Use guessing games to assess pitch matching.

“Mr. Potato Head” is a guessing game. You need to purchase a potato head toy or create a visual. All students must close their eyes and hold hands out as they sing the song. Give out three or four of the body parts to students. While eyes remain shut, the teacher sings, “Who has the arm?” and the student who has it sings back, “I have the arm.” Continue for all the parts that you’ve given out. Then have the students open their eyes, and ask them to guess who has the arm, feet, eyes, etc.

Alternative games exist in the song activities PDF of this song.

Use the song to prepare the note do. Students could sing the song and show the notes go higher and lower. Show students the note highlights video. If you have already taught do, have the students sing the song with hand signs, or notate one or more phrases of the melody on individual staff boards.

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.

Create your own movements and sing along.

Teachers: a parachute activity is demonstrated in kids demo 1.

If you can use a parachute, view this activity in the song list.

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.

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.

Look at the forest creatures in the image.

Clap the name of the critter.
Decide if it is one sound or two?

If it's possible to print the worksheet, you could have students complete it.

Sing "The Music Time is Over."