Instructify

BY REBECCAH HAINES

Have you ever heard a class of 6th graders spontaneously singing along to a song about the sun? Well, I have, and I have to say, it is pretty wonderful. And a little hilarious. You might ask, what kind of magical song could compete with all the popular music out there? “Why does the sun shine?” by They Might Be Giants, actually an old song, on a relatively new CD by the band, is what fits the bill.

They Might Be Giants is a band that has been around for quite a while, and they have released many albums. Recently, they have turned to creating themed kids’ music albums — Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123s, and my personal favorite and the one I use in my classroom since I’m a science teacher (and a science nerd) – Here Comes Science. This wonderful CD features 19 songs covering various important science concepts with catchy melodies and lyrics. From the songs “The Bloodmobile” to “Meet the Elements” to “I am a Paleontologist,” you are sure to find a song that goes along with your science curriculum. If you order the actual CD rather than downloading songs from iTunes (I know, so old-fashioned!), you will also get a DVD that has short animated videos to go with each song. I’ve used these as quick three-minute time fillers at the end of a class — kids are entertained and they’re learning something too!

If you’re not convinced yet that this CD is worth a purchase, They Might Be Giants also has a free podcast on iTunes called “They MIght Be Giants Friday Night Family Podcast.” On this podcast, the band publishes six-to- eight-minute videos of songs from their kids’ CDs that you can download for free.

Here Comes Science

They MIght Be Giants Friday Night Family Podcast

Related stuff:

Add The Biochemists’ Songbook to your .mp3 collection

They Deafened Me with Science: The Element Song Returns

Try out Last.fm in a social studies or language arts class