Telephone Song

As promised, today’s post is a back to school song and name game that can be used for upper elementary. I also include an extension activity for the blues and improv.

However, I should point out that (in my opinion) matching an activity to a specific grade level depends largely on the environment in which you teach. Personally, if I were to teach this song to upper elementary students, I would encourage individual goofiness, as opposed to playing it straight-laced like I would with second grade students.

GAME

The teacher sings “Hey Johnny”, replacing the name of Johnny with a student’s name. The named student then sings the part of the “soloist”. Now that the students has been named, the whole class can join in. The soloist will then replace “Mary” with another student’s name. The game continues until all students have been named.

If you plan to teach the blues scale to your students this year, this song would be a great introduction. Because all students are actively engaged in the song, they’ll really get a feel for the blues scale. After they’ve played the game, you can start the lesson by asking them what they noticed about the song. Ask if they heard any notes that made the song sound more interesting or unique. This would also be a good time to introduce them to some of the well known blues artists.

IMPROVISATION

The blues are such a fun way to incorporate improvisation into your classroom. Plus, as long as you set it up correctly, your students will never fear hitting a wrong note. Here’s how you do it:

1. Set up your Orff instruments with the bars E, D, G, A, and Bb. Remove all other bars completely. Having a limited set of bars means that your students won’t feel overwhelmed with too many choices.
2. Search “blues backing track” on YouTube for a video to playalong with.
3. Model with your own improvisation first. Start out simple, with a steady beat, something that students can easily follow.
4. Now it’s their turn. Tell them that there are no rules! They should simply play what sounds good to them, even if that means playing the steady beat on one bar continuously.
   • Emphasize that there are NO wrong notes, therefore, they should just feel free to enjoy the process of music making.
   • Give the whole class a chance to try it at the same time using the handles of their mallets. This will reduce the noise, but still allow them to get a feel for the placement of the bars and the steady beat of the accompaniment. Afterward, you can ask for the first volunteer to play solo.
5. Record them playing (if allowed) and let them hear it. Your students will be amazed with the music they made with only a few notes. This confidence boost will help them feel more comfortable with improvisation in the future.

What did you think of today’s lesson idea? How would you modify it to work for your own classroom setting? I’d love to hear your ideas!