mrshalesharmonies

Los Machetes

This is a favorite dance with my 3rd and 4th grade students! We actually just used this as an opportunity to learn about and celebrate Cinco de Mayo last week. One 3rd grader even said they wanted to perform this dance for every Cinco de Mayo. This is the first year where I have understoodContinue reading “Los Machetes”

La Raspa

Cinco de Mayo is next week, so many music teachers will be excited to pull out La Raspa and teach it to their students. Please consider why you are doing this with your students. Is it just for a fun folk dance? If that is your only answer, please reconsider. Teaching international folk dance isContinue reading “La Raspa”

Wake Up, You Lazy Bones!

This one is a hit with kindergarten and 1st grade! They love the game and playing the big tubano to wake up their classmates. I love that we have fun while learning about form. Suggested Grade Levels: Kindergarten, 1st grade Analysis: History:To be completely honest, I was very worried about this song when I thoughtContinue reading “Wake Up, You Lazy Bones!”

Sasha

I love using Sasha as a way to get students moving after a break from school. This allows us to mingle with our classmates in a safe, structured way that also gets us back into the right mindset for music. My students love this dance because of its catchy tune and because they get toContinue reading “Sasha”

Little Miss Muffet

Steady beat, dramatic play, vocabulary, cross-curricular connections, racing games…what more could you want from a rhyme?! While I have it listed that the suggested grade levels for Little Miss Muffet are kindergarten and 1st grade, I use the speech version with all of my K-4 students. The younger kids love the creepy crawly spider bitsContinue reading “Little Miss Muffet”

Flea Fly Flo

Out of all of my students, I think kindergarten enjoys this song the most. My older kids already know that they can expect some weirdness from me, so this is basically the first big nonsensical jump for my kinderbabies! They love trying to get a grasp on the silly words and end up improvising someContinue reading “Flea Fly Flo”

Charlie Over the Ocean

“Charlie Over the Ocean” is an echo song that I love using to assess students’ ability to match pitch and use their singing voices. It also works really nicely to develop solo singing confidence and independence. When we start the game, I always ask my students who wants to be the song leader. I loveContinue reading “Charlie Over the Ocean”

We are Dancing in the Forest

If you have ever used this song in your classroom, I am sure it has been a student favorite. My students love the game, obviously, but they also enjoy the challenge of aurally identifying “la.” I use a modified version of body solfege with my students when they are in kindergarten through the beginning ofContinue reading “We are Dancing in the Forest”

Black Snake

I have only used this song once in my classroom, but my students really enjoyed it. They loved playing the game and it was frequently asked for in that year! This game is best suited for outside play. Suggested Grade Levels: 3rd grade, 4th grade Analysis: History:Finding the history of this particular song was aContinue reading “Black Snake”

Seven Jumps (Syvspring)

“Seven Jumps,” or “Syvspring” in Danish, is a fun folk dance from Denmark that my students love. Everyone inevitably catches a fit of the giggles as we struggle to keep our balance! It involves dancers joining in a circle and walking, hop stepping, or sashaying during the chorus. In between each chorus, there are 1-7Continue reading “Seven Jumps (Syvspring)”