Today, I'm blogging about my 10 favorite books to sing. There are so many out there, but these are the ones I've used year after year, both in my music classroom and as a parent!
These books are a great way to end a lesson, or to provide a calm environment after an exciting activity. Singing these books can also be a great way to teach students a new song, to improve students' listening skills, and for parents and children, can be a great bedtime routine! It can also be a great way to build their literacy and language skills, as you could ask them what happened in the story, what they think will happen, who the characters were, etc.
Please note that there are affiliate links within this post; I included links to most of the books on Amazon. Here goes!
#1: "Hush Little Baby" by Marla Frazee
I've had this one in my library for years; it's one of my favorites to introduce lullabies to students. The illustrations are beautiful, and the words are nice and big at the bottom of each page, so students can read or sing along.
When I first read it to students, we first discuss what good listening behavior looks like. This is a good way to introduce audience etiquette! Then, I simply sing the song.
Honestly, you can hear a pin drop when singing this book to them! Even those high-energy classes sit quietly and listen. Many parents sing this song to kids, so it has a really nice calming effect on them!
After I sing the book, I ask them if they know what kind of song this is, and many are able to define it as a lullaby. Then we discuss who lullabies are sung to, who sings lullabies (parents, grandparents, babysitters, etc.) and why (to get the baby to go to sleep, to calm them, etc.)
After introducing this book, in another lesson, I play the song on dulcimer and sing it. I simply finger pick a pattern (melody string, second string, third string, second string), with the strings tuned DDA, moving back and forth between mi and fa. Again, kids are transfixed and very quiet when listening! I love hearing their stories, like "My mom sings that to me every night!" It's so sweet!
#2: "All the Pretty Little Horses" by Linda Saport
This is another great book to reinforce the term "lullaby" (and is one of my favorites I've sung to my own daughters!) The chalk illustrations are beautiful, and again, the book has such a calming effect!
#3: "Summertime" by Heyward and Wimmer
"Summertime" by George Gershwin is one of my favorite songs, so I simply love this book! You could either sing the song to students or play a recording. The lyrics are just stunning, especially, "One of these mornings, you're gonna rise up singing. And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky." So powerful for children to hear, whether they are your students or your own children!
#4: "Cat goes fiddle-i-fee" by Paul Galdone
I love singing this book to my Kindergarteners, because it's a cute little song, and because it's a great way for students to explore their voices. Some of the sounds in the book are actually sounds animals make (like "moo" for cow), but some of them are just plain silly (like "chimmy-chuck" for a hen.) I talk about which ones are real and which are silly, and have students try all of the sounds! After several pages, Kindergarteners can sing along with "Cat goes fiddle-i-fee," which repeats at the end of each page.
#5: "The Tailor and the Mouse" by Feierabend and McGann
This is another one of my favorite songs, so I just love this book! The illustrations are really colorful and fun, and it's a great way to teach the song. After students have heard a few verses, you could have them sing the response each time!
#6: "I got two dogs" by Lithgow and Neubecker
This fun book includes a recording of John Lithgow singing the song. The kids absolutely LOVE this song about two dogs named Fanny and Blue, and I've used it to reinforce the concept of "echo." This is one they beg for weeks after we first read it!
#7: "Who killed Cock Robin?" by Kevin O'Malley
This is another one of my favorites. The folk song (which can be found here) can be sung along to the pictures in this book (although you may want to vary from the written text and repeat the last line on each page, as is done in the folk song.) I've sung this to fourth and fifth graders, and they love figuring out the mystery! The book is out-of-print; the picture above links to the book on www.alibris.com.
#8: "Sunshine on my shoulders" by Denver and Canyon
This became one of my favorites after Christopher Canyon and his wife came to my school several years ago for an author visit. The illustrations are beautiful, and who doesn't love the song "Sunshine on my shoulders" by John Denver? I've used the song to discuss the lyrics, and to discuss emotions. I've even had students create new lyrics of what makes them happy (i.e. "Candy in my belly makes me happy!")
#9: "Risseldy Rosseldy" by Feierabend and Poulin
This is another great picture book by John Feierabend; I suggest looking him up on West Music or Amazon to find his picture books AND his awesome music education resources! I've used this picture book with this octavo by Jay Broeker, with my choir. It was a fun and different way to learn the song, and third, fourth, and fifth graders still do love picture books!
#10: "Simple Gifts" by Chris Raschka
I also used this picture book with a choir, to help learn the song "Simple Gifts." Again, it's a great way to teach a song, and the illustrations by Raschka are so quirky and fun (almost Picasso-esque!) If you haven't checked out other picture books by Raschka, I highly recommend "Charlie Parker plays Be-bop"!
If you're looking for more picture books, check out my "Picture books" board on Pinterest:
If you're looking for more picture books to use in your classroom, check out this set:
What are your favorite picture books to sing? I'd love to hear...feel free to comment below. Happy reading and singing!
'Today, I'm blogging with a round-up of blog posts all about upper elementary music!
Song and Dance: Three great activities for your older students
Looking for folk dances and songs for your upper elementary students? This blog post includes tried-and-true songs and dances from my own classroom! These are some of my favorites...I hope you enjoy them too!
Picture books for upper elementary
This blog post is from my collaborative blog, the Kodaly Corner, and includes several picture books I love for upper elementary students!
New ideas for upper elementary students
This comprehensive blog post by Elizabeth from Organized Chaos includes lots of great videos for upper elementary students, as well as thoughts about teaching a keyboard unit, hand clapping games, and composition! I especially loved the video with a passing game for "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck!
The Telephone Song
This blog post by Jennifer at the Yellow Brick Road includes notation for "The Telephone Song," as well as a fun video of the song in action!
El Reloj de la calavera
This fun blog post by Amy Abbott includes one of my favorite chants for upper elementary! She includes notation, verses, and a really fun way to practice ti-tika with skeleton erasers!
If you're interested in finding more upper elementary activities, especially for kids who haven't learned the basics of music before fourth or fifth grade, check out this set:
Looking for more upper elementary ideas? I just created this Pinterest board with lots of ideas. Feel free to comment below with any other ideas you have for upper elementary. Happy teaching!
After reading many posts about flexible seating in the grade-level classroom, I decided to give it a try this year! This post is the first in a series of posts about flexible seating in my music classroom; today, I'll write about what flexible seating is, why I'm using it, and what I'm using.
What is flexible seating?
Flexible seating is the idea that students don't all have to sit in chairs, at desks, or in the case of my classroom, on the floor. There are options for them to sit in a variety of seats, and for them to choose a seat that works best for them and their learning style. When I first read about it, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around what this would mean for my classroom. I still like to have students sitting on the floor for a lot of music class, because then it's easy for us to stand and play games! I decided to use the seating in centers, small group work, and for paper/ pencil work, which I'll write more about in another blog post!
Why use flexible seating?
For the past two years, I've had a really comfortable saucer chair in my room that is one of my "Star Student" rewards, and the kids LOVE it. I liked the idea of having more choices from which students can choose.
Another reason is my experience with my own daughter Macy, who just turned four years old. Macy is so joyful, fun, and silly! But she's had some difficulties with her development. At two, she had tubes put in her ears, because of the back-up of fluid, and the fluid caused her to be delayed in her speech, since she couldn't hear us very well. On top of that, I think she had genetic predisposition to be a late talker, as I didn't talk clearly until I was five, and speech delay can be genetic. She also has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. She is a seeker, so she often spins, puts herself upside down, lays down, etc., to regulate herself so she can learn better. We have a few options for her at home to help her balance and spin, and it's helped her a lot!
After reading about flexible seating, and more closely observing my own students, I realized that there were several students in each class who would benefit from having options for seating, whether it be because of SPD, ADHD, or just a different learning style that makes sitting perfectly still on the floor difficult.
The best reason, though, in my mind, is that it honors students as learners. Having options in my classroom tells students that I realize that everyone learns differently, and that there is no right or wrong answer to how we learn best!
What I'm using
So now onto what I bought for my classroom!
Crate seats
I made these crate seats using this tutorial: I have six of them in my room. The awesome part about these seats is the opportunity to also use them for storage! The table in the picture is from IKEA.
Wobble seats
The wobble seats (also called Hokki stools) are the purple chairs above. I have one of these for my daughter and she loves it! The idea of these is that kids can sit on them and wobble to and fro as they sit. It helps those kids who need the sensory input to move as they learn. I bought the wobble seats for my classroom from Amazon. The purple seats in my room are being borrowed from a Kindergarten teacher who is not using them in her room this year. She suggested gluing shelf liner to the bottom so they don't slide around on the floor.
Bouncy bands
The bands you see on the blue chairs above are called bouncy bands. The idea of these is that students can put their feet on the bands and bounce their feet. I am constantly shaking my leg when I sit still, so I think this is a good option for students like me! Just be careful when buying these from Amazon that you purchase the ones for chairs, not desks (as I made that mistake!) Also, the bands only work on small chairs, not on the standard size chairs I have in my room.
Stability balls
The green balls you see in the picture above are called stability balls or balance balls. Students sit on top, and can bounce up and down as they sit. The kids LOVE these...but you have to lay the ground rules that they can't bounce so much that it's distracting for other students!
Disc seats
One of my favorite purchases are the black disc seats you see in the picture above. One side is slightly bumpy, and the other side is bumpier. Students decide which side to sit on, and when they sit on them, it's a bit like the wobble seats, because they can move to and fro on them as they sit. They can be placed on the ground or on a chair.
Locker mats
I bought these at Five Below (read more about my finds in this blog post.) They are super soft, and students can sit on them or lay on them.
Memory foam bath mats
These mats are super soft, and meld to to the shape of your body as you sit or lay on them! I bought them from Amazon.
Also note that I had to purchase clipboards, since with many of these seats, students wouldn't be able to use the floor when writing. Here is a picture of my student center, where I keep my clipboards. I found a great deal on Amazon!
Here is a picture of the corner of my room where I keep a lot of the seats. I bought the flexible seating posters here.
I considered putting in an application for Donors Choose to buy all of these seats, but many of the projects on there were for schools in need, and my school is not. I decided to go ahead and purchase these myself, knowing I'd have them for the rest of my career!
There are options, though, for asking for funding. Donors Choose is probably the most popular option for asking for funding for your classroom. Check out these flexible seating projects on Donors Choose for ideas on how to word your project.
Have you used flexible seating in your music classroom, or your grade-level classroom? Feel free to comment below!
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