CIRCLE GAME
The game suggested by the Holy Names University’s website is as follows:
One child is chosen to be “it”. He thinks of the name of someone in the class, but does not tell the others. At the end of the song, three other children take turns trying to guess the secret. If no one guesses, the original child remains “it”. If the secret is guessed, the child who guessed becomes “it”.
Here are a few small modifications I would make for this game:
- The teacher will be “it” for the first example round of the game.
- “It” holds a small heart eraser or other manipulative.
- Students in the circle close their eyes and hold out their hands for the object.
- During the first verse, “it” drops the object into a student’s hands.
- Then, students close their hands, open their eyes, and guess who has the heart.
- The student who guesses correctly gets to be “it” in the next round.
- If nobody guessed correctly, then the student with the heart would be “it”.
I would make these modifications for three reasons:
- More students are interacting in the game. One student is placing the heart, another student gets to hold on to it, and three more get the chance to guess who it is.
- The student who’s “it” can’t change the person they chose partway through the guesses, which is helpful for maintaining a sense of fairness (extremely important to young students).
- You can instruct students who’ve already held the heart to “keep their hands closed” on the next round. That way, the students will get better at guessing who has the heart as the game continues.
INSTRUMENTS & PITCH
This song is great for practicing do-mi-so. Students could have an extra opportunity to internalize this pitch pattern if you play the melody on Orff instruments, bells, or Boomwhackers™. Personally, I envision this being played on barred instruments, with students alternating each section. The visual below gives an example of how I might split this up for students to perform in class.
By breaking this up into sections, it will seem less intimidating for your students. Once they’ve mastered one section, you can have them switch and try the other. After performing this on barred instruments, your students will have experience in playing do-mi-so, as well as do-re-mi patterns.
Additional grouping ideas
- Break your class into three groups, one group will sing while the other two plays.
- Break into four groups, two on barred instruments, one on unpitched percussion, and another group singing.
I hope these lesson ideas give you some inspiration as we get closer to the month of February. What songs and games are you looking forward to teaching next month? Share your ideas in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you!