Sing the song for the students with the solfa hand signs or arm motions, showing how the melody goes up and down. Have the students sing the song with hand signs or arm motions. Teach and play the game.

Stand in a single circle. While you sing, pass a stick around the circle. One student is outside the circle holding a pair of cymbals. When the outside student crashes the cymbals, the person who is holding the stick is “out” and becomes the next cymbal crasher. If two people have hands on the stick, they are both out and share the cymbal crashing responsibility jointly. If someone drops the stick, they are also out.

This song provides an opportunity to teach or reinforce ABA sectional form. Teach "Love Grows Under the Wild Oak Tree” by rote. Teach the hand jive pattern to perform with the A section of the song. Have students create their own movements for the B section or use the suggestions given in the song's song activities PDF. The hand jive is a 16 beat pattern that repeats. A repeated pattern that you perform with a song is an ostinato.

Copy the movements shown in the video.

Have students create their own movements for the B section or use the suggestions given in the song's song activities PDF.

To reinforce the idea of ABA form, you might want to give each of your students an Oreo cookie. Eat the chocolate layer during the first A section. During the B section, eat the white layer. During the second A section, eat the other chocolate cookie layer.

Form in music is the way the music is organized. Phrase form refers to how the phrases in a song are organized. Lower case letters are used to show phrase form. Sectional form refers to how sections of the music are organized. Upper case letters are used to show sectional form. In “Love Grows Under the Wild Oak Tree” there are three sections. We use ABA to show the form of this piece. Ask the students "What is the form of 'Love Grows Under the Wild Oak Tree?'" (The form is ABA).

Teach "I Sent a Valentine” to the students by rote. Teach the game and play it.

This is an adaptation of "Drop the Handkerchief". Have the students that are playing the game make a circle. Choose one student to be “It.” “It” walks around the circle while the song is being sung. At the end of the song, “It” touches three students in succession on the words, “And I won’t bite you.” The student that is touched on the words, “And I will bite you!” leaves the circle and tries to tag “It” before “It” gets inside the circle. After they have raced, ask the two runners to sit inside the circle. Then you know who has had turns and who hasn’t.

Teacher note: We don't have a kids demo for "I Sent a Valentine". If your students would like to see themselves on MusicplayOnline please review the submission requirements here: https://help.musicplay.ca/can-i-submit-a-kids-demo

Read the slide with students.

Connie Tailfeathers is from southern Alberta, Canada. She is from the Blackfoot Nation. "Gitsigakomim" means “I love you” or "I honor you" in Blackfoot. “Na-a” means "mother". This song honors your parents. You can sing the song to honor anyone in your school who has done something special by substituting the student’s name for “Na-a.” On a map, show the students where the Blackfoot live in the southern part of Alberta. Teach the song by rote

Introduce the song, teaching it by rote and playing rhythm instruments with it. When your students know the song well, you could try a stick game with it. Form a seated circle.

Sing "The Music Time Is Over".