Today’s music choice was inspired by the birds in my own life, who’ve decided to accumulate several feet of nesting material in our dryer vent. This is the second year it’s happened (despite having a bird guard to keep them out). I can only assume that they hold their annual birdie raves there, complete with incessant chirping and glowsticks. Afterall, if a bird guard can’t keep them out, they must be working in numbers…
Nesting material aside, this song is another great one for assessing student’s pitch-matching skills, as well as introducing the call and response form.
My videos were originally intended to give you a quick run-through of the song. However, if there are other aspects you’d like to see in my videos in the future, please leave your suggestions in the comments section. I’m always up for trying something new!
GAME
This game is a twist on Red Rover. Students stand in a circle with joined hands. One student stands in the middle. The student in the middle sings the solo/call, while the rest of the class sings the response. With each question sung, the student in the middle tries to break through the circle. If the student breaks through, then the game ends and another student is chosen for the middle. If the student doesn’t break out, then he/she stays in the middle for the next round.
Personally, I believe that these types of traditional games require a lot of boundaries upfront, so that it doesn’t turn into a wrestling match among the students. Try having only two students sing the response each time (the ones approached by the center student). This way, it forces the other students to be prepared at all times to sing, since they don’t know where the center student will try to break through. In addition, they’ll be using their inner hearing as preparation, which is always a good thing! Instead of basing the game on how tightly hands are joined, you might try basing it on how strongly the students sing the response.
I think this all depends on your unique teaching situation. You are the expert in knowing what will work best for them.
FORM
Once students have played the game, they will be familiar with the call and response form. Ask them to create their own call and response form using the question and answer format below. They can use the original tune of the song or, if they need an extra challenge, they can make up their own melody.
Click on the image below to download a worksheet the students can use for their creations.
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| Amazing graphics and fonts via Kelly B’s Clipart and KG Fonts |
If you have any suggestions for future videos or if you’d like to tell me what you think of this week’s lesson ideas, please share your thoughts in the comments section. I love hearing from all of you!
3 Responses
I love the simple and clear worksheet to get students creating in question and answer form! My suggestion for future videos: I think it would be helpful to have a video of you singing and doing the dance/game. You could get family and friends to do them with you too 🙂
Thanks! I knew you'd say that, and I agree. It would be fun to try the games with my friends, though I don't know how willing they would be to get on camera 😉
Come on, B! 😉