CHILDREN'S LITERATURE - BOOKS TO SING

The Night Before Summer Vacation
Written by Natasha Wing
Illustrated by Julie Durrell
ISBN: 978-0448-42830-7
This book is a wonderful story about the excitement and wonderful traditions associated with summer and the end of school. Each page includes a 4-line verse that can be adaptedly sung to the tune of the familiar folk melody "Cindy." Read through the story once before sharing with the class as the rhythm of words may need to be slightly adjusted to fit the familiar tune.

In the traditional refrain, "Get along home, Cindy, Cindy," invite the children to sing the following summer refrain:

Summer Time! Summer Time!
Summer Time! I love the summer time!

There is also another title -- "The Night Before Summer Camp" that children may enjoy reading as well.  Change the response to "Summer Camp! Summer Camp! Summer Camp!  I love summer camp!"

Finally, the book selection can also be sung to the melody of the folk song "Clementine."

Enjoy the story and keep singing. :)

MELODY

TO BE POSTED SHORTLY.

STEADY BEAT - RHYTHM EGGS

Let's expand the Easter Egg experience from last week.  This week, take the eggs and add quarter notes and eighth notes to each egg.  Place the eggs in the basket.  As you read the story 10 Easter Egg Hunters, children will pull one egg out of the basket after each 4-line stanza and clap the rhythm pattern found on the egg after reading the repeated phrase "___ egg."  Each time another egg is found, an additional beat is added to the response.  For example, after the third egg is read, the children respond, "Three eggs," and then play the 3 beats found on the eggs.

Extension:  Have the children play the rhythm colors of the eggs pictured in the story after each stanza.  For instance, after the first egg is found, the picture shows a green egg.  The children would respond, "One egg.  Green."  After the second egg is found, they respond, "Two eggs.  Green!  Blue!"  The game continues as additional eggs are found and the response continues to grow sequentially.

MELODY - SOLFEGE EGGS

With Easter just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to provide another activity using all of those wonderful, "what do I do with them?" plastic easter eggs.  This is a simple activity, in that you simply purchase a bag of the plastic easter eggs and seperate the tops and bottoms.

Use a file folder and place tape lines (only 1 line for sol-mi activities) to represent the staff.  Have students create a B Section to an Easter or Spring song.  As children sing the song (A Section), move the eagg tops and bottoms above or below the line to create a sol-mi melody.

Extension 1:  Use more tape lines to create advanced B Section options.  For example, 2 lines could be used for mi-re-do activities.  I usually only use 1-line, 3-line and 5-line file folders.

Extension 2:  Use file folders and mini-eggs to create learning center activities.  Place the file folders (with tape lines) and mini-eggs in a learning center.  Have a collection of sentence strips cut to 6".  On each of the sentence strips, write solfege patterns using letters.  Example - s-m-l or s-m-d or d-r-m.  Have the children work in groups of 2.  Student 1 will draw a card and place the mini-eggs on the file folder lines.  Student 2 will sing the solfege pattern created with the mini-eggs.  Student 1 can assess Student 2 as the child's singing should match the sentence strip card.

STEADY BEAT - RHYTHM CARROTS

With Easter around the corner, I thought that an assessment of rhythm skills and time signature with a fun Easter theme might be engaging.  Purchase affordable Easter baskets, plastic or wooden carrots, and a wooded box at your local craft store.  If you can't find wooden carrots, use empty seed packets after you have planted carrots in your garden.  :)  I found felt baskets at Michael's for $1 each in a variety of colors.  You will also need sentence strip pieces (mine are 6") so that children can write the rhythm patterns they create to turn in at the end of the activity.

The wooden box will become your "garden" area.  Paint the wooden carrots and write a different rhythmic pattern on each carrot -- each carrot should equal 1 beat.  Example - 1 quarter note, 2 eighth notes.  Place the carrots in the "garden" box.  Affix time signatures on each basket.  Have children place carrots in each basket.  The rhythms of the carrots must add up to equal the number of beats indicated in the time signature.  For example, the basket with a time signature of 3/4 would have 3 carrots with a quarter note on each or 2 carrots with quarter notes on each and one carrot with 2 eighth notes.

After carrots have been put into the baskets, have children write the rhythm patterns in each basket on an assessment "menu" for their carrot dinner special.  This will have them writing rhythms and give you an opportunity to collect and assess their understanding of time signature.

Extension:  Add more complex rhythms for upper grades.  Change time signatures on baskets for more rhythm experiences.