Teaching Sequencing with Songs

Last week I posted “Teaching Compare and Contrast with Songs” This week, I’m continuing the series with “Teaching Sequencing with Songs.” I’ve listened to hundreds of songs. In the comment area below, I would love to hear your suggestions. Remember the songs must be classroom-friendly.

This handout contains all the song titles listed in this series of posts. It also has a series of printable organizers for students to use with the songs.

Handout for Sequencing with Songs Blog Post

Sequencing using Historical Events

One genre to use in the classroom are songs that tell about an event in history. You can’t go wrong with sequencing events from the Battle of the Alamo. Here are some songs you might try:

Ballad of the Alamo by Marty Robbins

Shortly after the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, Gordon Lightfoot, a Canadian singer-songwriter, wrote this song to commemorate the sinking.

Casey Jones was an American railroader who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad. The Ballad of Casey Jones tells the story of how he was killed on April 30, 1900, when his train collided with a stalled freight train. The song was written in 1909, so it is now in the public domain. Here is a printable that includes the words to the song and the main idea activity to go along with it. 

Here are a few more history songs you might try:

• The Ballad of Davy Crockett by Tennessee Ernie Ford
• The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton

Biographies in Song

Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton

Here are a few more you might try:

• Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn
• Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg

Songs that Tell a Story

Love Story by Taylor Swift  

All-American Girl by Carrie Underwood

Billy Don’t Be a Hero by Bo Donalsson and the Heywoods

Handout for Sequencing with Songs Blog Post

Here are a few more you might try: 

• Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood (2005)
• Just a Dream by Carrie Underwood (2007)
• Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) by Taylor Swift
• Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin (1974)
• Three Wooden Crosses by Randy Travis (2002)
• Last Kiss by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers (1964)
• Boulevard of Broken Dream by Green Day (2004)
• In the Ghetto by Elvis Presley (1969)
• The Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers (1979)
• Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphey (1975)
• Phantom 309 by Red Sovine (1967)Operator by Jim Croce (1972)
• Fun, Fun, Fun by the Beach Boys (1964)
• Ol’ Red by Blake Shelton (2001)
• Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks (1990)
• Baby Girl by Sugarland (2004)
• The Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las (1965)
• The Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry (1967)
• He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones (1980)
• Honey by Bobby Goldsboro
• A Day in the Life by The Beatles (1967)
• Rocky Mountain High by John Denver (1975)