On the first day of school, there are procedures I need to discuss, but I always want to open and close the class with fun musical experiences! Here are some ideas:
- Teach the school song
- Or if you don’t have a good school song, you could sing something patriotic (American patriotic songs).
- Sing a hello song that you continue to sing in the future.
- Reinforce your rules by singing a positive song about respect, friendship, behavior (Character Counts, Don’t Laugh at Me)
- Sing something that makes them laugh – silly songs
- Sing an active hand-clapping or movement song that you can continue to build on in upcoming classes.
- Start to learn their names (name songs)
On the first day of school, here are some of the things I discuss with all of my classes:
Find great songs!
- Alphabetical Index
- African American Spirituals
- Pentatonic Songs
- State Songs of the United States
- Songs with whole notes, half notes, sixteenth notes…
- Songs with melodies with so-mi, mi-so-la, and pentatonic scale
- And songs from lots of countries…
- Learn names of your students
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