Duple on Meet Them in Music

Obwisana

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:15:00 +0000

This is a fun passing game but can be challenging because it requires all students to pass accurately. If students do not pass correctly, there will be a pile-up of rocks/beanbags.

Activity

Sit students in a circle. Teach the song by rote (noting the repeat). Practice passing one beanbag or stone around the circle to a steady beat. Once you can do it with the song and a single beanbag, give every student a beanbag or rock of their own.

Bim Bum Biddy

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:23:00 +0000

Activity

I introduce this by saying “the points of this song is that it is challenging. It is hard to keep up with the hand movements!” Productive Struggle is important!

Word	Movement
Bim	Both hand tap legs
Bum	Clap
Biddy Biddy	Snap or tap thumb and fingers

A lot of kids can’t snap. I call tapping the thumb and fingers “crab clapping.” This also helps with speed.

Extension As the teacher, you get a ton of practice. Kids will notice and ask how you are able to do it so fast. Turn it into a math question! “I have been teaching this to 5 classes this week and I practiced it with you 10 times … I got 50 practices this week. BUT! I have been teaching for 15 years … "

Lucy Locket

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:49:00 +0000

Activity

Sit students in a circle, close enough to pass an object to their neighbor. Practice singing the song while everyone taps the ground in front of themselves.

Practice passing a baby shoe around the circle to the beat, repeating the word “pass” with every pass. Remind students to place it on the ground, not toss it, hand it to their neighbors, or hold onto the shoe.

Pass the shoe while singing the song. Freeze on the word “shoe” and see who is holding the shoe.

A Ram Sam Sam

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:35:00 +0000

Language Note

This song comes from Morocco and uses Moroccan Arabic. As a result of French influence, Moroccan Arabic is very different and, at times, inaccessible to speakers of other forms of Arabic.

When presenting this song to students, it would be better to describe it as "Moroccan" instead of "Arabic" to avoid cultural disambiguation.

I have attempted to check aspects of this song and language with my Arabic speaking and culturally Arabic university students.

Activity

Toodala

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:02:00 +0000

Ally Bally

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:15:00 +0000

Activity

Remove all but Do-Mi-So from the xylophones. Invite students up to play with you or set up a few to have students play as a group. On the “To buy some chocolate candy” have the students hold the mallets in both hands make an excited face (like when the kid says “it’s so fluffy Im going to die!” from the movie Despicable Me)

The challenges with this song are:

High Bird

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 20:21:00 +0000

Aurally Received

I learned this song aurally and have not seen in notated elsewhere. It feels “music learning theory.”
Though notated in c minor it may be better in e or f minor for childrens’ voices.

Activity

Provide students with scarfs to flow around their bodies as you sing the song. Try high, low, on different parts of the body.

Change words for high and low.

Purple Light

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:55:00 +0000

Activity

This is a standard echo songs. Students echo the same as the teacher but the echoes line up in the middle of sentences making this feel a bit tricky for students at first.

Visual Supports: These slides were created for me by an AP Art student in my district. They may projected in your classroom but not altered or sold in anyway.

Purple Light, In the canyon, thats where I long to be. With my 3 good companions. My guitar my pony and me

Radna and Petko

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:52:00 +0000

Activity

Give every student a beanbag to balance on the back of their hand (to represent an engagement ring). While singing the song, smoothly flow the beanbag around being careful not to drop it.

Students like to show off that they can balance a beanbag on one finger. Do this on the second repetition.

Allow students to suggest other places to put the beanbag and fit this into the song. Are there other types of jewelry that would make sense for these body parts? How can you make it rhyme with the song (Eyebrow rhymes with “engagement ring, now”)

Pole Pole

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:21:00 +0000

Swahili

“Pole, pole” is a Swahili phrase meaning “Slowly, slowly” or “Step-by-step.” It is pronounced “Poh-lay.” The phrase can mean “drive slowly” on a dangerous road. It also is used as a mantra similar to “take it easy”

Activity

This is a nice echo song using Swahili words and mentioning animals from Africa. Teach students to echo you as a group or by giving each student a solo turn.

This can also become a movement activity (think Snail Snail or Going on a Bear Hunt). Pretend to drive a truck on a safari, looking for animals.

Frog in the Meadow

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 21:19:00 +0000

Two versions are provided depending on the reading concept being taught.

Activity

One student is the “frog” while the others are the meadow. The Frog stomps around the room to the beat of the song. The student should freeze at the end of the song and select another student to be the frog.

John the Rabbit

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:18:00 +0000

Activity

This is a traditional echo song. Some classes do well starting with the whole group responding first while others do better by going around the room one at a time.

Be willing to wait necessary processing time for students who require lengthened processing time. I will wait up to 8 seconds for some students.

Assessment:

Nonverbal or minimally verbally responsive students may not respond as expected. Listen for responses approaching the appropriate pitch and time. A sample rubric is provided below.

Clapping Land

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:02:00 +0000

Other Movement Ideas:

Marching
Twirling
Tip Toe
Flossing
Jumping

Poor Old Crow

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:47:00 +0000

A Note on Mixolydian

If you are not accustomed to singing in Mixolydian, pay attention to the C natural.

Activity:

Have students come up to play a xylophone with you 1 and at time or in small groups. After the song is familiar, as students what food they would like to be in the song instead of “meat.” My kids always mention McDonalds!

I use bass bars but use the largest Orﬀ instrument you have, removing everything except the notes you want to use. You will need a tonic (I) and dominant (V) in whatever key you have available. D and A are nice because it sits within a child’s singing range.

A Qua Qua De La Omar

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 17:14:00 +0000

Activity:

This is a passing game where the students pass the beat.

Students sit or stand in a circle. Have them put their left hand out, palm up. Next, have them put their right hand palm up on their neighbor’s hand. To pass the beat, take your right hand over to your left hand. The next person does the same.

Continue around the circle on the beat. When you get to the word “Five” the person whose hand will be clapped must pull their hand back before they are struck.

Zoom Zoom Zoom We're Going to the Moon

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:27:00 +0000

Did You Feed my Cow

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:47:00 +0000

Original source:

The original words (recorded by Thomas Talley) described the death of the cow. I have slightly altered the words to match our modern sensibilities. A link to the original words is on page 78 of the source book linked above.

If this song is too complicated with its multiple responses, try John the Rabbit. It assesses responding on tonic with different words than prompted.

Activity: This is a standard echo/response song procedure. You will need to give the students the answers before. Since they are not copying you, this is more challenging than a simple echo song.

Go 'Round the Mountain

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:43:00 +0000

This is a favorite game with my students but it makes me incredibly dizzy!

This is the way I memorized the song years ago. It may not be “true” but it is right to my ear! The version others use is notated below.

Activity:

Build a circle of drums. I like to make “drum mountain” out of my tubanos with the teacher drum in the middle. March around the drum mountain, hitting the next drum on beat 1. Invite a student up to join you BUT they must march on the opposite side of the circle from you.

Grandma's Glasses

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I love this song as a way to get students familiar with the difference between duple and triple meter.

Introduction:

Ask the kids “In your family, who is taller: grandma or grandpa?” (Of course, not everybody has a grandpa or grandma. Use your discretion)

I like to say “In my family, my grandma is taller and my grandpa is shorter. My grandpa likes to wear cowboy boots to make himself look taller.” This is a true. If needed, I can also say “When my other grandpa was still alive, he was taller than my grandma.”

Great Big House in New Orleans

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a great song to bring out the bass xylophone or bass bars.

Activity:

For classes that need it, I will often have the kids come up in turns. For classes that are more independent, I will set out multiple instruments. On the first attempt, play with the students on the same instrument.

Have a student choose the type of pie that is in the Great Big House. Fill in that word instead of “pumpkin.” Any answer is the acceptable!

Akka Bakka Soda Cracker

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Activity:

Turn taking game: One student stomps around the room to the beat of the song. On the final quarter note (“you!”) the student points to another student to take their place.

For students who are hesitant to participate, or who have movement difference, they can hold the hand of the teacher or their favorite paraprofessional. Additionally, a seating chart and a finger/pointer can take the place of stomping around the room for students who cannot safely move around the room.

Hogs in the Cornfield

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Activity:

Pair up students for rock-paper-scissors game. If a student wins, they find a new partner. If a student loses, they sit down. The goal is to get to a single “champion.”

Adjusting for movement differences: Create cards for each of the hand signs, select from a visual choice board, or AAC. Alternatively, students who are capable of doing the hand signs but not in time with the chant can hold their hand behind their back or turn around to reveal their choice.

Jeremiah Blow the Fire

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Activity:

Give every child a scarf. Have them copy your movement as move it from one side of your body to the other to the steady beat. Try other motions such as passing between hands, holding the scarf in both hands at once, trying to keep the scarf balanced on an elbow, resting it on a toe, or flowing with the scarf on your head. An challenging extension is to place the scarf over your face and blow on the word “blow.”

Pickles and Pie

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I learned this song aurally from a friend. Originally, my friend used a Lydian version of the tune. I chose to re-arrange the song in Mixolydian to match my ears’ preference.

This is a great song to get students to open up and begin talking. In the notation, I have put parenthesis around the word (Elephant). Allow students to replace the word elephant with whatever they would like. It is up to the TEACHER to find a way to fit it in the song! Kids will enjoy trying to trick you and this builds a great opportunity to build relationships.