Here are the tracks I put on the Team Yukon History Soundtrack. I hope you enjoy, and I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday. All the best, Mr. Ippolito
1. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
This was the song that I played on the very first day of school. I wanted to get the point across that the beginning of your eighth grade year is an opportunity to be your best, and that your future is still wide open ahead of you. Little did I realize that many of you sang this for your sixth grade promotion song! Oops! Well, it still conveys the same message that I want to get across to you--you're still young and you have so much promise and opportunity ahead of you.
2. No More Kings - Schoolhouse Rock
This was the first of three Schoolhouse Rock songs that I shared with you. Schoolhouse Rock first came out on ABC on Saturday mornings when I was a kid, so it's fun to share this series with you.
3. National Treasure Suite - Trevor Rabin
What movie could make the Declaration of Independence and American history cooler than National Treasure? I didn't mind taking a class-and-a-half to share this movie with all my Team Yukon students. I think it was well worth it, and I am SUPER excited about watching the sequel this Thursday night!
4. The Preamble - Schoolhouse Rock
Hopefully this helped you memorize the Preamble to the Constitution!
5. I'm Just a Bill - Schoolhouse Rock
Did this song help you with the benchmark exam? This is another catchy Schoolhouse Rock tune!
6. Ichabod Crane - Bing Crosby
One of the first truly American authors, Washington Irving wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" about the village of Tarrytown about 40 miles north of New York City along the Hudson River. We learned about this right before Halloween, which made it perfect timing to watch the Disney version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
7. Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
This song goes along with the showdown between Jefferson and Hamilton, the first big political rivals in American history!
8. Home - Daughtry
I played this song to accompany the George Washington farewell slideshow as we gave him an American Idol-style send-off. I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about our first President.
9. Louisiana Purchase - Carol Bruce
I never played this in class, but I heard this song on one of the video projects that I saw in class last week. I thought it was a cool song so I put it on the CD!
10. To Anacreon in Heaven - Colonial and Revolution Songs
You never heard this song in class, and it's too bad, too. This is the original British drinking song that became the tune for our National Anthem. Just because I put this song on your CD does NOT mean I am promoting the underage consumption of alcohol, so please enjoy this historical song responsibly.
11. The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
We heard this song on a couple of the video project presentations that we saw in a couple classes. It's a classic from 1959.
12. Dry Your Tears, Afrika - John Williams
This is my favorite song from the movie, Amistad. You will have the opportunity to watch this Steven Spielberg movie after school. It is a powerful film that shows what the slave trade was like, as well as American life in the 1830s.
13. No More Auction Block for Me - Sweet Honey In The Rock
This is one of the slave spirituals we will learn about when we get to our slavery unit next quarter.
14. Bonnie Blue Flag - Songs of the Civil War
The Confederate flag (the Stars and Bars) has been a source of controversy for over 100 years now, as it has represented everything from states' rights to national pride to racial hatred. The Stars and Bars was not the original flag of the Confederacy, though. The first flag was the Bonnie Blue Flag, a single white star on a royal blue field. You'll see a copy of the Bonnie Blue Flag, and we'll listen to the song in class, when we study the Civil War.
15. Lorena - John Hartford
You may be able to tell that I love music, and especially the music of the Civil War. This song was popular among soldiers in the field during the war. They missed their wives and girlfriends and wished the war would end soon so they could return home to them. The woman mentioned in the title of the song, "Lorena," represents the "girl he left behind."
16. Vacant Chair - Kathy Mattea
Here is another sad song of the Civil War. A family would gather at Thanksgiving or at Christmas time, and when they lost a son, a brother, or a husband in the war, they would leave a "vacant chair" at the dinner table to represent their fallen family member.
17. Goober Peas - Songs of the Civil War
We had a couple of sad Civil War songs, so we'll end on a high point--"Goober Peas"! This is my favorite Civil War song of all. Goober peas is what they call peanuts in the South. Peanuts are very portable, and an excellent source of protein, which made them the perfect on-the-go food for soldiers, both North and South. Beware! This song gets stuck in your head, making it the perfect song to end with!
RVI
There's really not too much in Las Vegas that relates to eighth grade history, but the holiday display at the Bellagio was pretty cool. Mr. Ippolito is not too much of a gambler, so Vegas was really just a chance to relax and unwind with Mrs. Ippolito before the busyness of Christmas!
