Play along with sticks to “Ame Ame”

Tell students they'll be learning some rain songs in this lesson.
The first rain song is "Ame Ame" from Japan.
Play sticks (or clap) along with the song!

Translation:
Raining, raining, how it’s raining rain a little more
Mother’s bringing my umbrella, it can rain and pour.
Pitter, patter, pitter, patter, drip, drip, drop.

Yoshi Shichi was a Japanese exchange teacher at Notre Dame High School in Red Deer.
His wife Harumi and daughter Ayane were kind enough to sing this Japanese children’s song for me.

Learn about the song “Ame Ame”

Read the concept slides to your students.

Optional: Learn the Japanese words to “Ame Ame”

Optional: Try learning the Japanese words to "Ame Ame"
Play a line and have the students sing it back.
You can adjust the playback speed of the audio if it's easier to slow it down.

Review “Spaceworms”

Review “Spaceworms”. Create movement to the music. (Sock puppets are fun!)

Do an interactive word composition with “Spaceship and Moon”

I do - Model how to create a word rhythm composition, and play it for your students using body percussion, found sounds, or instruments.

We do - Invite students to help make a new composition.
Decide how to play.

You do - Students can do this activity on devices.
If you don't have devices, a manipulative version of this activity follows.

Do a word composition with “Spaceship and Moon”

These are manipulatives for students to use in creating their own word rhythm composition.

Teach “Rain, Rain Go Away”

Watch and Listen to the Song "Rain Rain."

Watch and point to notes as they go higher and lower.

Play it again and sing along.

Learn the Pitter Patter Poem

Learn the Pitter Patter Poem.

Try adding sounds to the poem.

Choose instruments or found sounds to add to the pitter patter poem.
Soft taps on a hand drum or quietly clicking sticks could sound good.

Or use found sounds:
Tap a finger on a table to make the sound of rain.
-or-
Tap a finger into the palm of your hand.
-or-
Tap a pencil on the counter.

Add sounds to other parts of the story

Find instruments for "swish, swish, swish, swish" and the "SPLASH!"
Sometimes students like to use voices for the SPLASH!"

Find instruments or found sounds to go with these parts of the story:
- The windshield wipers go: Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Carter and Anna did cartwheels in a puddle:
- Splash!

Use the song “Rain, Rain Go Away” and the Pitter Patter Poem in a story

Use the song "Rain, Rain Go Away" and the Pitter Patter Poem in a story.
Watch and listen to the story.
When the Pitter Patter poem and the other sound words come, say them and do your sounds.

When the song comes, sing along!

For the teacher: There is a literacy study: Using Nonverbal Sound Effects to Support English Word Learning in First-Grade Music Classrooms: Students develop deeper knowledge of words that were taught with an associated sound effect. Read more:
https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rrq.280

Teach “If All the Raindrops”

Introduce the song as a listening example. Have the students play the copycat game as they listen. In the copycat game, the teacher or a student creates movements to the beat, and all the students copy. Change movements about every 4 measures. After listening to the song, ask the students questions to see if they can recall any of the lyrics.

For example:
- What does the singer want the raindrops to be? (lemon drops and gumdrops)
- What does the singer want snowflakes to be? (candy bars and milkshakes)
- What does the singer want sunbeams to be? (bubble gum and ice cream)
- Where does the singer stand? (outside)

Teach the refrain by rote. Listen to the song again, and sing the refrain.

Sing “If All the Raindrops”

Watch and listen to song "If All the Raindrops".

Play the video again and sing along.

Optional Activity 1: Print the coloring page for “If All the Raindrops”

Optional activity 1: Print the coloring page for the song.

Have students color the page that illustrates the verses of the song.
-or-
Print the little book that follows. (This might be better for grade 1 than Kindergarten.)

Optional Activity 2 : If you have a printer, make a minibook of “If All the Raindrops”

Optional activity 2 : If you have a printer, make a minibook of the song. The images shown are the old format little book. In supporting resources, the easy to make mini book is also given.

Sing “We’ve Got the Whole World”

Listen to Verse 1 of "We've Got the Whole World" for Earth Day.
This song will be familiar to many students.

Play the video again and sing all the verses.

Sing and move to “Skinnamarink”