Choice Board on Meet Them in Music

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:

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.

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!

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.