Lucy Locket is a fantastic song and game for the elementary music classroom. The duck-duck-goose style game is easy to play and keep students engaged throughout. You can use this song to practice mi, so, and la, as well was barred eighth and quarter note rhythms.
CIRCLE GAME
The internet certainly isn’t short on descriptions of this game and how to play it in the elementary music classroom. The premise is simple:
- Students sit or stand in a circle.
- One student stands outside the circle holding a “pocket” (any small pouch or drawstring bag would do).
- The student skips around the circle as everyone sings the song.
- At the end of the song, the student drops the pocket.
- The student standing in front of the pocket must then chase the other student around the circle, back to their original spot.
- The student who reaches the vacated spot first is the winner.
I love any song with a game, because it tricks students into internalizing the melody of the song without them realizing it. They’ll listen to you model the song during each round of the game. Then, when they’re ready, you can ask them to sing it on their own. How quickly they’ll be able to do this depends on several factors, such as their grade level and complexity of the song. It’s better to wait a day or so than to force it too soon. However, the eventual goal is to get students singing by themselves without you. Because this is when true learning takes place. An added bonus is that you get a chance to step back and revel in your students’ musical independence!
MUSIC MANIPULATIVES
If you have any type of manipulatives, now’s the time to get them out and have some fun. If you don’t have any manipulatives, here are some directions to make your own:
- Download and print my free composing cards HERE.
- Cut and laminate the composing cards.
- Cut off small sections of magnetic tape to stick to the back of each card.
- Use black electrical tape to create a music staff on a metal sheet pan.
- Check out this post from Elizabeth at Organized Chaos for another fantastic idea for magnetic manipulatives.
- Have students compose or dictate melodies using their new manipulatives.
