April 12, 2000
Music makes history come alive
'I've Got a Song' program gives glimpse into Michigan's past
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Leaving their history textbooks behind, fourth-grade students at Glenn Loomis Elementary School climbed into a time capsule Wednesday afternoon for a peek into the real life of people who shaped Michigan history.
Spinning tales and imparting a living history lesson using song and music, Mary Anne Rivers and Donna Shugart held two fourth-grade classes spellbound Wednesday afternoon in the school's gymnasium.
Their "I've Got A Song" duet brought to life the history of Michigan from the days of the Native Americans and Voyageur explorers to the beginning of the automotive industry. They also used song and story to explore the history of state industries such as shipping, mining, lumbering and agriculture as well as life in a pioneer cabin.
As the one-hour program proceeded, students either sang along or listened raptly; a thoroughly captive audience.
"The art of storytelling is just something children don't see anymore," said Shugart, a musician who plays the guitar, Autoharp, mountain dulcimer, mandolin and baritone ukulele. "It just amazes me how I can hold them in the palm of my hand with a story, it's kind of a lost art."
For students, it was a taste of interactive history as Rivers and Shugart donned props and mimicked accents to bring their songs and stories to life.
"I like learning about Michigan and the pioneer days, like fur trading," said Jessica Eggli, a fourth-grade student at the school.
Shugart and Rivers have been working and singing together for 26 years, starting their collaboration with a program they developed for the country's bicentennial celebrations in 1976. They developed their "I've Got a Song" program recently to serve as an enrichment to the fourth- grade curriculum, which focuses on Michigan. They consulted with the district's fourth-grade teachers and director of instruction to ensure that the presentation met the state's history benchmarks.
"The presentation tied in very well because our fourth-grade curriculum is all about Michigan," said Marilyn Mills, one of two fourth-grade teachers at the school. "Part of that curriculum is talking about the settlement of Michigan."
Rivers and Shugart are traveling this year to each elementary school in the district, 18 in all, to present their musical history lesson. Their project is funded by grants from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Traverse City Area Arts Council. They have even taken "I've Got a Song" on the road to a school in Sault Ste. Marie.
At Glenn Loomis last Wednesday, "I've Got a Song" was particularly timely as the crowing event of the school's fifth annual Pioneer Day. Each year, fourth-grade students spend a day living the life of pioneers. They wash clothes by hand using a scrub board, write with a feather pen, play old-fashioned games like tiddlywinks or cat's cradle and wear pioneer costumes. Students also created a model settlement of a pioneer farm to show what it was like to live on one.
The tradition of Pioneer Day also draws parent and grandparent volunteers to the school for the day; this year 25 came to help with activities.
"Students say Pioneer Day is the best day in the fourth-grade," said Claire Stephenson, a fourth-grade teacher. "We never have a problem with behavior or manners on that day, even though these kids are all over the school."