The Washington Monument

Built to honor George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States, the Washington Monument is one of our nation's most recognizable structures. At just over 555 feet, the monument to America's first president holds the title of world's tallest stone structure and obelisk. The view from the top gives visitors an incredible panorama of our nation's capital.

To pay tribute to this national treasure and to honor Presidents' Day, we created the song "The Washington Monument." As with many of our national landmark and Presidents' Day songs, this piece features a patriotic accompaniment, an easy-to-learn melody, and lyrics that give a bit of history. As a matter of fact, the chorus (beginning at measure 14) is a direct quote from General Henry Lee's eulogy for Washington's funeral where he said, "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen." Lee was a close friend of Washington and the father of Civil War General, Robert E. Lee. Obviously, there is the potential for a lot of history to be discussed here, and this song could open the door for several topics such as the Revolutionary War; famous landmarks; Washington, D.C.; and George Washington himself. Be sure to let your classroom teachers know about this wonderful cross curricular opportunity.

The accompaniment for this song features a full orchestra complete with military snares and cymbals and some cool touches from our awesome rhythm section. While it would work fine to perform it with just the piano accompaniment, the recorded tracks provide the perfect patriotic tone.

Get crafty - If you decide you'd like to really focus on this topic, consider using the arts and crafts project Kristyn Johnson has created for us for this song. Your students can actually make their very own miniature Washington Monument! You will find a template and instructions for this project as well as a video tutorial that you can download for free from our web site. And if you really want to go all cross curricular, there is also a reproducible info sheet about the monument and a quiz (plus answer key) to test your students' knowledge of the facts. (For information on downloading all of these great extras, see the box on page 78.)