Yankee Doodle Went to Town

George Washington would be jealous if he saw the hats our class made today!  First, we took a trip back in time to learn what all of the words in the Yankee Doodle song meant.  We were really surprised to learn that 'macaroni' didn't mean our favorite weeknight dinner- it was actually referring to the fashionable 'macaroni' hairstyle of the 18th century.

picture taken from:  http://www.racontours.com/stories/little-italy/pierre-toussaint-refugee-hairdresser-saint/

After learning about the history of the song, we put on our reader hats and practiced creating mental images, or 'brain pictures', using the author's words as 'paint'.  The students worked as the illustrators for the song and drew what they visualized on the construction paper that they used to make their hats.  We then sang and danced to the 'doodle' tune- hats and all!

If you would like to have your child teach you our dance moves for the song, visit the 'Going Deeper' tab on our blog, click on the 'Month by Month' link, and find 'September'.  Scroll down to 'Social Studies' and you will find the music video we used in class.  Don't forget to have your child put on their Yankee Doodle hat for the full effect!