John Denver

Ms. Leom's class had a "John Denver" lesson in Social Studies today. It was unexpected, unplanned, and baffling (to her).

Students are working on state project brochures. They need to list three famous people for their state and tell something about them.

John Denver

One student had John Denver listed for her state. She needed at least one detail about him and couldn't find him in the encyclopedia. Surprised, Ms. Leom looked (three times) through the encyclopedia, sure the information was missed. Nope. So, then she fired up the computer, visited the Milaca Schools Website, and navigated into the Kurth Media Center, via Resources. There are several on-line encyclopedias available.

As all fourth graders know, "Google" (or another favorite search engine) is rather "gifted" at finding information. We really work to provide "fourth grade friendly" student information. Ms. Leom remembers John Denver. She isn't a fan, but she knows who he is ... She just doesn't remember any "media hype", so it is better to respect family values, and stick to student resources.

Only, John Denver was NOT listed in the student on-line resources. Who doesn't know John Denver?! Ok, besides her 28 students. So she visited iTunes and searched.

Someone heard her mention, "iTunes" and wanted to know if she was searching for Blake Shelton. Ms. Leom heard herself say, "John Denver is the Blake Shelton of my early elementary. He was on the Muppets (insert blank stares), even Sesame Street." Now, half the students were perking up. She played a few 10 second clips of the top three listed songs: "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy". Half of the students were familiar with the songs.

Who is John Denver? A singer. Yep.

It was a John Denver learning lesson today. You just never know what country road or Rocky Mountain High our learning will take us to on any normal day!