This is a singing game from Hungary. It is an excellent song for reading rhythms and melody and for teaching form. It will also provide an opportunity for students to create and play accompaniments, and dramatize a song. Teach the song either by having the students read it, or by rote, and play the game.

Read the rhythms with the class. This is an opportunity to teach the children that eighth notes can be beamed in groups of four. Eight notes are not always beamed in groups of two.

Read the solfa if you've taught it. (so-la-so-mi)

Alternately, teach the song by rote.

One student pretends to be the wolf and hides. Form a circle with the others and circle around the room. At the end of the song the students ask, “Wolf, are you there?” The wolf makes up answers like, “I’m brushing my teeth,” or “I’m combing my hair.” When the wolf says, “I’m coming to eat you!” he runs toward the students, trying to catch one, while they try to reach the safety of the “den.” The student who is caught then becomes a wolf too, and the game continues until all the players have been captured.

Denise Tip: In my classroom, we’ve adapted the game so that the wolf has a time limit (seven seconds) to eat (tag) as many students as he can. Each student that is tagged sits down so we can count how many students the wolf ate. Then we choose a new wolf. We keep score, and the wolf who tags the most students is the winner.

Discuss families of unpitched instruments.
Use it as an opportunity to review the families of unpitched instruments.

Artie Almeida likes to have a "tub" for instruments of each family.
Label the tub with the instrument name. Put the tub inside a hula hoop.
Divide the children into 4 groups and have each group sit around one instrument family.

Make up a poem about instruments, giving each group an opportunity to improvise. For Example:
1. I like to play the woods, the woods, the woods.
I like to play the woods so I play them every day. Woods improvise 16 beats.

2. I like to play the metals, the metals, the metals.
I like to play the metals so I play them every day. Woods improvise 16 beats.

3. I like to play the drums...
4. I like to shake and scrape....

Download

Teach song by rote. Add unpitched instruments as suggested in the lyrics of the song.

Denise Tip: When I teach this song, I have all the students who are playing one instrument sit in a line together. At the end of the song, I have all the students set their instruments down on the floor in front of them, step over their instruments and sit down in front of a new instrument. The front line steps over their instrument and walks to an instrument in the back row. This way, the students get experience playing more of a variety of instruments.

Create actions to go with the other verses of the song.

Invite the children to make new verses.
For example: His toes were made of ice-cream...
His knees were made of chocolate...
His arms were made of ribs...

Teach "When I was One" by rote. Sing a phrase and have students echo, or play a phrase and have kids echo.

Watch the kids demo video and copy the movements.

Optional: If it's possible to print the storybook of the song from supporting resources, have students illustrate the song. The mini-book version can be easily created on a photocopy machine.

Alternate plan: Illustrate your favorite part of the song.

Ask the children to tell you their favorite songs, games or activities that they've done during the month. List the songs/games/activities on the board, then have the student vote for their favorites. Conduct the votes with their eyes closed. As you work through the list of games/songs/activities, review the concepts that were taught in the activity. I'm often surprised at the activities that are the children's favorites!