Today I've got a super fun lesson I've been using for years with 2nd grade to guide students through the task of creating a B section for an existing A section to compose in ABA form. Every year I do this there is tons of laughter, exuberant singing, and aha moments, and it has a snowy theme that is perfect for this time of year!
The song is actually called "If All of the Raindrops", but I've only ever used the 2nd verse that replaces raindrops with snowflakes to use in winter (but hey, you could take this same lesson plan and use it with verse 1 in the springtime or even make it summer-themed with the 3rd verse about sunbeams!). Here's a recording of the song (the 2nd verse starts around 28 seconds in), and here are the lyrics to the 2nd verse that I use:
If all of the snowflakes were chocolate bars and milkshakes
Oh what a snow that would be
I'd stand outside with my mouth open wide
Singing, "ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah"
If all of the snowflakes were chocolate bars and milkshakes
Oh what a snow that would be
First of all the song itself is hilarious, especially if you really ham up the "ah ah" part like I do, and it immediately sparks students' imaginations thinking about chocolate bars and milkshakes falling from the sky and into their mouths. As with most songs I teach in K-2, I add motions to the song. Besides adding a kinesthetic element, it replaces conducting as a great way to keep young singers together when we're singing, which is important when you're switching back and forth between the song and the (yet to be created) B section, plus it's an easy way to have students listen to you sing first before jumping in to sing.
First I have them follow my motions while I sing the song, then they echo after me line by line to learn the whole verse. After they hear the song the first time, I make a point to pause and discuss the lyrics and discuss how awesome it would be to have sweet treats fall from the sky.
Once they've learned the song, I pull out the whiteboard and ask students to think about what else- besides chocolate bars and milkshakes- they would be happy to have fall from the sky and catch in their mouths. I write down their responses and make a long list. As we're making the list, I think about the number of beats it will take to say each item ("ice cream" can be 2 eighth notes taking up 1 beat, but "chocolate chip cookies" would be 2 beats), and I cut off the list when we get to 24 beats. Making the list is always the best part- there is always at least one student that comes up with a strange answer that makes everyone laugh!
Once the list is done, I model chanting the whole list and then have students practice chanting it with me on the beat by echoing after me, 4-8 beats at a time. Now that chant becomes the B section for our snowflake song! I use this lesson after students have already learned about ABA form, so they instantly make the connection. This is a quick and easy way to have students go through the process of creating a contrasting section as a whole class, and I follow the lesson up with a task where they compose a B section for another song on their own.
I hope you'll try this lesson out with your students- it is such a great way to introduce the task of composing contrasting sections and review ABA form, and most of all it is so much fun! If you want all the materials for this lesson plan, plus all of the lessons before and after it that scaffold all these different concepts, you can get those in my 2nd grade curriculum set here.
