What To Do With Those Scarves

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with a bunch of scarves you don't know what to do with, or you have had them for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for managing their use with students, plus plenty of ways to use them in specific lessons as well!

1. Storage

I used to like the idea of wall-mounted storage for scarves, either by hanging them from a velcro strip or storing them in those containers with holes on the sides that are made for keeping plastic bags (like this). I still like those ideas but I have found for my purposes, I like being able to carry the set of scarves around rather than having them tied to one place and having to have students go get them from a specific place in the room. I have, over the years, accumulated quite a few scarves though, and I've realized it's important for whatever storage system I use to have enough space for students to be able to throw them in and fit without too much extra stuffing, so I have ended up splitting my scarves into cool colors and warm colors and keeping them in 2 separate bins:

The side benefit of this system, I've realized, is that it's easy to pick out specific color schemes, which is handy for some of my favorite scarf activities where I want cool colors to evoke water, rain, the ocean, ice, or snow, or warm colors to look like fall leaves, etc, and if we're using all the colors it's a little faster to have students put them away by calling their scarf color two at a time (one cool and one warm) to put away in two bins simultaneously. 

2. Management

Scarves don't present too many management headaches, but when I'm handing them out students often want to a) drape them over their heads, or b) ball them up and toss them (both of which are not particularly problematic, just distracting), and when they're waiting to put them away they want to spread them out perfectly on the floor and fold them into neat squares (which is very thoughtful of them but time-consuming when you're trying to transition quickly to the next activity). To help manage those behaviors I do 2 things: 1) give them something specific to do with the scarves when they are getting them out and putting them away, and 2) give them time to explore and choose what to do with the scarves at some point. 

With any instrument, prop, supply, etc, giving students time to explore the new item before demanding that they use it only in the way you instruct them is a really effective strategy. So the first time we're using scarves each school year, or if it has been a long time, I often will turn on some music and tell students they have until the end of the song to play with the scarf without leaving their spot (after spreading them out around the room). This gives them time to try throwing it, balling it up, putting it on their head, etc and not only "gets it out of their system", but gives students time to figure out how to manipulate it before they try to do anything specific with it.

Exploration time is obviously too time-consuming to do every time, though, so once they've had that chance the first time, in subsequent lessons I will tell students a specific way to hold the scarf/ stand/ sit as soon as they get the scarf. Often it is to get into whatever position we start the activity in, but sometimes it's totally unrelated- the main point is just to give them specific direction for what to do without having to tell them to sit there and stare at the new colorful toy I just put in front of them without touching it! 

For putting them away, I do the same thing. Sometimes I tell them to put it on their heads until I call their color, or drape it over their laps, etc. Other times, if we have the time for it, I will go around the room one student (or a small group of students) at a time and have them do a short song/ rhyme that ends with them putting the scarf away (like this flower song).

3. Lesson Activity Ideas

Scarf songs

My favorite way to use scarves is as a movement prop with a song. It can be a great way to help students demonstrate specific musical elements of the song, or connect with the lyrics with movements that go with the words, or a way to get students to sing with something that makes them a little less self-conscious and sparks their imagination. You'll find my top favorite songs for early childhood/ self-contained music classes in this post:

I also have to mention my other favorite singing game with scarves that I use with my middle grades: Draw a Bucket of Water. You can do it without scarves too, but it works best if you have scarves for students to pull back and forth while they sing. Here's a video showing the movement game if you aren't familiar- it's a great song to use to learn about same and contrasting sections.

Movement with instrumental pieces

Just like with scarf songs, scarves can be such a great tool for getting students to demonstrate specific musical elements of an instrumental piece of music. It can actually be a really useful assessment tool for that reason! I use it especially to have students demonstrate pitch, by having them move the scarf up for high notes and down for low notes, and to demonstrate form, by having them either use different predetermined moves for each section, or use a scarf for one section and put it down to do other movements for the other.

-The Bird from Peter and the Wolf is a great one to have students show pitch by making their scarf go up and down with the notes like the bird flying in the air.

-Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals is another one I have students show the notes going up and down with their scarves, pretending to be the fish swimming around in the water.

-Sylvia Pizzicato by Leo Debiles is my favorite song to use with scarves to have students show form. I have them tip toe for the A section and then pick up their scarves and twirl around with the melody for the B section.

Substitutes for other movement props

-If you've ever come across an awesome parachute activity (here are my favorites) and wished you could do it but didn't have the parachute and/or the space for a parachute, a lot of the moves can be done with scarves. Just have students hold the edge of their scarf with 2 hands and move their scarves the same way they would move the parachute! 

-I love teaching my students about poi in my unit in Maori music and I've now made my own out of rope for students to use (there's tutorial in that same post), but for many years I just used scarves to have students practice poi moves, and it works just fine! 

-Of course scarves can also be a great substitute for ribbon wands as well if you come across a great lesson activity that calls for those.

Other creative uses

-If you've ever had classes, especially in upper elementary/ middle school, that get icky about holding hands for movement or circle games etc, have them hold scarves in between each person and you can accomplish the same thing without dealing with the awkwardness of hand holding!

-I use some of my white or blue scarves to represent the "river" when I do my lesson on "Going On a Bear Hunt" with Kindergarten every year to practice steady beat! You can read about that entire lesson (highly recommend) in this post.

I hope this helps you find some new ways to use those scarves that have been sitting in your closet! If you're looking for more ideas for other movement props from parachutes to cups and so much more, check out this post:

Read more "What To Do With Those Scarves"

Scarf Songs for Every Season

I love using a simple movement prop to spark students' imagination when they are responding to music, and there is no simpler movement prop than scarves! I also love incorporating seasonal material when it fits well with the concepts we're working on, especially with my youngest students, so I've found some wonderful scarf songs for all four seasons that have been a hit with my early childhood and Kindergarten classes over the years. 

The nice thing about each of these is that the scarf movements for each one are pretty self-explanatory if you listen to the lyrics. One of the hardest things about teaching younger grades is how much material you need in each lesson to match their short attention spans! So I admit when I find new songs I often play the recording in class and just follow along with my scarf with the students until I learn it, then I'll switch to singing it myself (and eventually having the students sing with me of course). 

1. Fall: Blowing in the Wind

Technically this song is about the wind so I suppose you could use it in winter or spring as well, but for some reason I always find it fits so nicely with my other fall leaf songs. This is definitely my top favorite scarf song of all time!

2. Winter: Winter Scarf Song

My students love this one because of all the snow references! I am always amazed at how much students will ask to sing this song over and over again.

3. Spring: A Little Seed

The thing I love best about this song is that you can do it together as a class, but you can also use it to sing to each child individually and have them reveal their scarf "flower" at the end of the song to put it back in the container as a way to make the cleanup process go a little more smoothly.

4. Summer: Popcorn Kernels

I think I associate popcorn with summer because that's the only time I have time to watch movies? In any case I like to throw this one in at the end after we've done a longer movement activity with the scarves before we put them away.

I hope this gives you some fresh material to use with your younger students any time of year! What are your other favorite seasonal scarf songs to use with your students? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments.

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3 Spring Songs for Self-Contained and Early Childhood Music

Spring is officially upon us and that means flowers, rain showers, and insects coming out to play! I have a few songs I've learned and adapted for my self-contained special education and early childhood students that have been very effective and engaging: here are 3 fantastic songs for spring and the lesson activities I use with them.

1. The Flower Song

I found this song by Nancy Stewart (see notation from original source here) a few years ago via this video by Krista Chencharick when I was looking for something to use in my sub plans to have my 1st graders practice sol mi and quarter and paired eighth note rhythms (which I highly recommend this for too, by the way). For my special education classes, I added my own motions to the song and first taught students to sing the song while doing the hand motions like this:

Once students learned the song, I turned on Krista's video and I had them echo the flower names on so mi and clapping, rather than reading it along with the recording, and it worked perfectly! The students all loved it and I had several nonverbal students verbalizing and even singing on pitch with the flower names, and the ones who didn't verbalize were able to do the entire song with motions and clap the rhythms. The first time we just did 2 of the flowers, and every time since we have added a couple more until they could do them all. 

2. A Little Seed Scarf Song

I've seen this song by Mabel Watts and Mary Lou Siegel shared by so many early childhood music educators, but I first saw the scarf routine I use from this video by Miss Katie. After doing a longer, more active scarf movement activity, this is a great song to slow down the pace and lead into the Flower Song above! I also use it as a way to get some individual time with each student and make it easier for students to put away scarves by going around to each student and singing it with/ for them while they do the motions, and when they open their hand at the end to make the flower I have them put their scarf in the box and go to their seat to get ready for the next activity. 

3. Busy Like a Bee

No early childhood music compilation of mine would be complete without a Stephanie Leavell song! I always thought this song was so cute but this year have not been able to do much gross motor activities, especially where students are moving around the room in scattered formation, because of the groups that I have. For other groups this would be a great song to use to practice moving in different ways and stopping on cue though! I use the recording from this video of Busy Like a Bee by Stephanie Leavell from Music for Kiddos and, instead of having them move around the room, I came up with motions to have them do from their seats, like this: 

Once they learn the moves and can do it with just their finger, I add egg shakers! I have them leave their shakers on the floor in front of them or in their laps for the verses, and then pick it up and fly the shaker around like a bee for the chorus.

These songs have been a huge hit with my classes this year and I hope you enjoy using them with your students as well! For more songs and lesson ideas to use throughout the year with self-contained and early childhood music classes, click here. I'd love to hear your favorite spring songs for early childhood music in the comments as well!

Read more "3 Spring Songs for Self-Contained and Early Childhood Music"

Snow Themed Lessons for Preschool Music

With early childhood music classes I love using themes to help activate students' imagination and connect my lesson to the world around them. This time of year one of my favorite themes is snow! I use these music lesson activities with preschool, kindergarten, and younger self-contained special education classes and they have been a hit. Here are some of my favorite activities to use in snow-themed lessons.

1. Snow Songs

There are tons of great songs about snow but my favorites for this age group include: 

All of the Snowflakes (great for getting non-verbal students to vocalize, and a fun song that will get everyone singing! I use this song with 2nd grade for a composition activity as well- see my full lesson plans in the linked article)

I Have a Little Snowman (I use this to introduce and show notes going up and down with movement)

It's Wintertime (this song isn't just about snow but it does talk about snowmen so I often include it with my snow themed lessons- it's an additive song that includes a different instrument students can play for each verse)

2. Movement Activities

It's Snowing Outside (this song invites movement in the lyrics so it's easy to learn and great to reinforce steady beat and practice moving safely in space)

Winter Scarves (the linked video demonstrates scarf movements you can do to match the lyrics about snow- my students love this calming song!)

I Live Inside a Snowglobe (I have students sit and do motions while they sing the verse at the beginning, stand up when it says "shake it up" etc in the chorus and do the move to match the lyrics, and then sit back down when it says "and then the snow falls down". this is a great one for practicing following directions for students who are working on self control because they have to start and stop a lot throughout the song but in a fun way)

Snowman Dance (this is a great brain break type activity I like to keep in my back pocket when students are unfocused, a lesson just isn't going well, or I see they need to get up and move for a few minutes because students just follow along with the simple dance movements in the video)

3. Iconic Play-Alongs

I like using iconic notation play-along videos to get my youngest students to track notation and relate it later on to paired eighth note, quarter note, and quarter rest notation. I also use these same icons off-screen by printing out similar clipart and putting them up on the board for students to read while I point, or have students use them to create their own patterns too!

Snow Day (hat=quarter, mitten=eighths, blank=rest)

Snow! (skate=quarter, snowman=eighths, shhh=rest)

Snowman Village (hat=quarter, snowman=eighths, rest sign for rest)

4. Books

All of these are books that I pair with music lessons.

Froggy Gets Dressed (I use the lessons in the article linked here every year with Kindergarten)

Snow Music (perfect for adding sound effects with instruments and/or found sound)

The Snowy Day (a classic book that's great for vocal exploration)

I hope this gives you some fresh material to use in your early childhood lessons this winter! Many of these are honestly also great for older grades when you want something fun that's still musical but doesn't require a lot of brain power, so they're great to keep on hand no matter what age you teach! What other songs and music lesson activities about snow do you use in your elementary music classes? I'd love to hear more ideas in the comments. Want to see how I incorporate winter and snow themes into all my grade levels K-6? Here's my full curriculum for January with full lesson plans and all the visuals and materials!

Read more "Snow Themed Lessons for Preschool Music"

Ice Skating Themed Elementary Music Lessons

My favorite event in the winter olympics has always been figure skating! With the next winter olympics coming up soon, here are some of my favorite ice skating-themed lesson activities I've used in my elementary music classes, along with the concepts that I use them to teach. 

Skating by Stephanie Leavell

I love using this skating song with my self-contained and early childhood music classes! Of course it is made to be an easy to learn, singable, fun song for young children to sing and move with (including sections that tell you to move and stop), but I actually use it the most sitting in chairs with instruments, usually either egg shakers or jingle bells. We hold the instrument and glide it around and stop, which is a great way to get kids to practice following directions, sing, and explore instruments at the same time.

Skating by Vince Guaraldi Trio

This wonderful jazz piece is from the Charlie Brown Christmas movie and it instantly evokes the image of skating on a frozen lake outside in the softly falling snow. I use this song to practice ABA form, either by having students do some basic moves contrasting moves for each section on the beat, asking them to raise their hand when they hear the music change, or most often showing the contrasting sections with paper plate skating (see below).

Paper Plate Skating

If you haven't tried paper plate skating yet you are missing out! Have each student put a paper plate under each foot and they can "glide" around the room like they're skating! I have carpet in my room so it works great- you'll want to test it out first if you don't. I use this to teach 2 different concepts: with younger students I use the Vince Guaraldi Trio song above to show ABA form by gliding around the room in the A section, then staying in place and doing spins/ jumps in one spot in the B sections. For older students I use similar moves to practice legato and staccato: glide for legato, do a "ballet spin" (tip toe around in a circle in place) for staccato. If you have 4th/5th graders that you can convince to let loose and be silly, this is one of the best things you'll ever do- trust me.

Skater's Waltz by Émile Waldteufel

This is a great orchestral piece to use for teaching triple meter and to review the instruments of the orchestra. I'm always looking for songs with a strong triple meter feel and this one is a perfect tempo for students to move with the downbeat or even do a very basic waltz step to get used to the triple meter feel. I also like using the linked video recording specifically to have students visually and/or aurally identify instruments of the orchestra, which is something I do with 3rd and 4th grades this time of year. It has different spots in the music that feature different instruments and sections of the orchestra so it's a good piece to have students either try to identify instruments by sound or by watching the video. It could also be another good one to use those paper skates with too!

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for connecting with the winter olympics in your music classes, or just incorporating a wintery theme that's fun for everyone! What other songs or music lessons do you teach with an ice skating theme? I'd love to hear more ideas in the comments! You can also find more winter themed elementary music lesson ideas in this blog post, and snow themed lesson ideas in this post!

Read more "Ice Skating Themed Elementary Music Lessons"

"Jingle Bells" in Music Class and Winter Concerts

If you're still using Jingle Bells in your music class, you're missing out. 

In case you haven't heard, the song "Jingle Bells" was written for a minstrel show. And as prevalent as the song has somehow become all over the world since it was likely first performed in 1857, it's long past time we moved on. I know how hard it can be to change old habits, so in this post I've compiled some easy ways to replace the song regardless of what you're using it for in your music lessons.

1. Fun Children's Songs About Jingle Bells 

I think for most people, Jingle Bells is just a fun, easy song that feels "festive" without being directly connected to a holiday (although let's be honest, whether it was written for it or not, everyone associates the song with Christmas), and it's a fun song to break out the jingle bells with the little ones and sing with gusto! If that's what you're looking for, I'd venture to say these 2 songs are far superior: Jingle Jangle Everybody Sing by Charissa Duncanson, and Jingle All the Way by Stephanie Leavell. They're both written by music teachers for young children and they have both been huge hits with my students!

The great thing is both of these songs work great for common concepts we are often practicing in general music lessons:

• Steady beat
• Same and different sections/ A and B sections/ form
• Opportunities for composition/ improvisation
• Fast/ slow, loud/ quiet

2. Easy Beginning Instrumental Songs

"Jingle Bells" is a common song for beginning band and orchestra winter concerts or even for classroom instruments like recorder and orff ensemble, but there are so many better options out there this one should not be hard to replace. "We Will Rock You" is similar in the sense that the rhythm can be easily simplified, it has a limited range, and it's instantly recognizable so it feels legit (and you can find lots of arrangements for beginning band, beginning orchestra, recorder play-alongs, etc). "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle Twinkle" are other simple melodies that can swap in as another well-known tune.

For specifically wintery songs, it's easy to search by level on most sheet music sites and even TeachersPayTeachers to find some great pieces that fit the bill and will honestly be more appealing to upper elementary students who tend to find songs like "Jingle Bells" to be a little childish. 

If you haven't checked out the sheet music available on TPT, I think you'll be surprised at how much you can get for the price, and there is a lot of great quality literature available that is developmentally appropriate for every stage of learning because there are so many written by beginning instrumental teachers! Here are just a few examples:

Winter Music Bundle for Beginning Band by Classroom Composers

Beginning Orchestra Winter Concert Bundle by Motivational Music Classroom

"Winter's Here" Recorder Orff Song by Hutzel House of Music

3. Sing-Along Songs

I've written extensively about how I am working to continue teaching students about holidays, which are an important part of cultures around the world, while avoiding students feeling excluded in the process as much as I can. Jingle Bells is commonly used in sing-alongs as a non-religious holiday song, but obviously based on its racist origins doesn't fit the bill for non-exclusionary. For a full list of songs I have been using for many years now in my sing-along including songs for Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, and Eid, with all the fun movement and other activities I include with the songs, head to this post. Another great idea that uses a simple prop (cups) with a wintery, festive, non-religious song that would be great for a sing-along is this simplified cup routine for Sleigh Ride:

I hope this helps provide some concrete suggestions for ways we can remove a problematic song from our music classrooms and programs while injecting more fun music that is engaging, perfect for the winter season, and accessible for beginners and young learners! If you want to see all of the music lessons that I teach in the month of December for every grade K-6 general music lessons, here is my full curriculum (also available in individual months and grade levels). What else is stopping you from removing the song from your music lessons and programs? If you have other ways you use this song that I can help find a replacement for, please send me an email or leave a comment and I'd be happy to help!

Read more ""Jingle Bells" in Music Class and Winter Concerts"

Sonor Glockenspiel Mallet Solution

I have a very specific problem that I found a very specific but magical solution to, and I am so excited about it that I hope this is useful for other music teachers and students! If you have any of the barred instruments similar to the Sonor BWG Soprano Glockenspiel in Boomwhacker Colors, where the mallets go into a slot built into the side of the instrument, this hack is for you!

If you haven't heard me say this before, I am a big fan of the boomwhacker colored glockenspiels, and I definitely did not think I would be. Their sound quality is great, and most importantly, the colors have been an extremely effective teaching tool for every grade level Kindergarten through 6th- I use them so much more than I ever thought I would! But I have always had one bone to pick with them: the mallet holders.

I love how sturdy the construction is in general so they are easier for my youngest students to carry without all the bars falling off, and I love that the extra bars and mallets come attached to the instrument so I don't have to juggle extra things when we're getting them out to play. But my students always struggled to put them back in the slots correctly no matter how hard I tried to explain and show them how to do it properly, to the point that several of the mallets were completely snapped in half, and I resorted to telling my students not to try to put the mallets back in themselves because I was so afraid of breaking more mallets. 

Then a few weeks ago one of my 3rd graders taught me how to get my students to put them away properly, and their explanation has had a 100% success rate in making instant sense to all my students since I adopted their explanation! When I was trying to explain to the class that they need to put the stick side into the hole so the ball part can rest in the notch, my student casually raised their hand and said, 

"it's like putting a baby to bed!"

Don't worry, I didn't get it at first either. Upon further inquiry, she explained that the slot that the shaft slides into is the blanket, the mallet head is like the baby's head, and the notch is the pillow. 

You have to put the baby's head on the pillow.

I kid you not, the entire class (myself included) immediately let out a collective "oooooohhhhh" and suddenly I looked around and every single student was very easily putting the mallets in correctly. I was stunned. Since then I have used the baby explanation in every class that uses them, in all different grade levels, and it has worked instantly every time- even in Kindergarten. No more broken mallets! 

So I think there are a few morals to this story: 

1. Listen to your students. Sometimes they are the best teachers.

2. Just put the baby's head on the pillow.

If you're interested in hearing more about how I teach xylophones and other barred instruments in my elementary music lessons, check out this post. Have you gotten any mind blowing pearls of wisdom from your students? I'd love to hear them in the comments. 

Read more "Sonor Glockenspiel Mallet Solution"

World Music Performance Pieces: early childhood

I've been doing a school-wide International Music Festival, where every grade level performs music and dance from a different country, for a few years now, and it is probably my favorite performance event I've ever done but it is a lot to put together! Although for the most part each grade studies the same culture each year to fit in with the skills and concepts they are learning in general music, each year I change at least some of the pieces so it's never the exact same program. Here are the performance pieces I have used over the years with my youngest grades- each of these would work well as part of any concert, informance, or program on their own, or you can use this list to put together your own International Music Festival!

I'm listing the pieces by culture/ country below, with the grade level I used them with in parentheses. Obviously many of these could be done with different grades as well, not just the ones I use them with!

Native American (Kindergarten)

• Water Song (students play the steady beat on rhythm sticks and turn each of the 4 directions to sing it 4 times)
• Navajo Happy Song (students sit in rows with their feet under them and their knees touching to do the different patting patterns mentioned in the link while singing)
• Iroquois Ho Ho Watanay (students pretend to rock a baby on the beat while singing)
• Sioux Epanay (students do a basic intertribal step in a circle while a few students play the steady beat on a gathering drum in the middle of the circle)

Bolivia (1st grade)

• Mi Gallito (students face a partner and do a simple 3-beat clapping pattern while they sing- I have them clap their own hands, touch the backs of one hand with their partners', then palms of the same hands, then repeat with the other side)
• La Mariposa (students do a circle dance with a recording while each holding a scarf and singing along on the chorus- the link has a full explanation of the moves that they do with each part of the song as well as links to recordings)
• Carnavalito (students do the dance in rows with a recording)
• Boquita Colorada (I have done this 2 ways- 1) students do the line dance with the recording and sing with the "lai lai" section, or 2) students play simple ostinati on percussion instruments like shakers, rhythm sticks, guiros, and drums)

Colombia (1st grade)

• Vallenato (students play simple ostinati on percussion instruments like drums, guiros, and ridged rhythm sticks with the linked recording)
• Juguemos en el Bosque (students sing and play the circle game)

Syria (lower elementary self-contained special needs)

• Tiri Tiri Ya-as Fura (non-verbal students do motions to show the lyrics of the song with the steady beat of the recording)
• Fiane Sheschra (students play different ostinati for each section of the music on hand drums with the recording)

It would be too much to put everything in one post so check back for future posts with lists of performance pieces I use with older grades in my K-6 International Music Festival! If you have other songs or musical performances you've done representing these cultures, or other ways you've used these songs, I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below. And if you are thinking about putting together a similar program, you can find all the information on what I do and how I do it, from logistics to teaching to stage setup, in this post:

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Stretchy Band Songs and Activities for the End of the School Year

I have discovered a new favorite lesson activity to add to my list of things to do at the end of the school year, especially with the younger grades but honestly with the older ones too: the stretchy band! If you're looking for engaging activities to keep students from bouncing off the walls that can also be used to review musical concepts at the end of the school year, I highly recommend these.

I bought a stretchy band years ago with the intention of using it with my Kindergarten and self-contained classes, and then proceeded to leave it sitting in my classroom until this year. Every time I had the idea that maybe I would pull it out and use it, I just didn't feel confident that I had a clear idea of how to actually do it! If you're like me and haven't used a stretchy band in class before, I can assure you it is just as fun as they say it is and these activities are all beginner friendly. If you don't know what a stretchy band is, here is one you can get from Bear Paw Creek.

To get set up, I have students sit in a circle on the floor and tell everyone to keep their hands in their lap, then I get out the stretchy band and lay it out flat in a circle inside where they are sitting before having everyone grab the part in front of them with two hands and hold it down in their laps. I have 3 rules for using the stretchy band safely:

1) keep two hands on the band until I tell you to let go

2) don't jerk it around

3) stay sitting (not lying down) while holding it

1. Stretchy Band Song

For first time users I think this is the best one. The song explicitly tells you what to do with the band so you can focus on making sure students are using it correctly and not worry about remembering the words to the song or what comes next- just turn on the recording and follow along! It's also a great way for students to quickly experience the different ways you can use the band so it's a great way for them to practice using the stretchy band as well. Of course once they've learned the moves you can have everyone sing along as well. This activity is really a way to practice how to use the stretchy band and showing steady beat.

2. Put It In

This song is a good next step for younger students, and besides using the basic movements as the first song and continuing to review steady beat, it also gives students the opportunity to create and improvise by coming up with their own additional verses. I don't use a recording for this one- I sing while the students move when I first introduce it, then I teach students the song and we all sing together, stopping to choose new verses after each repetition of the chorus.

3. Show Form

Here is where I have really found the stretchy band to be versatile and effective for a broad range of ages: I've realized it's a fun and easy way to review form by doing different moves for different sections. I've done this with songs that we sang earlier in the school year, or with listening examples with older students. For example I used the stretchy band with "Shoemaker's Dance" with 1st grade to review same and different sections by having students wind, pull, and tap on their knees with the A section, and pass the band around the circle with the B section. I used it with "Sleigh Ride" with 5th grade to review Rondo form by having students move the band up, down, left, and right on the beat for the A section, move in and out on the beat for the B section, and tap on their knees with alternating hands and pull back for the whip, then pass around the circle for the C section. You can really do this with any form and it's a great way to mix it up at the end of the year.

4. Show Rhythm

The stretchy band is also a fun way to review rhythms at the end of the year too- take any song that you used to introduce or practice new rhythm elements during the year (or teach them a new one) and add a specific motion with the band that shows that rhythm that you do every time you sing it. For example I reviewed half notes with 2nd grade with "Who's That" by having them slowly lift the band up and then down with each pair of half notes, I similarly had 3rd grade students lift the band slowly up and down with the pair of whole notes at the end of "I Got a Letter", and had 4th graders tap on their knees with alternating hands to show the sixteenth notes in "Ding Dong".

There are plenty more fun ways to use the stretchy band, but those are my favorite ways to use it with different grade levels at the end of the school year! If you're finishing out the school year right now like I am I hope this helps give you some fresh ideas to close out the year. 

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"Hip and Hop Don't Stop" Music Lesson Plan

After having this book sitting in my closet for a few years I finally used it in my Kindergarten music classes last month and I'm so happy I did! If you're looking for a fun way to practice fast and slow in elementary music, or update your "tortoise and the hare" lessons like I did, this is a super fun one that worked out beautifully and ended up being a great way to introduce rap with my youngest learners!

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The story, "Hip & Hop, Don't Stop" is about a rabbit who raps fast and a turtle who rap slow who recognize each other's talent and end up becoming friends, and verses rapped by each character are sprinkled throughout the story. To be honest I don't remember how I came across this book but when I found it I knew it would be a perfect way to replace my old lessons in a modern way while also incorporating hip-hop music and rapping in my Kindergarten lessons, which is something I've been looking for more ways to do intentionally and authentically for a few years.

I introduced the lessons by reading the story and telling students to do the "DJ move" (one hand on their ear, the other hand "spinning" in front) on the steady beat every time one of the characters raps. As I read the story, I exaggerated the tempo of each verse to make the difference very obvious. After the story I asked them to tell me which character was fast and which was slow. Then I played the first part of two different tracks I found online (I found these without spending a lot of time looking around, so I'm sure there are better examples!): this one for fast, and this one for slow, and I told them to do the DJ move again while they listened and identify the tempo. I wasn't sure if they would be able to tell them apart easily, to be honest, because the difference in speed is not as exaggerated (the fast one is around 100bpm and the slow one is around 83bpm), but they got it right away. 

The next lesson we reviewed the story, then I told them we were going to rap like Hip and Hop. I copied one of the verses they each rap towards the end of the story on the board, and we practiced rapping each one, getting it up to speed to rap with their respective tracks. It took a while for them to be able to do the raps with the tracks, and a few kids said "wow, I didn't know rapping was hard!" (which is a wonderful concept for students to experience at a young age!). But they were motivated and did not get frustrated at all, and they were so proud of themselves when they got it. After the rapping I had them spread out around the room and told them to "hop like a bunny" when they heard the fast track and "crawl like a turtle" when they hear the slow one, and I switched back and forth between the two. 

After those lessons we moved on to some other lessons on fast and slow (you can see some of my favorites for that in this blog post), but I'm planning to use this as a jumping off point to have students create with fast and slow tempi by writing a rap for Hop and a rap for Hip and practice performing it with the tracks. I'm thinking I will pick one simple topic that's relevant at the end of the school year, like summer break plans or what it's like to be in Kindergarten, and ask them to think about what they think each character would rap about that topic and come up with a short verse for each of them together. It will also be a great way to start building in the concept of rap writing and rapping earlier on (you can read more about the lessons I do with my older students with rap, within the context of hip-hop in general, in this post).

I have used the Aesop fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare", since my first year of teaching to practice fast and slow with my Kindergartners. I've used different variations over the years, but the basic idea is to have the students sing a bunny song fast while moving their hands like bunny ears on the beat every time I mention the hare, and sing a turtle song slowly while moving their hands like turtle feet every time I mention the tortoise. Besides being great for having them repeatedly practice singing and moving on the beat with the two contrasting tempi, and incorporating a familiar story, I also like being able to use the bunny ears and turtle feet as cues to have students play/ sing/ move fast or slow in subsequent lessons. But truth be told I have been ready for a change for years now- most of my students already know the story from preschool so it's not as exciting as the other stories I use in my lessons. So this has turned out to be the perfect replacement that keeps the things I loved about my old lessons while updating it to something more engaging that adds a new element to my curriculum as well.

Have you ever used this book in your lessons? You can see all of my lesson plans using books in this post. What other lessons do you use to teach fast and slow in Kindergarten music? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

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3 Ways to Teach Fast and Slow

One of the main focuses in Kindergarten and preschool music is musical contrasts, including fast and slow. I have done so many fun lesson activities over the years to introduce and practice fast and slow, but here are some of my current favorites to use with Kindergarten!

1. Little Red Caboose

I'm pretty sure I've been using this since my first year of teaching but it's still one of my favorites! I teach students the song by having them move their arms like the train wheels on the beat while they listen to me sing, then sing along with me. Once they can sing it while moving their arms on the beat we form a "train" and walk on the beat while still singing and moving our arms, and then we gradually speed up until we are practically running around the room! 

2. Fast and Slow Identification

I make the connection with the story of the tortoise and the hare, and then use tracks that switch back and forth abruptly between fast and slow to have students identify which one they hear by moving "turtle hands" on the beat if it's slow, and "bunny ears" on the beat if it's fast. You can obviously use any music that switches back and forth between the two speeds, but I have successfully used this one, this longer one, and of course Hungarian Dance No. 5 is a classic.

3. Encanto soundtrack

The obsession with Encanto has certainly died down a bit since the initial craze but I find my younger students especially still love any reference to the film, and it's fun to use the soundtrack by Gremaine Franco, not just the songs everyone knows by Lin Manuel Miranda, as examples in lessons! I use this after students are comfortable with the concept of fast and slow, because the beat is not as simple for them to hear in these tracks, but I use Meet La Familia (slow) and El Camino de Mirabel (fast). First I have them listen to the first part of each track while patting the beat they hear to decide which is fast and which is slow. Then I hand out a few different types of small hand percussion instruments and have students play along. 

*BONUS: Moana play-along

This one is a challenge for Kindergarten but it's a fun one to use at the end of the year to review both fast and slow and reading quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth notes with an easy activity that is engaging for students and low prep for me :) 

Of course we practice fast and slow all throughout the year with tons of other lesson activities but these are some of my favorites that really focus on the concept and help solidify it for students! If you want to see some of my other teaching strategies for tempo, including for older students, check out this post:

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Black Children's Musicians

In honor of Black History Month, in this post I'm compiling some of my favorite children's musicians who are Black. These artists have so much great music that's perfect for the preschool - Kindergarten age group and many of them have amazing educational videos on their channels that are great for the classroom as well!

Divinity Roxx

Aaron Nigel Smith

Miss Jessica

Fyütch

Shine and the Moonbeams

I hope you found a few new artists to use in your early childhood music classes- they all have so much great music and content that are perfect for the littles, and they represent a lot of different genres that are often missing from children's music as well. Have some more favorite Black children's musicians? Leave a comment below so we can all add them to our playlists too! 

If you're looking for other current musicians outside of the children's music genre to share with your students and use in your music lessons, here are several more lists I've compiled in previous years (these lists are not limited to just Black musicians, but many of them are):

  

 

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Who Has Seen the Wind?

There are some songs I use in my elementary music lessons that can be used for so many different music concepts that I end up using them in multiple lessons with multiple grade levels, and "Who Has Seen the Wind" is one of them! I can't say I use it in every grade every year- I think my older students' eyes would roll higher than the sky if I did that to them- but I have used it in different grades over the years so many different ways and it has honestly been equally effective every time, so today I'm compiling all of the ways I've used this song in one place.

If you aren't familiar with the song, it is based on a poem by Christina Rossetti. I'm not sure who wrote the melody but I found the hauntingly simple song originally from The Yellow Brick Road- listen to her recording here and see some of her other great lesson ideas and resources for the song in her blog post here.

Early Childhood

I have used the song most often with Kindergarten. I add some simple hand motions to the first verse and teach them the song, then have them play along with the steady beat on egg shakers, then use it as a way to introduce xylophone playing by having them play on the steady beat on D and A. To make it even more magical I have some students play other instruments with windy sounding timbres, like ocean drums, wind chimes, rain sticks, ratchets, and finger cymbals, and have students rotate through the parts. 

One new addition to that lesson plan this year was the song, "Blowing In the Wind" by Stephanie Leavell from Music for Kiddos. It goes perfectly with the song and is a great movement activity after having young students sitting still and concentrating on playing instruments and singing at the same time! 

2nd Grade

I introduce half notes in 2nd grade and this song is an easy one to teach quickly and have students aurally identify the half notes in the melody at the end of each phrase. I also have students practice performing half notes on instruments by showing them how to play sustained notes on metallophones and having them play a half note bordun on D and A with the song.

3rd Grade

The melody of this song uses low E, G, A, and B, with the notes going up and down the scale, so it's perfect for recorders when students are working on those notes! I always start with G, then low E, and add A and B, and this one has been a great option for when we first put those 4 notes together because the melody doesn't skip around. You can read details about how and why I start on G/E in this blog post.

Upper Elementary

Believe it or not I just used this song with 5th grade last week! I like to pull out some of these short and simple songs that I typically use more with younger students as a quick way to review or introduce a specific musical element or concept in a succinct, clear way. In this case I use it as an example of minor tonality- I have students identify the tonality after singing it, then I use it to discuss how tonality can impact the message or mood of the music, and we talk about why the composer might have chosen minor to go with the poem's words. Then I use it as a way to get students thinking about other expressive elements that help communicate the mood or message of the song by experimenting with different dynamics, tempi, and articulations and picking the ones they think best fit the song.

If you haven't used this song in your elementary music lessons yet, I hope you'll try it out! It's such a simple song but works so well in every grade I've used it. Have more ideas for using this song as a teaching tool? I'd love to hear more lesson ideas in the comments below!

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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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