Do a note value ball bouncing activity

Point to the square and bounce the ball to the square's note value.

Play along with "Favorite Rag"

Review “Friends Forever”

Sing the song "Friends Forever"
This could be a song for a program about friends.

Review the choreography for “Friends Forever”

Do the full choreography for “Friends Forever”

Optional: Review the bucket drumming arrangement for "Friends Forever"

Review “Let’s Catch a Rooster”

Read the rhythms using rhythm names. This song uses all the new rhythms that have been taught in fourth grade. Sing the melody using note names or solfa. Teach the melody by rote if your students are not sight-singing fluently. When the melody is learned in unison, try it as a round. Try the round first in two parts and when students are good at this, try it in three and then four parts. The round is recorded in two parts.

Play the game “Let’s Catch a Rooster”

Watch to see how the kids play the game.

Game Directions: You can play the game as a chase game or try this variant. Form two circles - inside, outside. Choose two racers who leave the circles and hide somewhere in the classroom. Place a rubber chicken in the middle of the inside circle. The teacher now creates a hole in the outside circle and a hole in the inside circle by moving two students apart. Sing the song. At the end of the song, the two racers try to be the first to find the opening in the outside circle and get through it and then the opening to the inside circle to pick up the rubber chicken. The racer who gets to the chicken first wins. It’s kind of like racing through a maze.

Optional: Play "Let's Catch a Rooster" on ukuleles or guitars

If you are playing this song on Boomwhackers substitute the C7 for a C chord.
F = F A C
C = C E G

Create a cup game for “Yankee Doodle”

Use bean bags with patriotic fabrics or use red, white and blue bean bags; or do this with cups as a cup game. Start by teaching just one pattern. When students are successful, introduce the other patterns.

Pattern 1:
8x Beat 1 clap
Beat 2 clap
Beat 3 pick up bean bag
Beat 4 pass (set bean bag down in front of the person on their right)
Say: clap, clap, pick, pass

Pattern 2:
8x Beat 1 R.H. goes up to forehead in salute position
Beat 2 R.H. moves out from forehead in a salute
Beat 3 R.H. picks up bean bag
Beat 4 R.H. passes bean bag to their neighbors
Say: attention, salute, pick, pass

Pattern 3:
8x Beat 1-2 pat, pat
Beat 3-4 clap, clap
Beat 5-6 pat, pat
Beat 7-8 pick up bean bag, pass
Say: pat, pat, clap, clap, pat, pat, pick, pass