Now, this would ultimately be the first time I ever taught Kindergarten. Furthermore, each subsequent year except for this year involved older and older kids, and so it's been a while since I taught anyone under 7 years of age. I had to dig deep into the MfM songpack and notes to get ideas. I also referred back to my 1st grade classes from three years ago for additional ideas.
| Come and Follow Me | Lead students into the room in song, do silly motions at the end of each phrase |
I had the class walk with me in a circle using the ropes as a guide. I think with Kinders, it was a real challenge to keep the students truly following what I was doing while I was singing, especially since part of the class still wasn't in the room while I was singing. The kinders reallly do try to keep in line better than the older children, which helped things, but they're also decidedly a little slower. After I had the students all inside, I introduced myself, and clapped by name. This led to... | |
| Name clapping | Have students introduce themselves, and we all respond with clapping and repeating the name |
I've done some variant of this with nearly every class of mine, and it typically works quite well. This time was no exception, and we were able to go around the circle in only about 5 minutes. | |
| "Did everyone bring your instrument?" | Ask question, discuss the voice |
This is a nice icebreaker that allows the students to really say anything, especially when they do think they brought their instrument (and then they start talking about instruments that they have at home). No student ever thinks of their voice as an instrument; hence, this exercise is rich in potential discussion, especially around the dynamic range of the voice. I had the students do whoops up and down with their voice. Then, I asked them about sounds that they heard outside, which led me to… | |
| I Can Sing Up High | Talk more about sounds, teach song |
We first talked about the sounds that were heard outside. I really didn't get anything that was terribly useful or easy to repeat using voices, and so I steered the conversation a bit, to birds chirping and then to a train motoring (not the train whistle!). Eventually after we established that small things make high sounds and big things make lower sounds, I had them stand up to learn the song/movement. The students were able to follow me, but the singing wasn't very strong. I suppose that's understandable; they're just Kindergarteners. | |
| Show Me | Teach song |
I have never used this in the classroom, and I realize that, as simple this song is, it works great as a method to recapture the students' collective attention. I also used this song to get the students to sit down (after singing "show me the floor"). Later in the class, I used this song again when the students were getting too rowdy. | |
| Bee Bee Bumblebee | Have students chant with me after talking about sounds again |
With the students back in their seats, I had them talk more about sounds that they heard, particularly animals (and pets). I eventually suggested the sounds of bees, which artificially allowed me to segue into the Bee chant. During the chant, I simply kept the beat by tapping my knees, which the students did. I only repeated this 3 times, and during the 3rd time, I got up as the students chanted, and moved a toy bee in front of one child after the other. At the end of the chant, that student closest to the bee was "out", although we didn't really get into what that meant. | |
| Highway Number One | Teach motions in the song, then move to the song |
I was slightly short on time, and so I didn't get to practice all of the moves, but I did spend time laying out groundrules for "driving". I had the students walk in a circle rather than allow them to drive randomly. The students actually did quite well with this activity, including stopping and listening to what they had to do next at each stop in the song. | |
| Goodbye by Friends Goodbye | Sing while the students exited |
This was a pretty easy song to sing as an exit song, and some students started singing it after the 2nd iteration. I didn't plan on teaching this formally to them; I may do that next week. | |
In case there's ever any doubt, it is indeed far easier to teach Kindergarten students vs. 3rd graders (or older). The students don't fidget as much, they don't complain, and they'll do anything you're doing. They're also very forgiving in case you make a mistake. The students though do not learn as much, and they typically aren't as interested in talking; they just want to "do" (including sing), and so I tried to minimize chatter from me.
For this lesson plan, I had them alternate sitting and standing for each major activity. That also seemed to work quite well to break up any monotony.
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