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.