Today, I'm sharing one of favorite songs for upper elementary: "Hogs in the cornfield." I learned this song while in Kodály Level II at Capital University, with Bruce Swank. Here's the notation; it can also be found in An American Methodology. The song is great for several concepts. It's great for tika-ti, especially since it has some unique patterns in it. Melodically, it works really well for high do!  As far as games go, I originally learned this game for it: S tudents stand in two lines, facing partners; you can name one line “1” and one line “2.” After they sing the song, they play tug of war by holding hands in a crossed position and pulling. The first person to step over the line loses and stands behind the winner. The game continues until all students who wanted turn have had one, and then you declare a winning team based on which side has more students.   A few years ago, I learned this game from Jenna Mabee, my former colleague,......

Today, I'm linking up with Amy Abbott to write about some of my favorite folk songs for fourth grade! Whether you are "on track" with your curriculum or a little behind, I've got great singing games that fourth graders absolutely love! #1: Big Fat Biscuit Here's the notation, which I first learned from An American Methodology : For the game, t hree students are chosen, and they stand in a line. On the first “chewbelew,” the first student does a standing long jump. On the second “chewbelew,” the second student jumps, and on the third “chewbelew,” the third student jumps. The student who jumps the farthest wins, and challenges two more students in the next round. If any of the children touch the ground with their hands, fall, or jump one-footed, they are disqualified. This game is great for  preparing  or practicing low la, and for teaching tam-ti, or dotted quarter/ eighth. You could also use it with "older beginners," or students who are learning basic ......

I've been posting lately about great games and hand jives for upper elementary , and in today's post, I'm writing about beat passing games, which are also a favorite of upper elementary students! So what are beat passing games? They are games in which the beat is passed from one person to the next. Typically, at the end, the last person to be hit is "out."  They are GREAT for reinforcing steady beat. It is so much harder to pass the beat than it is to keep it on your lap, so whether your students have a solid foundation of beat since Kindergarten and need a challenge, or if students are just learning steady beat, these can be very fun and rewarding games for upper elementary! A lot of my students seem to play "Down by the banks of the hanky panky." Although I don't play the game with my students, I sometimes refer to it so students understand how we'll be playing a beat passing game. Here is a video of the singing game: One of my favorite beat pa......

Today, I'm sharing another one of my favorite songs for fourth and fifth grade...an old standard called "Liza Jane." I learned this song while in Kodály Level II at Capital University, with Bruce Swank. Here's the notation; it can also be found in 150 American Folk Songs . Additional verses: I’ve got a house in Baltimore, Lil’ Liza Jane. Street car runs right by my door, Lil’ Liza Jane. (Chorus) I’ve got a house in Baltimore, Lil’ Liza Jane. Brussels carpet on the floor, Lil’ Liza Jane. (Chorus) I’ve got a house in Baltimore, Lil’ Liza Jane. Silver doorplate on the door, Lil’ Liza Jane. (Chorus) The song is great for several concepts. Typically, like I said in my post about the song "Sandy's Mill," I would only pull out the hardest rhythmic concept from a song to teach it, which in this case would be tam-ti, or dotted quarter/ eighth. But because the first four measures only have syncopa, or eighth/ quarter/ eighth, I've ......