This awesome folk song has multiple uses. Its pentatonic range of low la up to la (la, do re mi so la) allows teachers to use it with multiple grade levels. The syncopated rhythms and dotted quarter note and eighth note rhythms make it engaging for upper elementary as well. The call and response format makes it very easy for students to learn. Finally, the opportunity for improvisation makes it a winner. Let’s dig in!

For the game, my students sit in long rows of equal length, as if they’re sitting in canoes. After singing the song, I clap a four beat pattern and they echo me. Actually, I do four different four beat patterns and they echo each one. Then I immediately sing the song again. By teaching them not to talk after each “set,” I’m also building good classroom management habits.

After we’ve tried this a few times, the head of each canoe chooses an unpitched instrument. During the final phrase of the song, they stand and face their row. They improvise four beat patterns and their row/canoe claps back the four beat patterns. Be prepared for a bit of chaos the first time. The students have to get used to listening for just their leader’s instrument and the four beat patterns. My student teacher made a sign that said, “Play” with four hearts under the word. She stood at the back of the canoes and pointed to the beats while the leaders were supposed to improvise their patterns. It helped the “leaders” stay together. When the song begins again, they should hand their instrument to the next person and walk to the back of the canoe.

Another helpful tip: Clap some patterns for the students while singing phrases that match such as, “Doggie, Doggie, where’s your bone?” “My paddle’s keen and bright” “Rain, Rain, go away” etc. so they get some ideas and realize they can use rhythms from songs they already know.

Eventually, ask your class who would like to be the singing leader. You’ll be surprised and delighted to hear your students take over. The full song with lyrics is also available under Resources for Teachers near the bottom with full lyrics. 

I’m heading to TMEA later this week and my substitute teachers are not music teachers. In fact, there are only a handful of “music substitutes” in the area and I think they were booked for TMEA before the first week of school!

What to do? Show videos to every class? I say, no. Videos have their place and a few classes will see video segments, but this isn’t a last minute absence due to illness, so I’m planning ahead. Most of my classes will do three things on Thursday.

First, they’ll play games they already know. I type out detailed instructions for the substitute, but other than facilitating, the students run the show. Naturally, I highlight names of trusted students on each seating chart, leave all props (doggie bones, chickens, etc.) on my desk, and most importantly, include a comfortable starting pitch for each song. Students take turns playing the starting pitch on a xylophone using “ta ta tadi ta” for “1, 2, ready sing.”

Second, every class will also learn a new song during the lesson. That’s right. Whichever song I taught the other students in that grade level that week is included in the lesson. Sometimes there’s a good example in the textbook. However, if the song is not in the textbook or the version is different, I simply record myself singing each song and burn a CD. Need more info? See the next paragraph.

My school computer has Audacity loaded on it. It’s a free, downloadable software and not too hard to figure out. I sing into the microphone 1. straight through the song, 2. singing one phrase at a time with enough beats for the class to echo me, 3. singing two phrases at a time, and 4. singing the whole song again. It’s not perfect, but at least the time is utilized wisely so the students are not quite so far behind the next time I see them. Then I convert the tracks into mp3′s and either load it onto my iPod or burn a CD. These tracks don’t have to performance quality! No one else will hear them except your students and the sub, so go for it!

Finally, every class will have a listening example. This week, a few classes will listen to and move with the DVD Move It! and others will listen to an example on CD.

What do you leave for your classes when you have a planned absence?

Choosing individual students can be challenging because some students are eager to participate, some are shy, others reluctant, but all need opportunities to participate in class and we have to assess them. Many years ago a colleague shared an idea of using a set of cards for class games, and a few years before that I saw a teacher use class cards to determine which students had a turn with the class set of books. So, the card idea wasn’t mine, but I’ve revised the way I use the cards, and the cards themselves, several times during my teaching career. Please feel free to use this card template or revise them in any way that meets your needs.

How I use them: Under each category there are two columns of boxes. The smaller one on the left is for the date and the one on the right for a note or scribble. If students write a note or rhythm on the board, I’ll mark it under the correct column. The game column is especially important to my students, though. If someone has had a turn at the jump rope game, for example, I scribble the date and write “jump” in the right column. Those students don’t get a turn again until everyone has had a turn to jump on one week or another. In the game Chicken on the Fencepost/Dance Josey, I write “DJ” when they get at turn as a farmer and no one repeats until every student has had a chance. The list goes on and on, but the students feel that it’s fair. The same goes for the Instrument section. If three students are called on to play a bass xylophone bordun to accompany a song, the students know I’ll call on someone else the next time. Naturally, there are plenty of lessons that everyone will play an instrument in, but in the case of only a few players, I mark their cards and spread the wealth.

How do you handle calling on students for class activities?

Differentiation. It’s a word we hear in staff development all the time and most music teachers probably think, “I differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the students in every class!” Although it’s true that we do this through our activities, I’ve never done it with worksheets. However, considering all the new students who weren’t in my class last year, I’m having to do more reteaching and remediation than I’ve ever done before. So, I decided to provide my third grade classes a choice this week. I called the worksheet levels blue, green, and black.

The blue is the simplest worksheet and included labeling the tone ladder, identifying pitches to Phoebe in Her Petticoat, and then writing four pitches on the staff. The green level began the same way, but instead of writing four pitches, students transposed Phoebe in Her Petticoat into a new key. To make it a black level challenge, they added the rhythm stems. The green and black levels also allow students to create a new melody on a blank staff.

A majority of students chose the harder worksheet and worked at the green or black level. A few chose the blue level but finished too quickly. They determined that they should have chosen the harder one. Those students either took a blank staff and worked on transposing Phoebe in Her Petticoat or assisted other students who raised their hands. A few students chose the blue worksheet and it was just right for them. (See the worksheets under “Resources for Teachers” or click the links above.)

A final thought: Carol Ann Tomlinson wrote, “Students who consistently fail lose their motivation to learn. Students who succeed too easily also lose their motivation to learn. For learning to continue, students must believe that hard work is required, but the hard work often pays off with success….Challenges must grow as students grow in their learning.” p. 19 The Differentiated Classroom

Are you challenging your students in any special ways? I’d love to hear about it!

Here’s a big “Thank you” to Lori for suggesting a song to post. It was a good choice, too! Not only is Hogs in the Cornfield a useful song, but it’s a fun game for the students to play. Here are a few ways that I use Hogs in the Cornfield:

1. Phrase 1 for ta-dimi prep

2. Phrase 2 for takadi prep

3. Phrase 2 for high do’ prep

Rather than elaborate on all three concepts, I’ll just touch on the third one, do’ preparation. Everyone learns in different ways, so it’s important to provide kinesthetic, aural, and visual learning opportunities. Kinesthetic activities might include singing and clapping in contour, pointing to a picture or the words in contour, or even moving the body higher or lower as the voice moves. Aural questions involve identifying the pitches for each beat of phrase two and calling do’ “high.” It’s important at this stage to identify how far the “high” sound is from la. (a skip, or two steps) Finally, students should have the opportunity to create a visual representation of the phrase on their own. I like to use Unifix cubes, but almost any small object will work. Some teachers will allow their students to use anything in the room to make their picture. Brave souls! Personally, I like Unifix cubes because four cubes equals one beat and each student receives a baggie with four beats. Some students can make a melodic picture very quickly while others may need to sing the phrase several times or receive one on one assistance. Need to show your principal differentiation? Ask the more advanced students to figure out the rhythms, break the cubes into a rhythmic representation, and then move them into melodic contour.

While you’re prepping a new melodic concept, students should demonstrate known melodic concepts. Why not have the students read or write the solfége to phrase 1 prior to the kinesthetic, aural, and visual steps? It’s a great way for students to hear the interval from so to do’ (end of phrase 1 into phrase 2) and should help them identify do’ to la (beginning of phrase 2) as being closer.

For more information about preparing and presenting high do, I recommend Kodály Today by Mícheál Houlahan and Philip Tacka.

Which techniques have worked well in your classroom? 

As a holiday gift to music teachers everywhere, I would like to open the floor for song suggestions. Is there a song you’d love to see posted as a .jpg for your visual aids? Just leave a comment with the song title and the most useful format for your song. For example, Bow Wow Wow in F (do is F) with rhythms, solfége, and words. Or, Bow Wow Wow with rhythms only! I’ll put all the suggestions in a hat and draw from there. FYI, if I don’t know the song, I might need your help in locating it, but I’m always excited to learn new songs! (Naturally, I can only post songs in the public domain.)

BTW, there are new versions of Come Thru Now Hurry (Alabama Gal) under Resources for Teachers!

My 4th and 5th grade Advanced Choir performed on Thursday night and Friday afternoon and did a wonderful job! They started a new tradition last year of signing the board after a performance, sometimes leaving little notes for me. How could I be upset to find such heartfelt messages from my dedicated choir? My heart swells with pride (despite the spelling errors!) as I recall their commitment and musical growth. When I’m under a great deal of stress, sometimes I wonder why I put so much time and effort into extra activities, but it’s moments like this that remind me.

Feel free to use this picture for your personal classroom use. It will be available for download on my Resources for Teachers page.

My second grade students know the solfége pitches la, so, and mi  and have learned do aurally. It’s time for the visual presentation and I’ll be using the third phrase of Bow, Wow, Wow. I’ve presented it many different ways over the years, but this time I’m using the visual attached with a picture of my dog, Duke, in place of do. This also works well with a dog bone picture, written on a chalk board, or with magnets on a magnetic white board with staff. Simply replace the dog picture with a quarter note, or add a stem to his picture if that’s easier, and voila! Your presentation is sure to please and delight the students. What do you do when presenting do to make it fun and engaging for the students?