Grade 2 Lesson 35
Teaching Procedures
Warm up with “Oh, My Aunt Came Back”
Review "Oh My Aunt Came Back".
The aunt went to Japan and in this lesson, we'll learn another song from Japan and a song about a Chinese fan.
Review “Frog in the Middle”
Have the students read the rhythms for this song. Teach the melody of the song by rote and play the game.
Review the game for “Frog in the Middle”
Students form a circle. Choose one student to be the frog in the middle. The “frog” stands with eyes shut and arms outstretched. While students sing the song, the “frog” turns. At the end of the song, the two students closest to the frog’s hands step out of the circle and race in the same direction. The first one back to tag one of the frog’s hands wins. This variant of the game would work for distanced or no-touch classrooms as is.
Teach “Chinese Fan”
Teach verse one of the song by rote. Try singing the song with all of the actions.
Sing and do the movements for “Chinese Fan”
Sing the song and add the actions. The first time, fan with one hand; the second time, two hands; the third time, two hands, one foot; the fourth time two hands, two feet; the last time two hands, two feet, and head. These are the “silly” actions. You could have your students create movement to the song using fans that they make, or using scarves.
Teach “Kagome”
Teach this song by rote. If you are not comfortable with the Japanese, use the pause button on the recording to teach by rote. Play a phrase and pause. Have students echo the recording. Unpause and play the next phrase.
The song means:
The bird in the cage, the bird in the cage.
When will the bird get out of the cage?
On a dark night near morning, the crane and turtle took a step.
Who is right behind you?
Denise Tip: To make the game easier for North American students to play, I sometimes shorten what is sung - sing only one line of the song.
Learn the game with “Kagome”
The students stand in a circle holding hands. One student is “It” and stands in the center, blindfolded or with their hands covering their eyes. The students step around in the circle while they sing the song. When the song ends, they must stop. “It” then tries to guess which student is standing directly behind them. Choose a new “It” and repeat the game.
Move with Plates to Tchaikovsky's “Bluebird"
Move with plates to "Bluebird" by Tchaikovsky.
If you don't have plates, use your hands.
Learn about Tchaikovsky
Watch the video to learn about Tchaikovsky, composer of "Bluebird".
