Music as a timer: Select songs of varied lengths to use as timers for class activities. Make sure you have a catchy song of 1 minute length for cleaning up, an up tempo song of 5 minutes for quick writes and turn and talks, a calming, peaceful song of 8-10 minute length for reflection and thinking about thinking.
Student mini-musicals: Create cards and students pick one as independent or partner work. Some examples: Tell the lifecycle of a butterfly using the tune of Old McDonald had a Farm, Explain the parts of a weather station using the tune of the song B-I-N-G-O! Define five 3-dimensional shapes to the tune of Row, Row, Row, Your Boat! Ask students to suggest tasks and songs that would work well for mini-musicals. Sing the songs for the class or film them and keep an album of songs on an iPad or computer.
Body Percussion: Use clapping, snapping thigh slapping and shoulder tapping to practice spelling words, phonics blends, math facts, and rhyming sounds, focusing on patterns.
Lit Raps: Student groups can create raps about the books they are reading. First, students must list 10 words from the story that are most important, things like characters' names, settings, problems and solutions. Second, students must list 10 words that rhyme. They will then work on a white board, combining key book words with rhyming words to create phrases for their raps, revising and editing as needed. When each group performs their rap, the can recommend the book add information about the author or design a logo to go with the rap.
Musical Themes: Students can compose class songs, sing introductions to subjects or units and create group cheers. Students will improve in their musical creation skills the more they practice. The brain connections are strengthened as students teach each other their compositions (they can also add movement and choreography).
Student mini-musicals: Create cards and students pick one as independent or partner work. Some examples: Tell the lifecycle of a butterfly using the tune of Old McDonald had a Farm, Explain the parts of a weather station using the tune of the song B-I-N-G-O! Define five 3-dimensional shapes to the tune of Row, Row, Row, Your Boat! Ask students to suggest tasks and songs that would work well for mini-musicals. Sing the songs for the class or film them and keep an album of songs on an iPad or computer.
Body Percussion: Use clapping, snapping thigh slapping and shoulder tapping to practice spelling words, phonics blends, math facts, and rhyming sounds, focusing on patterns.
Lit Raps: Student groups can create raps about the books they are reading. First, students must list 10 words from the story that are most important, things like characters' names, settings, problems and solutions. Second, students must list 10 words that rhyme. They will then work on a white board, combining key book words with rhyming words to create phrases for their raps, revising and editing as needed. When each group performs their rap, the can recommend the book add information about the author or design a logo to go with the rap.
Musical Themes: Students can compose class songs, sing introductions to subjects or units and create group cheers. Students will improve in their musical creation skills the more they practice. The brain connections are strengthened as students teach each other their compositions (they can also add movement and choreography).