The Clock Dance

Let's explore today a grade that I haven't talked about yet: FIRST! Oh first grade. So much energy, and very little capacity to read. That leaves me in quite a conundrum. How do I survive the very primary grades? Playlists.

There is a lot of singing that takes place in the younger classes. We have routines with interchangeable songs for our playlists. They usually run us 15 minutes or so, and are a great way for me to get all of the kids having a familiar background with some basics (like Mister Sun, Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me, and other kinds of nursery rhymes). However, another concept that us music teachers try to drill down at the younger grades is that of steady beat. I found a fabulous way to do this with my first graders and it has been on our playlist for 2 full months. Using Leroy Andersons "The Syncopated Clock", I created a dance that helps us keep the steady beat on different parts of our bodies, and to put some bigger movements together, while still counting the beat.

The video below is from the first day the students learned the dance in September. Needless to say (now 2 months later) they do all the counting themselves, and only receive a few cues from me. My classroom is full of cheers when the music comes on. Try it out in your classes and see if it is a hit!