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A raindrop falls high in
the mountains
It trickles on down to the stream
The stream winds its way to the river
The river rolls down to the sea
CHORUS: River of life, river of dreams
River of hope, river of peace
May you run strong and forever be
A river of love, a river of dreams
The sun calls the water back into the clouds
The wind paints a masterpiece sky
A snowflake drifts down, it kisses the ground
The wheel is renewed by and by
The river brings power, the river brings life
The river's been tainted and hurt
We can protect her if we respect her
Our voices must rise and be heard
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Background: Explain to
students that this song was
written for the "Kids for
the Columbia" festival in
Portland, Oregon. The festival is
presented by the Lower Columbia
River Estuary Partnership (www.lcrep.org). Although
the song was written to be about
the "water cycle" and
the Columbia River, it is also
about a metaphoric, or symbolic,
river composed of all the young
people in the world, including
children in Iraq, Israel,
Afghanistan, Korea, China,
Africa, South America, Australia,
the United States, Europe and
every other place on earth. Our
children are the "River of
Life," and our greatest
resource and hope for the future.
Discussion and Activity:
The first and second verses of
the song describe the WATER
CYCLE. Raindrops that fall to the
earth become part of the stream,
rivers, and oceans. In time, the
water is drawn back into the
clouds and falls again as rain or
snow.
Before or after listening to the
song, have a discussion about the
water cycle with students. Find
out if they know what it means.
Ask them to talk about some of
the things that happen to that
water in its journey from cloud,
to earth, to river, and back
again.
Ask students what role they think
humans can play in protecting the
river and our water supply.
Ask students to illustrate scenes
showing some phase of the water
cycle.
Ask them to show people in their
illustrations and to create
captions for their drawings. What
are the people doing? Are they
doing things that will help or
hurt the river? Are they acting
in ways that respect the river?
Display students artwork as part
of your exploration of rivers and
the water cycle
SING AND SIGN: Add simple
signs and movement to your
performance of the song. Listed
here are movements to add to the
chorus. These directions are not
exact and are only intended as a
reference. To learn more about
Sign Language consult a book such
as "Joy of Signing" by
Lottie Riekof. This is an
excellent resource that includes
illustrations. You can also find
information on the internet at www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html
River
of Life:
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With
palms facing your body
and fingers parallel to
the floor, wiggle the
fingers of both hands
while moving your hands
up toward your shoulders.
This means
"LIFE." |
| River
of Dreams: |
Touch
the index finger of the
right hand to the right
side of your head near
the temple. As you move
your hand up and away
from your head, bend and
straighten your finger
repeatedly. This is
"DREAM." |
River
of Hope:
|
With
palms facing each other
and hands held in a right
angle position, put both
hands above your left
shoulder near the side of
your head. From this
position, have hands wave
to each other several
times. This is
"HOPE." |
River
of Peace:
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You
can look up the ASL sign
for "peace,"
but I have found children
doing the two-fingered
1960's version of the
"Peace Sign." |
| May
you run strong: |
Lift
the right arm up and make
a muscle like a body
builder. Trace the shape
of the bicep with the
left hand. This means
"STRONG." |
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