are herbivores because they eat no meat, sir
At many zoos around the world they are the favorite creature

Bears have fur and bears make milk,
Just like dogs and camels
They regulate their temperature
That’s how we know they’re mammals!

The grizzly eats most anything, like berries, nuts, and salmon
Gorges in the summer ‘cause the winter is a famine
The grizzly bear eats everything, he is an omnivore
Now you know more bear facts than you ever did before

Bears have fur and bears make milk,
Just like dogs and camels
They regulate their temperature
That’s how we know they’re mammals!

Notes

Our team has been working for two months on developing an organized approach to writing original lyrics to tunes we already know. Working together, the students researched, organized, drafted, and polished three excellent songs on their chosen theme of large predators.

Note that the structure required for writing a song (theme, verse, chorus, etc.) naturally teaches the same organizing structure we want them to use for ANY writing assignment in third grade and above: topic, paragraphs, supporting details, logical conclusions, etc. This is not just a music project, it is first and foremost a WRITING project.

Here are a few of the academic content standards we addressed:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.5: Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3d: Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

Of course, the students also dug into the life science standards through writing about zoology.

My congratulations and thanks to the kids for all their hard work!

Sincerely,
-Tim Griffin