It’s getting to be that time of year when planning for 5th grade graduation begins! Each elementary school has their own traditions as to how their students are celebrated before moving on to middle school. In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite graduation songs as well as how I give my students voice and choice in the song they perform.
Guiding the Song Selection Process
In my school, one of the traditions is that our 5th grade students perform a song at their promotion night. The challenge, as their music teacher, is balancing giving students voice and choice in the song they sing, while making sure it’s age-appropriate and carries with it a positive message. I love for my students to give song suggestions for their “class song.” It’s a great way to have conversations about the music they listen to, how lyrics tell a story, and how a song can define a moment.
Once we have that conversation, students are given a few days to do their “research” before submitting their song selections. Students submit their song suggestions via Google forms and provide a link if they have one to the song’s video on YouTube or Vimeo. I listen to each song and based on its message, vocal range, and appropriateness, put together a list of 5-6 songs.
From there, I present each song to the 5th grade classes and we listen to them and discuss each song. At the end of that class, students vote for their top 2 choices. The next class, we listen to the 2 top choices, discuss our pros/cons for each song, then students vote for their first choice song.
- Do students ever suggest inappropriate songs? Yes. Do I address it? Only when the contents of the song are of concern (explicit content) and then I may choose to address it with the child and/or parent.
- Do some students not suggest songs? Yes. If a child doesn’t suggest a song, they still have a voice when we listen to and vote for them in class.
- Do I, as the teacher, ever have to suggest songs? Yes. Sometimes students get stuck on an “idea” of song but the song isn’t appropriate. I may offer alternatives that still honor the spirit of the song they wanted.
The process takes a bit more time than me simply selecting a piece for them to perform. But what I’ve found is that when they are given voice in the process and have choice in the song they perform, they sing it with meaning. The conversations we have throughout the process also help them to become more aware of the musical content they consume as a listener.
5th Grade Graduation Song Suggestions
Here are some of our favorites we have performed over the years! I hope this list helps you discover some songs you might consider performing with your own students!
Moments Turn to Memories by Adeline Hill
We Won’t Stop Dreaming by Pinkzebra
On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
In These Halls by Madilyn Bailey
Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw
Carry On by Olivia Holt
Larger than Life by Pinkzebra
Be a Light by Thomas Rhett
Still not finding a song that works for you? Check out my 5th Grade Graduation Song Playlist on YouTube! Just scroll through the playlists until you find my 5th Grade Set. There you can find many more song suggestions (and I’m always adding to the list!)
Do you have a favorite song for 5th Grade Promotion? Share it below! I’d love to hear about it!
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