World Cup / Soccer Themed Elementary Music Lesson Activities

My students have been buzzing about the world cup the last few weeks and I'm thrilled they're so much more aware of it this time than my students have been in the past! With all the excitement around this major worldwide sporting event I knew I had to add in some soccer and world cup themed lesson activities before the end of the school year. Even if you're on summer break these would be perfect to start off the year in the fall, or use any time to grab your little soccer fans' attention!

Rhythm Play-Alongs

Of course my go-to easy option for tying in a certain theme is to use play-along videos, and there are some great ones for different rhythm elements out there! For example this one is super easy with just quarter notes and barred eighth notes, this one includes triplets, this one uses eighth-sixteenth combinations, this one has barred sixteenth notes, and this one includes eighth rests (but the first 2/3 of it only uses quarter notes/ rests and barred eighth notes if you want something easier).

Dance / Steady Beat Movement

I use the world cup theme songs from over the years for movement activities and dance games all the time because they are upbeat, school-appropriate, and the lyrics are always positive and energizing. I use them to practice steady beat by having students take turns coming up with a motion to do on the beat for the rest of the class to copy, or use the songs to play a game of freeze dance. There are lots of great ones but my favorites are Dai Dai from 2026, Waka Waka from 2010, and Dreamers from 2022. I've also used this dance tutorial video to get my older students dancing!

Instruments / Ensemble Playing

Another easy way to use the World Cup theme songs is as a backing track for instrument playing. Split the class up into small groups and give each group a different classroom instrument to play. For younger students point to or hold up pictures of the instruments to have them play the steady beat with the music, and for older students give each group an ostinato to play on your cue, layering them on top of each other (you could either do this by rote or have them read from notation). This is a great way to practice proper classroom instrument technique, ensemble listening/ playing, following a conductor, and if they're reading from notation, practice reading rhythms as well.

Vocabulary Review

All you need is a little soccer plushie and you can review any vocabulary you want! Write the vocabulary words on the board and have students stand at a distance and throw the plushie at the board. Whatever word or symbol they hit closest to they have to identify/ explain. Split the class into teams and have them take turns to earn points!

Music Around the World

The World Cup is a great jumping off point for exploring music from the countries they see represented in the tournament! I have units on several countries participating in the world cup this year that you could dive into, or just pull out a song or activity to add to your lessons: Korea, Japan, Colombia, Brazil, and New Zealand. I also have individual songs and lesson activities from many of the other participating countries- search by country on this page.

I hope this gives you some ideas to incorporate the World Cup into your elementary music lessons! Of course I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to tie into the soccer theme- I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments as well. And if you want to incorporate other sports, check out my previous posts on lessons using football, baseball, and ice skating themes!