Joanne Hammil has taken one of my community building activities and turned it into a wonderful song. Typically, I give each student (or adult) a sticker and they must find their "match" (there are two of each sticker). After they have found their partner, they are asked to come up with two things they have in common and two things that are different. I make the rule that the commonality can't be something negative, e.g., "We're both clumsy," and the differences also can't be negative, e.g., "She's good at math and I'm not." With younger students, I will brainstorm possible topics for exploring and discovering commonalities and differences: favorite foods, television shows, sports, music, books, and so on. Then I teach Joanne's song "Different and the Same"* and students stand in a circle next to their partner and share their "verse" as we move around the circle: We're different, and we're the same. It's good to get to know you as we play this game. Then, for example, Michael and Tasha might sing as follows:

Michael: "I like hockey."

Tasha: "I like swimming."

Michael and Tasha: "And we both [clap, clap), like

ice cream." or: "I have two brothers; I have a sister; and we both [clap, clap), hate homework." [I added the claps and changed "but we both" to "and we both"] I have incorporated sign language into this song: "We're different" (index fingers crossed in front of

chest and then pulled apart) "And we're the same" (bring together both index

finger in front of the body) "It's fun to get to know you" (stroke the nose with two fingers) "As we play this game"(both hands make the sign for the letter "y" and wiggle them in front of the face). I have also used Ruth Pelham's song "Under One Sky" to explore commonalities and differences. Some of these strategies have evolved from discussions with Sarah Pirtle, who also uses this song in similar ways. Sometimes I have partners find their commonalities and then, as a group, we construct verses for the call-and-response part of the song using the commonalities that partners found:

We like chocolate, We have sisters, We like basketball, And French fries, too. If I am working with a very large group, I will sometimes construct verses with the whole group, e.g., "Let's write a verse about where we're from. What are some of the places you're from?" and coming up with a verse that perhaps includes: We're from Haiti,

* E-mail Joanne atjoannedjoannehammil.com for a lead sheet.

CMN members- enjoy "boomwhacking" along with Mara.

We're from Puerto Rico,

We're from Mexico,

And Elmville, too. I have also written, with students, verses on favorite foods, sports, religions, family structures, etc.

With older students, I ask each set of partners to form a small group with three other partner groups (for a total of eight students) and write a verse themselves, as a group. They are told not to find new commonalities, but to use one commonality from each partnership to write the verse:

We have brothers; we like swimming; we speak Spanish: and we like to play video games. Each group then stands up and sings their song (using blow-up microphones or plastic boom-mikes) and the other students sing the echo portion. We all join together to sing the chorus, "We're all a family under one sky, we're a family under one sky" between each verse.

Inclusion/Exclusion

Like many others. I have found Bob Blue's song "Courage" to be an incredible way to explore issues of inclusion and exclusion with students.

Typically, I begin the discussion with asking students to talk about times in their lives when they have felt "excluded." Sometimes I have asked them to get in small groups of three or four and construct a "body sculpture" of one of the experiences shared in the group. Students are asked to create a "tableau"—I call it a "snapshot" of what the exclusion looked like. They might, for example, have three people looking at a book and the fourth person standing to the side, or two students talking and pointing to a third student who is standing with her head down. They are then asked to share another "snapshot" of what "inclusion" would have looked like.

Then I play the song "Courage"* for students and give each student a piece of paper and crayons/markers and ask them to represent what they are thinking or feeling after hearing the song. I ask students to share, either in a small group or with the whole class, what they've drawn and what it means to them. Typically, students tell their own stories about exclusion.

I then ask students to talk about the role of the girl singing the song—someone who noticed the exclusion and decided to do something about it. I introduce the word "ally" as someone who actively interrupts or challenges oppressive or discriminatory behavior. We talk about times when they have needed an ally and/or have been an ally. We also share painful memories of times when we've noticed that an ally was needed and we didn't step up to the plate—and why.

This is always a rich discussion, and often an emotional one. It is not unusual for tears to be shed as participants discuss their own feelings and memories of being excluded and the importance of having a friend or an ally in those situations. I have recently begun using the new children's book Say Something (Peggy Moss) to discuss the critical role of the ally.

Perspective-Taking/Bullying

Getting students to understand that there are multiple perspectives on situations and conflicts is a critical skill for all people. I use Phil and Hannah Hoose's song and book Hey, Little Ant to introduce such discussions with students (and adults). I begin by putting the following

sentence on the board: "If I were a           , a        would

look big/small to me." I ask each student to complete the sentence with a comparison. I don't give examples if I can help it, because the resulting comparisons are richer and more diverse if I don't. After students have written something, I ask them all (or a sample of ten to twelve students) to stand up and read their sentences in the form of a readers' theater. I tell them that it's fine if two or more of them have written something similar or identical and that poems often repeat refrains. The results are always wonderful and thought provoking.

I then sing "Hey, Little Ant," using an ant hand puppet. I change voices to represent the child and the ant. Sometimes I show the pictures in the book while I sing, but often I wait until after the song to share the book. The discussions which follow are always powerful and diverse. We have discussed all of the following in groups that range from preschool to adult:

Should the child step on the ant? Why or why not? How should the child decide?

Where did the child learn about ants? Where do any of us get our information about other people or other groups? This often leads to a discussion of stereo-types and dangerous misinformation.

What is the role of peer pressure in making a decision? The other students in the book say, "Squish 'em!"; have you ever been subjected to peer pressure? What helped you to resist? Have you ever pressured others to do something they were reluctant to do? Why do you think that happened?

 The ant tells the child that they are a lot alike; what are the ways in which people and ants are the same? Different?

Six ants are pictured as carrying off a potato chip to "feed their town." Is stealing always wrong? Why are some people in our country hungry while others throw out food? Do we actually have a food shortage in our country, or are there political and economic factors that affect food distribution?

 At a more personal level, are there times when you feel that you have been picked on or targeted because of one of your characteristics? What would you have wanted from a friend or an ally in that situation? Are there times when you have targeted others? Why do you think you did that and what did you learn from that experience? What might you do if you saw one person bullying or harassing another? What could you do if you worked with others to challenge that behavior?

Regardless of the age or sophistication of the group. the discussion is always rich. Five-year-olds in Australia talked about God loving all living things, and their teacher asked them to draw a picture of a time when they had helped someone or something more helpless than they were. Graduate students had an intense discussion of the ways in which our ability to kill or harm others depends on the extent to which we "other" them—they're not "like us," "they don't value human life the way we do," etc. (See the Web site www.heylittleant.com for more ideas.)

 
Conclusion

The above examples show ways that I use children's songs to raise big issues with groups of all ages. Using songs allows me to "slip under the radar" of listeners, introducing important topics within a framework that invites participation and reflection. Even with groups that are not used to music or singing (or even listening to songs), I have experienced a very positive reaction to this strategy with students, teachers, teacher educators, parents, and administrators. Let's continue to find ways to use our music to change the world.

Mara Sapon-Shevin is Professor of Inclusive Education at Syracuse University where she prepares teachers for heterogeneous, inclusive classrooms. Active as a peace and social justice activist, she also spreads peace through dance, movement, and music.-