and Temple Yards

Studu Guzde
TeachingILearnin Sequence Level: early childhood, K-4
1. Describe the function of the song. (It is a counting-out rhyme.)
Find or recall counting-out rhymes common in the United States, such as those
offered below. Encourage students to demonstrate others from their own cultural
backgrounds.
"One potato, two potato, three potato, four
Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more."
"Engine, engine, number nine,
Going down Chicago Line,
If the train should jump the track,
Do you want your money back? [Child answers "yes" or "no"]
Y-E-S spells yes, and you are not it."
2. Listen to the recording:
Does this song have a steady pulse? (Yes; most counting-out rhymes do.)
What is the meter of the song? (Duple.)
Keep the duple meter by tapping closed fists on the lap (beat 1) and clapping
(beat 2).
3. Prepare to sing the song:
Sing exercise #2. The teacher sings suggested tonal patterns, followed by student
imitation. Teacher and students may improvise other patterns that utilize twq
three and four pitches of the song, with or without solfege syllables.
-Review the pitch components of the song by singing suggested tonal patterns,
then challenge students to sing the entire song with solfege syllables and hand
signals, if appropriate, slowly at first and then with increasing speed.
Exercise 2
4. Sing the song:
Sing together while keeping the duple meter as in (2) above or by pounding the
left closed fist with the right and vice versa.
Divide the group into units of four or five participants, and choose one person in
each group to count stacked fists while the others sing the song.
Emphasize the pulse with a muted drum beat while the group sings and pounds
their own fists or steps the rhythm.