singing the day away

Singing became a staple tool in my classroom my second year when I found myself teaching, reteaching and teaching our classroom routines and procedures some more and needing for my new kinders to not be rolling on the ground while being taught this piece that lays a foundation for our entire year.


I found then and there the power that songs and chants have with kinders. If you've spent any time with five and six year olds you've noticed they have a knack for tuning out things they've heard before, but love listening to favorite stories, movies and songs time and time again - so wherein lies the difference?

Singing works for me to have great classroom management skills, teach concepts and specific skills.

Now I find myself at any moment making up sing-songy directions to reinforce what I expect out of my kinders and it brings out the best in all of us. Over the years, I have made mental notes of the lyrics and tunes that have seemed to help make a few *clicks* in students' minds and for different topics as well. Here are five audio downloads that I sing combined into one freebie file:

 {R is a Bully}

 {Vowels}

{Sorting}

{vowels, Cc, r-controlled vowels, sorting, graphing}

I also love using a chant format to review sight words. Just as you practice the entire alphabet chart, we do something similar with sight words - in fact I have my sight word chant laminated to the back of our abc chart to make it simple to get to everyday. Then we zero in on a song to teach each sight word so that my kinders can recognize it by sight but also spell it independently.

  

I have to admit that this chant combined with these songs are one of my favorite things I have created and have been crucial to getting my kids off on the right foot for learning to read! I love using familiar tunes, like nursery rhymes and Christmas songs to build off of so that they are already catchy and just need a little learning infusion! 

I've made 31 now that I can use at the drop of a hat and combined them with word wall cards and two sight word chants easy for anyone to use (even if you're not a self professed singer)!

{Sing to Learn Sight Words}

More Sight Words

five days, five minutes

More Language Arts

playdough make the best word work center

guided reading - guided setup

kindergarten word work manipulative ideas

developing phonemic awareness

.com - a guided reading story

Injecting Rhyming into Your Day

Wherein lies the difference? Ever have a jingle or commercial you can't get out of your head? The music makes the difference!

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- Leslie

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