SKILL: Write some sentences that you want to share with other people. Select a song with an attractive melody. Then fit the ideas of the sentences that you wrote into the rhythm of the song. SONGS REACH PEOPLE... The "Guide on the Side Song (Time Is A Variable)" came from this desire to communicate through music

People usually remember a key fact better if we can sing it.
(1) In fourteen hundred ninety two
C_______ s____led the ocean blue... 
Many students of the 1960s can complete that sentence.

(2) The alphabet song  A B C D E ...

(3) My friend's phone number  6 8 3  __ ___ __ __  ... I heard my friend sing that phrase (seven digits) to her child in 1997 and I still carry that number in my head.   Why?   I sang with her after she sang the seven numbers and I took time to say, "I want to remember that."

Perhaps you have similar examples.

(4) Broadway tunes:  I know more about the American Revolutionary war than about most other moments in history because I played (and memorized) nearly a dozen songs from 1776.

__ Mama, hey Mama...  Lyrics      Musical
__ Is Anybody There?  Song  
__ The Lees of Virginia  F F V...   Song
__ But Mr. Adams  Lyrics   Musical   
__ It's hot as h____ in Phila DELL phia!  ("Someone's gotta open up the window!"  "No, no, no!  Too many flies!"  Will someone shut that man up?)
__ Saltpeter... Pins, Abigail...  Yours Yours Yours
__ Cool, conservative men...  song
__ Oh what a beautiful waltz!  Molasses, rums and slaves
__ The egg that England laid...  "and just as Tom here has written, though the egg may belong to Great Britain, the eagle inside belongs to us"
__ He plays the violin... and I get this feeling within...  and I sigh...  loving life...    Song           Miss Broadway sings the song        Questions to the singer

Each of these phrases has a link in my head to a song and key ideas from the 1770s.

Here are the steps to getting the GUIDE ON THE SIDE song ready for you.
(a) Write some sentences that you want to share with other pepole. 
(b) Select a song with an attractive melody.  
(c) Then fit the ideas of the sentences that you wrote into the rhythm of the song.  
SONGS REACH PEOPLE...  The "Guide on the Side Song" came from this desire to communicate through music

Guide on the Side (Time is a Variable) song with Personal Learning Plans, Portfolios and Projects

Here are the lyrics of the song  (sung to the tune of YOU HAVE A FRIEND by Carol King)

When you are bored, distracted 
and you want to change the world
and nothing seems to be fun to do

This Cover Song with new lyrics was uploaded
on 20 July 2013 and it
was removed by YouTube

Send a text and ask for time
and soon we will reply.
to listen to whatever is on your mind.

You type GUIDE on the SIDE
and you know wherever you are
You'll get an answer:  "Hey, what's up?"
and a line to your future.

Phone call, Skype, email or Tweet,
Take a breath and tell us your needs
and you'll find your passion soon.

You've got a guide... on the side.
Yeah, Guide on the Side....

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Note:  if we use a song without permission of the author, YouTube might remove the video.

I found this notice:

ouch...  is the video removed?  Well, I'll try uploading it by speaking the song instead
of using the melody of the Carol King song... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRvBOyH_agA

HEre is the SPOKEN VERSION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62_rkPRpLNs