Pickups on Meet Them in Music

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

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.

Skin and Bones

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 22:32:00 +0000

I chose to write out each phrase individually as the rhythm is not consistent between all phrases.

Activity:

Social Extension:

Ask the students “Why was it her job to clean up the bones?” Talk about “Integrity” and how “doing the right thing is always the right thing to do.”

If you see something wrong, the right thing to do is to try to fix it … Maybe not cleaning up dead bodies, though!

Peas and Honey

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 22:05:00 +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.