Teach this song by rote.

Create or do actions to go with the song.

Listen to the first section of the song "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt".

Play the video again and sing along.

Notice how the singer gets quieter each time!

Watch a video on dynamics.

Make your own dynamics cards.

Copy the example that is shown.

Watch the class as they hold up the dynamics cards in the song

Hold up the correct dynamics card as you sing "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt".

Cut out your dynamics cards.

For this activity you'll need these cards:
f: stands for "forte" which means loud.
mf: stands for "mezzo forte" which means medium loud.
mp: stands for "mezzo piano" which means medium soft.
p: stands for "piano" which means soft.

Sing the song holding up the correct card for each section!

Listen to the "Surprise Symphony" by Franz Josef Haydn.

The first time you listen, pretend to be at a concert when you're very sleepy.
Pretend to sleep, then wake up in surprise when you hear a loud chord.

The second time you listen, find something to use for an instrument at home and play along.

Learn about the song "Obwisana"

Introduce song "Obwisana" by explaining that it is a children’s song from Ghana in West Africa. Find the country on a globe or a map of the world and show the students where it is located. Teach the song by rote. Play the game.

"Obwisana" is a stone passing game from Ghana. Pick up the rock on beat one, and on beat two, set the stone in front of the person on your right. When the students can successfully pass one stone, add another so two stones are being
passed at the same time. Continue adding stones as your students become more proficient. If they are studying rocks in class, you could use different kinds of rocks. Whoever holds the rock at the end of the song tells the class something about it.

You can also play this game with sticks and cups. Pass out a stick or a cup to each student, one at a time from a pile in front of you. This establishes the beat, and establishes the direction that you are going to pass in. After every student has a cup or a stick, sing and pass. Mark one of the sticks or cups. The student that has the marked stick or cup at the end of the song goes “out” and creates a new circle in the middle.