I’m sorry, but I’m about to share a song that will likely be stuck in your head for the next few days. I speak from experience…
CIRCLE GAME
Despite it’s status as an earworm, this song has a fantastic circle game that will keep your students moving and twirling. Watch the video below to see how it’s played.
FORM
The circle game for this song is the perfect setup to discuss form. With my youngest students, I talked about form as having “same and different parts”. And I used a lot of movement to keep them active and engaged in the concept. Often, I would ask students to create their own movements to accompany the same and different parts in the music. This gave them some autonomy and helped them to differentiate each part in the song.
As students get older, you can introduce objects into the mix to keep it interesting. For example, you could use paper plates, ribbons, flash lights, or scarves to create movements based on the form. Or create a routine with a parachute that reflects the form of the piece. The video below is a great way to get older elementary students (or other teachers) involved.
BONUS LINKS
There are so many things you can do with this song, that I felt compelled to include links to several other fantastic resources:
March from the Nutcracker Ballet: a paper plate routineFlash Light Painting with the March from the Nutcracker Ballet
2 Responses
I love the circle game with this song, and all your additional ideas for teaching form are fantastic!
Thank you Elizabeth! That means a lot coming from the organization/planning queen herself 😉