Effective Lesson Plans for Difficult Days

Whether it's a specific class that is always challenging, or it's a time of year that is particularly difficult, finding lesson plans that will work for those challenging days can be a struggle. The specifics will vary depending on the exact situation and group of students, but here's what I look for when I'm planning for a lesson that I know is going to be difficult for one reason or another.

1. Less talking, more doing

The less time you're spending trying to get students to listen to you the better! Two decades in and I can still use the reminder every now and then that we DO NOT have to verbally explain nearly as much as we usually do- just jump into a song and they will follow. I look for lesson activities that don't require much explanation, whether that's something they can learn by following my movements, echoing my singing/ playing, or putting up notation on the board, pointing to the notes, and saying 1, 2, ready, go! 

2. Get out of the way

This is similar to my first point, but I try to look for activities that involve as little "follow the teacher's directions" as possible. Maybe they are following directions from a video, having a student(s) lead the activity, or working in small groups or independently. 

3. Lean into the right brain

This is especially for those times of year when everyone is a little more drained, like right before a break: I want to engage students, but not expect a lot of critical thinking. I've found that engaging their creative ideas, not their analytical thoughts, works best in those moments. It gets them cognitively engaged with a part of their brain we don't ask them to use as much at school, which feels exciting and fun.

4. One thing, a hundred ways

The most successful lesson plans in particularly challenging situations are the ones where I can read the room and instantly shift gears. If I have a group or a situation where I'm not exactly sure how they'll respond to an activity, or how quickly they will grasp a new concept, I plan several different activities to address the same concept or skill and have all of them ready. If the first one I try starts to feel like I'm pulling teeth, I can move on to something different knowing they'll still learn the same thing. It also focuses students' mental energy on one thing, so even if I do end up doing all the activities I planned it feels more manageable for students and they're more likely to be successful.

5. Play to their strengths

If I know a particular group is most successful at, or most interested in, a specific type of activity, I incorporate it as much as I can. Sometimes I have a group of students that loves to just sing. Often it's playing instruments, or especially with younger grades, it's dancing and movement. Sometimes if the group dynamics are challenging, they do best with small group and independent work. I certainly don't abandon other forms of music-making but especially if I know a new concept is going to be difficult, or I know a specific day is going to be challenging, I'll try to incorporate the ones that they're most successful with and use them to teach whatever it is I want them to learn.

I hope this helps give you some ideas of what to look for when you're dreading a particularly difficult day or specific group of students. It can make such a huge difference for both the students and for ourselves as teachers when more students are excited about the lesson and walk away feeling successful! 

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Favorite Songs for Teaching Syncopa

I love teaching the syncopated rhythm pattern eighth - quarter - eighth. It's such a fun rhythm to perform and the songs I use to introduce and practice the rhythms are some of the most fun my upper elementary students have all year! There are a lot of great songs to teach the "syncopa" rhythm pattern but today I'm sharing my top two favorite songs my 5th graders are obsessed with year after year.

Bump Up Tomato

If you aren't doing this singing game with your 5th graders yet, you are truly missing out. My students ask to play this game on almost every free choice day they earn once they've learned it in class. It never gets old! Here's a video showing the song and accompanying game:

To introduce the game, I always teach them the moves and the singing first without standing in a circle- students do the motions mirroring me- to get them used to which hand is moving on the beat and which hand stays still. Once they can do the song with the motions, we get in a circle and I explain how to do the fist bumps at the beginning with the people next to them (always adding the warning to be gentle *ahem*). Then I show them the game with me in the middle of the circle first. 

Here are the ground rules I've developed over the years to keep it fun for everyone:

• When you are in the middle, you cannot touch anyone, and anything you say and do must (obviously) be school-appropriate and respectful
• In the beginning, whoever laughs is the next person in the middle. But I keep track of who has already gone, and if the same person laughs again, I have them choose someone who hasn't gone yet to be "it" next (I do encourage everyone to do it even if they're shy, but if they are really resistant I let them pass)
• When you are frozen, if you move or make sound other than genuine laughing (fake laughing, at my discretion, counts as an "other sound" and not laughing) then you are out for the next round
• The person who is it has to see and point at someone laughing. If someone on the other side of the circle laughs while they are facing away but they stop themselves before the person in the middle turns around to see them, the round continues

After we've played the game several times we go over the syncopa rhythm and I ask them to aurally identify all the spots with that rhythm pattern.

Black Snake

This is another super fun singing game my students request over and over again, and a simpler one to start with if you're just introducing the rhythm. Here's a recording of the song, and here is a description of the game that's similar to the one I use:

The main thing I do slightly differently than this video description is I tell the running students they have to high five rather than greet each other. It may seem like a strange thing to add to the rules of the game but whether they have to greet each other or high five, having them meet in some way as they go around forces them to look for the other person and prevents people from running into each other, which would definitely happen if they didn't have to look for them.

I was a little worried to use this game in my classroom the first time I did it because there isn't a ton of space around the outside of the circle I have marked off on my floor for students to run around the outside, but it has worked just fine and nobody has gotten hurt or run into anything. It's like a big kids version of duck duck goose- they absolutely love it!

My 6th graders commented recently that 5th grade has the best singing games and I agree, largely because of these two games! The best part is by the time they've sung the songs over and over again to play the game so much, they definitely get the feeling of what the rhythm pattern sounds like, and my students consistently have no problem reading and performing the rhythm after that.

Want all the lessons like this I use to keep my 5th graders engaged while also learning at a high level, with all the visuals and materials to teach them? You'll find that in my 5th grade curriculum set!

Did you know that I have a whole resource page with general rhythm teaching strategies for different ages and specific ideas for specific rhythms like this one? If you're looking for more engaging and effective ideas for teaching other rhythms, be sure to bookmark this page:

What are your favorite songs for teaching syncopa? There are so many great ones I love to use but these are definitely my top two favorites- I'd love to hear about yours in the comments!

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Native American Heritage Month in the Music Room

In the United States, November is recognized as Native American Heritage Month. We still have a very long way to go in recognizing and responding to the treatment of Indigenous people in this country, and making sure we all find ways to give our students opportunities to learn about and celebrate the many Indigenous peoples and their cultures is one very small but critical step for us to take. Navigating how to do so respectfully and appropriately can be difficult, and I am very much still learning how to do that myself. My hope is that this post will point other elementary music teachers in the right direction to continue to do better.

1. Resources from culture bearers

One of the most difficult parts of this learning journey for me has been finding accurate and authentic resources from culture-bearers with materials that are appropriate for me, as a non-native person, to share in my classroom. Here is a collection of my favorite resources that I have found so far:

2. Current musicians

One key to making sure students understand that indigenous peoples and their cultures are very much alive, active, and modern is to introduce them to current musicians from a broad range of genres. Here is a list of some of my favorite contemporary Native American musicians, along with a song from each that is age-appropriate and engaging for elementary school:

3. Songs and lessons

If you're struggling to figure out what is appropriate for you to use in your classroom, here are a few songs that I've been told are appropriate for me to teach my students to serve as examples. I encourage you as always to seek out local culture bearers to get specific and direct insight from them on what might be best for you to use in your classroom!

I hope this gives you some helpful resources and ideas for recognizing Native American Heritage Month in your classroom! For general advice on how and why to incorporate heritage months in the elementary music classroom, you can head to this post. For ideas and resources to recognize other heritage months, including Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and more, check out this post. 

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Algonquin Water Song

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States, and I am bringing you along with me on my learning journey as I seek to find meaningful and appropriate ways to recognize it in my elementary music classroom. As someone who did not grow up in North America and does not have any Native American heritage in my family, I have been on a constant learning journey for the last two decades since moving to the United States to learn more about North American Indigenous music, and appropriate ways for me, as an outsider, to share it with my students. One thing I learned years ago is that not every Native American song I learn, even if it is presented accurately, is appropriate for me to perform, teach, or share. Today I have a song to share that is specifically written for outsiders like me to learn and teach, and I am excited to share it with my students!

The song is called the Algonquin Water Song. You can read all about the background of the song, see a lovely video recording of it, and find the lyrics on the website dedicated specifically to teaching others about the song here. You can also find an English translation of the lyrics on this website, and a demonstration and explanation of the sticks used to accompany the song in this video. This video shows another demonstration that includes shakers as well.

For those, like me, who may not be familiar, the Algonquin people are an indigenous tribe now in Eastern Canada that speaks Algonquin, one of many Algonquian languages. It's important to note that while the 2 terms are very similar they are not the same.

I want to primarily be a source to point other teachers to culture bearers to learn directly from them, not from me, so I'm not going to share any specific teaching strategies or lesson ideas other than the sources listed above for this song specifically, but here are some ideas of larger thematic units into which this song could be incorporated:

I hope this sparks some ideas and, most importantly, points you in the right direction to research the song and other indigenous resources to incorporate respectfully in your own classrooms! 

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Music In Our Schools Month® 2025: "United Through Music" Song Bracket

This year the theme for Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®) is "United through Music". I have been doing a "musical March madness"-style song bracket, where students listen to different songs each day and vote on their favorites, for several years now, and for the last several years I've tried to tie the songs into the annual theme NAfME chooses. To connect with this year's theme, I've decided to choose songs that are a fusion of 2 or more genres or musical styles.

This is the earliest that NAfME has ever shared their theme for MIOSM® so I am so happy to have had more time to figure out the songs I wanted to use and share them with everyone! I admit I was a little disappointed at first when I saw the theme, though, because I did an entire playlist of songs focusing on unity/ togetherness in 2023 for their theme that year, "Music Is All of Us"! If you didn't use my song bracket that year and you'd rather focus on lyrics with themes of unity, you can find that list of songs here. But then I had the idea to look for songs that bring multiple genres together, and I am so excited about all the new artists and songs I discovered in the process of putting this list together! I can't wait to share these with my students and see what they think. 

As I have done the last few years, I'm going to be setting up google slides files with the songs for each day embedded in the slides so that classes can vote in their homerooms. If you want to see how I organize the logistics so classes can vote every day regardless of whether they have music that day or not, check out my 2021 MIOSM post (and definitely let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help). Doing it in slides was such an easy way to have all the songs organized and make it easy for the homeroom teachers to report their class' vote rather than having to email me every day! I don't have the rights to share the song files, but you can make a copy of my slide templates and add the audio files yourself by clicking on the image below (it will automatically ask you if you want to make a copy)- here is a tutorial on setting it up in slides using the templates:

In my song lists each year I try to include songs from different genres and time periods, representing artists of different backgrounds and including different languages, and this year is no different. You'll find a blank slide template in the slides file linked above: I use that to show the lyrics in their original language and in the English translation for songs that are not in English. 

Here are the songs I'll be using in this year's bracket (in no particular order):

1. The Times They Are A-Changin' by Flogging Molly Celtic Punk

2. Reclamation by Brandee Younger Classical/ Hip-Hop/ Jazz/ Funk

3. Eso Que Tu Haces by Lido Pimienta Afro-Colombian/ electronic

4. Freedom by 12 Girls Band Chinese/ Turkish/ Pop

5. Storm by OTYKEN Indigenous Siberian/ Pop

6. Stomping Grounds by Bela Fleck and The Flecktones Bluegrass/ Jazz

7. Sally in the Garden/ Molly Put the Kettle On by Abigail Washburn and Friends Chinese/ Indian/ Appalachian

8. Upside Down by Funmilayo Afrobeat Orquestra Afrobeats (West African/ Jazz/ Funk)

9. Blue Flame by Simon Shaheen Arab/ Western Classical

10. Colour War by Ayanna Witter-Johnson Classical/ Jazz/ Pop

11. Living in the Past by Jethro Tull Classical/ Rock

12. Samba Em Preludio by Esperanza Spalding Samba/ Jazz

13. Inion by Afro Celt Sound System Colombian/ Korean/ Hindustani/ Campeta

14. Legends in the Making by Black Violin Classical/ Pop

15. Indigo by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Jazz/ Funk

16. Saraiman by LADANIVA Armenian/ Romanian/ Jazz

17. Heyran by Mehdi Khosravi Iranian/ Classical/ Rock

18. MORENICA by Light in Babylon Isreali/ Turkish/ Iranian Alternative Ethnic Folk

19. LongMa by Nini Music Taiwanese Folk Metal

20. Brighter Days Come by Patty Gurdy Hurdy-Gurdy Folk-Pop

21. Járbă, máré járbă by Baba Yaga Romani/ Klezmer

22. Frantic Feathers by Archy J Celtic/ Bhangra

23. Mežāby Tautumeitas Latvian Folk/ Electronic

24. Compañera by MËSTIZA Spanish Folk/ Electronic

I'm excited to see how the students respond to this year's playlist, and I'm curious to see which song wins out in the end! What are your plans for Music In Our Schools Month® this year? What are other songs that fit this theme? I'd love to hear more suggestions in the comments below- I'm sure there are plenty more great ones out there. If you're looking for more ideas to use for MIOSM, here are all my posts on the topic.

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Call and Response Songs

One of the first things I teach in Kindergarten is call and response singing. After working on singing voice and echo singing, it's so fun when students are able to sing their own part independently with call and response songs! There are lots of great ones out there, but today I'm sharing my current top favorite call and response songs, as well as my process for teaching call and response.

I introduce call and response after students have been introduced to echo songs and have consciously identified that in echo songs, someone sings something and then someone else sings the same thing after (here's my blog post on echo songs if you want to see the songs and teaching process I use for that). Once they're comfortable with echo songs, I introduce the first call and response song, "John the Rabbit" (more on the song below), by having them practice singing "oh yes" on la (in la-based minor) and then telling them to sing "oh yes" every time I point to them. First I just sit there silently and point out to them at random intervals to sing "oh yes". Once they can do that, I start singing (on la/ do/ mi) things like, "no matter what I sing when I point to you you sing..." then point to them for them to sing "oh yes". I go back and forth, recitative-style, until they are all consistently able to sing "oh yes" instead of copying me, then launch straight into the song. 

After we've learned the song and sung it a few times we discuss that our parts were different, not the same, and I compare it to if I called someone on the phone and they answered by copying what I say: that would be rude! Instead of copying, people answer, or "respond", when you call them. That is what a call and response song is. I put my hands in a traditional phone signal with thumb and pinky and have them practice saying "call" with one phone hand up to their face, and "and response" with the other hand. I've found having different motions connected to echo and call and response really aids with memory, and even if they can't remember the vocabulary right away (especially multilanguage learners), they can show they remember the concept with the hand signs.

1. John the Rabbit

There are a few versions of this song but I prefer the minor key version like the recording linked above, mostly because it's what I was introduced to first, honestly, but also because I like to throw in minor tonality with my youngest grades whenever I can! After introducing the song like I described above, I pull out my rabbit puppet and tell them this time, only the student John the Rabbit looks at is going to sing the response, and I have students sing it individually. Besides having an incredibly simple response part, I like using this as my first call and response song because I can quickly assess their ability to hear and produce the tonal center and sing on pitch independently with this activity, plus the students love doing it with the rabbit!

2. Who Fed the Chickens

This Ella Jenkins song is a great song to use as a 2nd call and response song because it also has a very simple response part, it ties into the farm theme that many Kindergarten classes do in the fall in other subjects, and it's another great way to involve individual students again. After introducing the song and singing it together a few times, I've done it a couple of different ways: by having individual students sing "I did" when my chicken puppet looks at them, and by pointing to specific students while I sing the call and having all the students respond with the name of the student (e.g. "Jaden did"). 

After learning the song and doing it a few times, I ask students to identify whether the song is echo or call and response by silently showing the motion for the one they think it is, which allows every student to answer rather than calling on 1 student to verbally identify it.

3. Ambos a Dos

I introduce this song from Puerto Rico by playing the beginning of the recording linked above and telling students to hold up one finger if they hear one person singing alone, and all ten fingers if they hear a group singing together. After they listen to it once this way, I tell them to do it again, but this time pay attention to whether the solo and group parts are the same or different so they can decide if it's an echo or call and response song. Once we have labeled it as call and response, I teach students the move that is used with the song in the children's game, where you walk forward 3 steps and kick, then take 5 steps back (like in this video). I have the whole class get in a line facing me and I move with the solo part and they move with the group part. Once they can do that, I have everyone sing the words "matarile" and "matarile, rile, ron" with the response parts (if they haven't already spontaneously started singing it while practicing the moves). I have a whole blog post on this song, and different ways I've used the song, here.

Introducing echo and call and response singing is foundational for teaching part singing later on, so these are really important skills to teach in early childhood. I hope this gives you some fresh ideas to use in your classroom, and I'd love to hear about other call and response songs you love using with this age group in the comments (there are plenty more great ones)! If you want to see the full lesson plans with visuals, sheet music, and more for teaching call and response, you can find them in my Kindergarten music curriculum here.

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Current Musicians for Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States. As someone who did not grow up in North America and does not have any Native American heritage in my family, I have been on a constant learning journey for the last two decades since moving to the United States to learn more about North American Indigenous music, and appropriate ways for me, as an outsider, to share it with my students. One way to do so is by sharing current musicians with my students- here are a few contemporary Native American musicians to explore.

First it's important to note that there is a lot of variation in language preferences within the Indigenous people of the North American continent. I refer to the heritage month by the official name, and try to use a mix of the preferred language I have heard from various culture bearers in my descriptions. When you are referring to specific people or musicians, it's important to do the research to see how they refer to themselves before describing them to your students. For each of the musicians I've compiled here I've listed their name and their tribe if they identify with a specific one(s), and included an example of a song you may want to share with your students.

Elisapie (Inuk)

Quinn Christopherson (Athabascan/ Inupiaq)

Martha Redbone 

Mumu Fresh (Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee)

Raye Zaragoza (O'odham)

Rhiannon Giddens

Supaman (Apsáalooke)

*song below contains heavy themes- prayer loop song could be an alternative

This list only begins to scratch the surface of amazing, multifaceted musicians actively making excellent music in a broad range of genres with North American Indigenous heritage! Please share other artists and/or songs you've found in the comments below.

Sharing songs and musicians is just one piece of giving students the opportunity to interact with and learn from Native American music, and it's important for us to do so in appropriate, respectful, and authentic ways, especially as non-native music teachers. I've compiled in this post some of my favorite resources for learning from culture bearers:

To find more strategies, resources, and ideas for incorporating other heritage months in elementary music, check out these posts:

 

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Echo Songs

One of the first concepts I teach in Kindergarten is echo singing. There are lots of great ones out there but over the years I have definitely found my favorites that kids love year after year and are easy to use in my lessons! Here are my top 4 favorite echo songs to use in Kindergarten, and also how I teach echo singing.

To introduce the concept of an echo song, I just tell students to copy after me and start singing. I point to myself when it's my turn, and point out to the students when it's their turn to copy. Most students catch on immediately, but I always stop and remind students to wait if they try to sing along with me on my turn instead of waiting!

After we have done a few echo songs I ask students to tell me what they did, and we discuss that they sang the same thing I did right after me. I introduce the word "echo song" and I always do a motion to go with it (which is helpful for language learners but also a good memory hook and a way to have students silently vote later on when I ask them to identify what type of song something was): I put my hands in front of my chest, palms facing in, and move my hands back and forth.

The concept of an echo song is pretty straight-forward by itself, but it's important for students to consciously recognize and identify it so they can distinguish it from other types of songs, like call and response, later on.

Now on to my favorite echo songs! 

1. The Moose Song

This is probably my favorite echo song of all time. The lyrics are funny, the jazzy parts are cool, and we always love belting out, "on the looooooooose" at the end! 

2. I Know a Chicken

I don't know what it is about this song that is so magical but every year my students sing with such great gusto with huge grins on their faces the first time they sing it. It's amazing. I use this song to review echo singing and also introduce and practice musical contrasts like quiet/ loud and fast/ slow by having them shake their egg shakers different ways.

3. Echo Gecko

I actually discovered this one fairly recently but my students love it! And it's the perfect way to have students practice echoing other things like rhythm patterns, vocal explorations, and anything else to introduce other musical concepts at the same time.

4. Boom Chicka Boom

Even though there's technically no singing it's hard not to include this one on the list because it's such a classic. There are so many ways to create variations for new verses as well! This video has more examples, and so does this one. I love asking students to come up with their own versions too!

What are your favorite echo songs to use in Kindergarten? I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments! You can find all of my lessons on echo singing and more in my Kindergarten curriculum set here.

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Favorite Fall Songs

I've always loved using songs about fall in my music lessons, so I've been thrilled to discover some new ones my students and I have absolutely loved this year to add to my collection! Today I'm sharing my top three favorites that I've found this year.

I've been using these songs so far with my self-contained class, which has a wide span of ages and abilities, and they have been perfect, but they would be fun to use with almost any grade, especially on those weird schedule days before a holiday or something when you just want to do something fun. With younger grades they can be used as originally intended, but with older grades these would also be great to have students create a full performance with instrumentation because they are short and have simple chord structures!

For each song, I've linked where you can get the sheet music and audio recordings, and included a video that shows the lyrics as well. 

1. "Falling Leaf" by Stephanie Leavell

If you don't know Stephanie Leavell (aka "Music for Kiddos"), you need to. Especially if you teach early childhood or self-contained music. I don't know why I didn't find this song until this year but it is the perfect energy level and perfect to use as a movement activity! I had students hold scarves one time, and also did it with students holding leaves, and it was a hit every time.

2. "Blowing in the Wind" by Stephanie Leavell

Another winner from Stephanie! This one could work in winter too, actually, but I love it for fall because of the minor tonality. This one is explicitly for scarves and is a great way to introduce students to different ways to move with scarves.

3. "Autumn is Here" by Rob DelGaudio

Rob DelGaudio is another fantastic elementary music resource and I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover this song! It is an additive song with suggestions for instruments you can use for each line that's added, as well as motions to go along with all the words.

I live in an area that is famously beautiful in autumn so when it comes to celebrating fall, we go pretty hard around here! If you're looking for more fall-themed songs and lessons to try, here some other tried and true favorites I've shared in previous years:

If you've used any of these songs I'd love to hear how you used them, and which grades you've used them with! And if you have more great songs for fall, please leave them in the comments.

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Favorite Songs for Elementary Choir

If you're looking for some song ideas to use with your elementary chorus, today I'm sharing some of my favorites! I've shared some of my favorite pop songs I've arranged for my elementary choirs in previous posts (look for that link below) so this post will focus on choral pieces.

I have taught elementary choir for many years in all different formats, age groups, schedules, and ability ranges, and I definitely have found some pieces that have been successful time and time again. Of course there are no magic songs that are perfect for every elementary choir, so you'll want to consider which ones of the list below are the best fit for the group you have from year to year, but these are all pieces I have done over the years and have worked well. 

I've split my list up into songs I've done for winter concerts and songs I've done for spring concerts, but keep in mind there are many songs on this list that would work any time of year and often, I have done them in multiple different times of year myself- in those cases I just added them to one or the other, so be sure to look through the whole list regardless of what time of year your program will be.

Winter Concert Songs

• "Winter Is Coming" from "Songs for the Winter" 
• "Here Comes the Snow" from "Songs for the Winter" 
• "Gong Xi" arr. Lily Lung Grant
• "A La Puerta del Cielo" arr. Ruth Elaine Schram (2-part)
• "Hot Chocolate" (from Polar Express) arr. Roger Emerson (2-part)
• "Sing" by Pinkzebra (2-part)
• "Catch a Falling Star" arr. Mac Huff
• "Hushabye, Nanita Nana" arr. Donnelly & Strid
• "Snow is Falling" by Ruth Elaine Schram (2-part)
• "Siyahamba" arr. Donald Moore (2-part)
• "Seasons of Love" (from Rent) arr. Mac Huff (2-part)
• "How Can I Keep from Singing?" by Greg Gilpin (2-part)
• "Artza Alinu" arr. Earlene Rentz (2-part)
• "Babethandaza" arr. Victor Johnson (SSA)
• "Whisper!" by Greg Gilpin (2-part)

Spring Concert Songs

• "I Bought Me a Cat" arr. Sally Albrecht (2-part)
• "Akatonbo" arr. Russell Robinson
• "Bonse Aba" arr. Victor Johnson (2-part)
• "I Love Chocolate!" by Mary Lynn Lightfoot
• "Get On Board" by Martin/ Williams
• "I Want to Rise" arr. Mark Weston (2-part)
• "J'entend le Moulin" arr. Dwyer/ Ellis (SA)
• "Salangadou" arr. Susan Brumfield
• "Cantar!" by Jay Althouse (2-part)
• "Sisi Ni Moja" by Jacob Narverud (SA)
• "Aya Ngena" arr. Ruth Morris Gray (SSA)
• "Kojo no Tsuki" arr. Audrey Snyder
• "Rhythm of Life" arr. John Leavitt (2-part)
• "Ukrainian River Song" by Roman Yakub

Keep in mind in many cases I make minor adjustments to the pieces to fit my needs, whether that's adjusting the lyrics, modifying the harmony parts, adjusting the arrangements, or making a section a solo. I've written more details about some specific ways I often modify songs in this post, and you're welcome to comment or email me if you have questions about any of the specific songs on this list.

I have been hesitant to share this list because I am not particularly thrilled with the identities represented in the list of arrangers and composers. I would love to hear suggestions from people who have found songs they love for elementary choirs by composers and arrangers that identify with underrepresented identities, particularly culture bearers from the global majority. I have, frankly, had an easier time finding representation in the modern songs I program for my elementary choirs and have admittedly put more energy into that effort than I have into the choral arrangements. To see my (ongoing) list of modern songs I've arranged for my elementary choirs, check out this post.

I also don't tend to program concerts with a specific theme most of the time, because I don't want to limit myself, but sometimes I stumble into a theme and when that happens it's pretty cool to see it come together! I've shared the songs I've programmed for 3 different themes (stars, rhythm, and self-identity) in this post.

Looking for more advice on teaching elementary chorus? You can search all of my posts on the topic, with everything from teaching strategies to warmups to rehearsal procedures, here.

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Indigenous American Resources for Music Teachers

As someone who did not grow up in North America and does not have any Native American heritage in my family, I have been on a constant learning journey for the last two decades since moving to the United States to learn more about Indigenous music, and appropriate ways for me, as an outsider, to share it with my students. I still have so very much to learn, but today I wanted to bring you along on my learning journey by sharing a few helpful resources I have found for non-Native people to find music and cultural information that is appropriate for us to share in our classrooms.

1. Culture Bearers

I know firsthand that this can feel like a frustrating answer when you hear people say to reach out to your local tribe/ nation for information and resources, but it's true: there is no substitute for connecting with local people and organizations that can directly advise you on songs and information from your local indigenous communities and what is permissible for you to share as an outsider, point you to people and resources you can use, and maybe even come in to share with your students themselves! It took me several years to even find connections myself but it is imperative that we make the effort to do so.

2. Pow Wow Information

One of the first thing I introduce my students to is pow wows and the dancing and music that happen in the pow wow traditions local to our area. The website www.powwows.com has a lot of helpful information and resources that are made for non-Native teachers and students, including a place to find a pow wow near you.

3. Songs and Lessons in Anishinaabemowin

Ojibwe.net is a website designed to preserve and spread the Algonquian language Anishinaabemowin. Songs and lessons designed to help people learn the language are available, including audio recordings, and these songs are appropriate for non-indigenous teachers to use in their classrooms.

4. Michelle McCauley

I have learned so much from all of Michelle McCauley's work over the years. You can find video lectures on how to use Native American music in elementary general music classrooms, how to handle Thanksgiving, and songs and dances on her YouTube channel, an ebook with accompanying music on F-flat books, and more resources online.

Of course there are so many more resources that I have learned from and have used in my teaching, but those are some highlights that, if you are a non-Native teacher seeking to incorporate music and lessons in your music classroom appropriately, are good places to start. As I said before I am very much a beginning learner in this area inviting you to join me on this important journey- please share ideas, thoughts, and resources in the comments so we can all continue to grow!

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Hispanic Heritage Month Elementary Playlist

This year for Latine / Hispanic Heritage Month I've been playing music by Latine / Hispanic musicians in the morning as students are entering school, and I ended up discovering a lot of new kid-friendly songs and artists in the process of my research to find songs to add to my playlist that are clean enough to play around the preschoolers but cool enough to avoid the 6th graders rolling their eyes when they come into school. All of these songs have fit the bill!

Whether you use this playlist as a whole or look through to find a new song or artist to feature in your lessons, I hope you find this playlist useful! I made sure the lyrics were appropriate for kids, but also tried to include broad representation of a variety of genres and artist's nationalities, a mix of traditional and modern, children's music and pop. Click below to access the playlist on Spotify or YouTube:

To learn more about how I recognize Latine / Hispanic Heritage Month in my classroom, and find links to culture bearers and resources I recommend, here is my blog post on how I recognize Latine / Hispanic Heritage Month in the music room.

I hope to continue adding more songs to this playlist as I discover more songs and artists and continue to expand my representation! Please share your recommendations in the comments so we can expand the list together.

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SEL Music Lesson "I Got a Letter This Morning"

I used a new lesson with my 3rd graders at the beginning of the year this year to help build and re-establish their relationships with each other, and it was a huge success! I highly recommend this for any time of year as a great way to introduce and practice whole notes, the "syncopa" rhythm pattern, and same and different phrases, but most importantly to build community in your classroom. This is a great lesson to tie in with social-emotional learning on spreading kindness and positivity, friendship, and giving compliments.

I dug up the song "I Got a Letter This Morning" from the recesses of my mind this summer when I was looking for a new song to use to introduce whole notes to my students at the beginning of the year. I used to use this song years ago but had not taught it in many years, and coming back to it I suddenly saw so much potential for ways to use this song in fun, community-building ways that would be perfect to kick off the year on the right foot!

If you aren't familiar, this video demonstrates the version that I learned and used in this lesson. Because it is a US American folk song there are many variations on the tune, but the basic idea is the same. If you watch the full video they show an example of how you can analyze and identify the rhythms with students in this song as well:

Here's the notation of the version I used:

I start off by having students sing the "oh yes" phrases as a response, while I sing the "I got a letter" phrases as the call, and sing it in call and response form (this is a great opportunity to review call and response!). Then we talked about how exciting it is when you get something in the mail. I typed the names of each student in the class on a sheet of paper, spread out with 6 names on each sheet, and cut the paper into 6 individual sheets before class and put them all in an envelope. Then I told them we are going to send happy mail to our friends! We talked through some examples of what would make someone smile to read, including thinking about things that person likes, or telling them something you like about them. We also discussed that even if you don't know the person that well (like the new students), it's easy to come up with something that will make them smile, whether that's a happy message like "I hope you have a great day", or even drawing them a fun picture. 

I wasn't sure how well the 3rd graders would get it, but they definitely did. I randomly handed a paper to each student and had them secretly draw or write something on the side without the name, then fold it up and put it in the envelope when they finished. I kept them in the envelope for the next lesson, which also gave me time to take a quick look and make sure they were all good. The notes were all so sweet! The ones who got a close friend drew pictures of their friend's favorite things like basketballs or computers, some of them wrote incredibly detailed notes listing all the great things about the person, and some drew lots of smiley faces and kitty cats and stars. 

The next lesson, I announced that it was time for everyone to get their mail, but they would have to sing for their card! We practiced singing the song as a call and response again, and then I told them to switch parts: the students sang "I got a letter", and I sang "oh yes". Then I explained the game: while they are all singing "oh yes", I pull a card out of the envelope, look at the name, and hand it to the person. The person that gets their letter is the only one who sings "oh yes". Then we continue singing until everyone has their letter. Everyone was thrilled with the card they got, and it gave me a chance to make sure everyone was actually singing the full 4-beat whole notes on "oh yes" as they each sang by themselves. The students took the notes home with them.

The other great thing about this game is it gets the students to sing the song over and over. By the time we finished the game they had sung it several times and had it in their ears, so it was easy to have them then think about the rhythm and discover that the notes at the end have 4 beats, and introduce the whole note! You could use the same process to introduce the "syncopa" pattern in the first part of the song as well if you want to use it to teach that rhythm, and you could also have students think about each phrase of the song and identify the same and different phrases.

This lesson was a huge hit and it was the perfect way to start the year. The homeroom teachers were so excited when I explained why they were all leaving class with a piece of paper, and the students were all excitedly showing each other their notes. I even had one student who was so concerned that I did not receive a note myself that she spent her entire recess the next day making me a beautiful note and proudly brought it to class the next lesson and announced that we all needed to sing the song one more time, then handed me the note.

If you're looking for more ways to get students practicing giving sincere and thoughtful compliments, I highly recommend using classroom jobs and including compliments as one of them- you can read more about how I do that in this post. And if you'd like to see my full year of lesson plans with 3rd grade, you can find those in this 3rd grade curriculum set. Have you ever used this song in your classroom? I'd love to hear how you used the song in the comments below. 

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Bebe Muke (Bebe Moké): Congolese Song for Elementary Music

In typical Elizabeth fashion, I was searching this past summer for a new song to use to teach one specific musical concept and ended up stumbling on a wonderful song from a country I didn't have represented in my curriculum yet that is accessible and engaging for elementary age students AND can be used to teach several different musical concepts besides the one I was looking for! Here are my lesson ideas for the song "Bebe Muke (Bebe Moké)" from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

First the song. It should be noted that if you search online for the song title you may find a "Wee Sing" version, listed as from Zaire (which the country has not been called since 1997). That version is very different from the African sources I have found so I do not recommend using that one- here are some recordings I recommend:

You'll notice the second recording is in a different meter than the other 2 and feels much more like a lullaby, while the others are more upbeat. Depending on what musical concepts you're wanting to teach I think you could present either version, although I prefer the upbeat one for the 3rd graders I am using the song with.

The lyrics are in Lingala. As with any song that has been passed down for a long time like this, there are several variations on the exact lyrics, but here is the most common version of the first verse that I found among Congolese sources I saw (sidenote: the animation in the first video above makes sense when you see the main thrust of the lyrics):

Original Lyrics (in Lingala)

Bebe moké nani abêti yo

Loba na ngai

Ngai na zongisa

Yomoko otutani na mur ya ndako

English Translation

Little baby, who hit you?

Tell me!

I'll tell you what happened:

You hit the wall of the house yourself.

Now let's talk about musical concepts that could be taught through this song: I am using it this year to review pentatonic solfege and same and different phrases, but (if you use the more upbeat version) this would also be a great song for triple meter.

Pentatonic Solfege

First and foremost I think this song is perfect for practicing pentatonic solfege, because the melody line at the end of every phrase is a descending pentatonic scale (la sol mi re do). I'm using the song this year as a way to review pentatonic solfege by having students aurally identify the solfege of that line after learning the song. After we've sung the song a few times, I have them all sing the pentatonic notes they've learned on solfege syllables with hand signs, and then I ask them to listen to each note in the melody and identify which solfege note it matches. Because the notes are in order it's easier for them to hear, so it's a great way to do a quick review and practice identifying notes aurally, but it would also be an easy way to have students practice notating or identifying the solfege from notation as well.

Same and Different Phrases

The other main reason I chose this song is because there are 2 identical melodic phrases followed by 1 that is clearly different from the first 2 because it has a different rhythm and it stays on the same repeated pitch in the beginning. It's easy for students to hear the phrases because they all end with the same descending scale. I always review same and different phrases in 3rd grade as we're preparing for recorders, because I want students to get in the habit of looking for repeated phrases when they are learning new recorder songs.

Triple Meter

I didn't set out to find a song to teach triple meter, but I'll definitely be touching on the meter with my students when we learn it because it has such a clear downbeat but with the syncopated rhythms, faster tempo, and upbeat feel, it has a different feeling from the typical lilting waltz-feeling triple meter songs I often use with my younger grades. I have students listen to the recording and try to identify the meter by tapping on the beat in groups of 2, 3, and 4 until they find the one that fits the music best. Once we've identified the meter, I reinforce it by having them pat their laps on the downbeat and clap on beats 2 and 3. This is also an easy way to encourage active listening when I'm first introducing the song, so it's easier for them to learn the non-English lyrics when we start practicing the singing.

I hope these ideas inspire more teachers to introduce this song to your students! For more lesson ideas like this to cover your entire year, you can get my curriculum here. Find more elementary music lesson ideas and teaching strategies for music around the world in these blog posts. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

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