I had some wonderful teachers and children sing with me last week when I visited DC.
Isn't that the cutest shirt? And how about that adorable bulletin board!
ABC Tunes
Did you know that the traditional tune we use to sing the A B C’s is also the tune for “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “Twinkle Little Star”?
Here are several other tunes that you can use to sing the ABC’s. Give it a try!
“Amazing Grace”
“Braham’s Lullabye”
Theme from Gilligan’s Island
“100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”
“Mary Had a Little Lamb”
“The House of the Rising Sun”
“Coming Round the Mountain”
Hint! You might want to practice before doing it in front of your class.
ABC Actions
Clap on the consonants and hop on the vowels as you sing.
March, tiptoe, disco (finger up in the air and then cross the midline and point down) as you sing.
Use a monster voice (loud), mouse voice (soft), turtle voice (slow), or a racehorse voice (fast).
*Encourage your students to suggest other voices and movements.
ABC Rap Clap
Begin a pattern by slapping thighs once and clapping twice.
A (slap on the letter and then clap twice)
B (slap, clap, clap)
C (slap, clap, clap)
D….Z
ABC Tae Bo
I just took my first Tae Bo class and loved it because it made my brain work as hard as my body. I think your students would get a “kick” out of doing a modified Tae Bo to learn – even though I would not have them do any kicks. Simply standing and punching across the midline would be great for the body and brain.
*Self-Regulation – Before starting remind children that they must keep their hands in their own space. If they touch someone else or get out of control they will have to sit down!
ABC Tunes
Did you know that the traditional tune we use to sing the A B C’s is also the tune for “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “Twinkle Little Star”?
Here are several other tunes that you can use to sing the ABC’s. Give it a try!
“Amazing Grace”
“Braham’s Lullabye”
Theme from Gilligan’s Island
“100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”
“Mary Had a Little Lamb”
“The House of the Rising Sun”
“Coming Round the Mountain”
Hint! You might want to practice before doing it in front of your class.
ABC Actions
Clap on the consonants and hop on the vowels as you sing.
March, tiptoe, disco (finger up in the air and then cross the midline and point down) as you sing.
Use a monster voice (loud), mouse voice (soft), turtle voice (slow), or a racehorse voice (fast).
*Encourage your students to suggest other voices and movements.
ABC Rap Clap
Begin a pattern by slapping thighs once and clapping twice.
A (slap on the letter and then clap twice)
B (slap, clap, clap)
C (slap, clap, clap)
D….Z
ABC Tae Bo
I just took my first Tae Bo class and loved it because it made my brain work as hard as my body. I think your students would get a “kick” out of doing a modified Tae Bo to learn – even though I would not have them do any kicks. Simply standing and punching across the midline would be great for the body and brain.
*Self-Regulation – Before starting remind children that they must keep their hands in their own space. If they touch someone else or get out of control they will have to sit down!
Guard Position – Stand, make fists with your hands, and put them up by your face.
Talk – Say the letters as you punch from right to left.
Sounds – Make the sound for each letter as you punch.
Words – Say a word that starts with each letter as you punch.
Backwards – Say the alphabet backwards as you punch.
Count – Count forwards, backwards, skip count, etc. as you punch.
ABC Skiing
Not into Tae Bo? You can do the same thing as you pretend to ski. Bend knees, grab your poles and swish back and forth across your body as you say the alphabet.
