Preamble (1987) by Mike Wilkins, Singable Art…and We The Kids, a Singable Picture Book (and 50 Nifty States!)

Posted by: Sing Books with Emily on: February 15, 2011

In: Art of Singing a Song | Case for Singable Books | Heartfelt Musings | Lyrics | Sing Along Tracks | Singable Book Title | Singable Picture Book Video | Song History | Vocal Tracks
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My kids and I recently visited the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum and we discovered a piece of Singable Art!

Preamble (1987) by Mike Wilkins
Smithsonian American Art Museum
http://americanart.si.edu

A short bio of Mike Wilkins on the Smithsonian American Art Museum Website, here:
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=5398

My children with the picture,

We went to the National Portrait Gallery (which shares a building with the Smithsonian American Art Museum near Chinatown in Washington, DC) with the mission to see portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to commemorate President’s Day. The woman seated at the Visitor’s Desk gave us the “must see artwork” short list for the museum, which included “Preamble.” I’ve walked by that installation many times before and never knew what it was. The artist collected licence plates from each of the 50 states with text and numbers that would spell out the Preamble to the Constitution. You’ve got to work at it a little, but start at the beginning and The Preamble emerges.

The best part for me is that you can SING it! Lynn Ahrens set “The Preamble” to music for SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK in 1976!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLP_HGKq-jg

The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The only hitch with the lyrics to the song is that ”of the United States” after is left out “We the People”…but once past that, just keep singing!

You can find “The Preamble” in Singable Picture Books,

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We the Kids (The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States)
Forward by David Catrow
Illustrated by David Catrow
Sing this book with “The Preamble Song” from “School House Rock”
Additional Lyrics by
Music by Lynn Ahrens
(More information about the song, here: http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/Preamble.html)

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The Constitution of the United States of America (With Benjamin Franklin’s Address to the Delegates Upon the Signing of the Constitution)
Inscribed and Illustrated by Sam Fink
The Preamble to the Constitution (which you can SING, thanks to Lynn Ahrens and School House Rock) is printed and illustrated in this AMAZING book. It’s a tall, heavy book with fabulous illustrations which illuminate a complete printing of the US Constitution and includes a chronology of and historical information about constitutional creation.
You can hear a clip of Lynn Ahrens singing The Preamble, on Track 4 of this link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B0000033XR/ref=pd_krex_dp_001_004?ie=UTF8&track=004&disc=001

For more information and a classroom activity (including a PDF with licence plates you can cut out and assemble into your own Preamble), here:
http://www.realclassroomideas.com/94.html

http://www.realclassroomideas.com/resources/Bulletin+Boards-+License+Plate+Preamble.pdf

To view the United States Constitution to read a transcript, click here:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

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11/8/2011
I have really been enjoying singing the School House Rock Preamble Song with kids at schools, pointing to the words as spelled out in Mike Wilkin’s wonderful work of art called “Preamble.”

I wondered out loud the other day of there was a licence plate for each state in this picture. I just counted them up and found that, indeed, there are 51. 51? Sure enough, there’s a license plate for each state and the extra one is for the District of Columbia.

Closer inspection reveals that not only is there a plate for each state, but the plates are in alphabetical order! This means to me that not only can one look at “Preamble” to sing “The Preamble Song,” but you can sing it with “Fifty Nifty States,” too!”

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Fifty Nifty States
Words and Music by Ray Charles
Book Assembled by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
This item is for classroom, home, or library use only.