My song choice, Won’t You Let the Birdie Out?, 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.
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.
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.
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 the button below to download a worksheet the students can use for their call and response creations.
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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! 😉