First!: Teacher's Handbook (100% Reproducible)

Albrecht and Althouse have created a songbook that genuinely entertains while it educates, something far rarer than it should be. The historical figures featured (Wright Brothers, Julia Child, Neil Armstrong, Alexander Graham Bell) anchor the material in real achievement, making the songs substantive enough to hold a child's attention and engage their curiosity. With profile pages accompanying each song, you have built-in cross-curricular content that transforms what could be rote learning into genuine discovery.

Bright, purposeful, and celebratory. These songs honor human ingenuity and innovation with melodies that stick in your students' heads long after rehearsal ends. The songbook feels like a conversation between musician and historian, balancing musical reward with genuine intellectual content.

Elementary teachers and choir directors working with grades 3 and up who want repertoire that serves both musical and academic goals. This handbook is especially valuable for mixed-ability classrooms because unison voicing keeps the focus on melody and text while profile pages accommodate varied reading levels and learning styles.

• Prepare the profile pages before introducing each song so students arrive at the music with genuine interest in the inventor or personality they're about to sing about.
• Leverage the chord symbols to add instrumental accompaniment (guitar, piano, or Orff) if you want to expand the arrangement beyond the recorded accompaniment.
• Since the handbook is 100% reproducible, print lyric sheets for students to mark with phrasing and dynamics during early rehearsals, then move to memory work.
• Integrate movement ideas during rehearsal to take advantage of Albrecht's signature strength; these songs reward physical gesture and spatial storytelling.

Program this as a thematic concert block celebrating innovation and invention, or weave individual songs into existing programs where they complement units on American history, biography, or STEAM. The approximately 45-minute total duration makes it ideal as a full concert offering for spring performances or as a curriculum showcase event.

• Singing in unison with clear diction and expressive phrasing
• Reading chord symbols and understanding harmonic structure
• Connecting musical content to historical fact and cross-curricular learning
• Memorization and independent singing
• Performing with confidence and storytelling intent