Easy Lesson Ideas for Beginning Teachers

Heather Hicks

Theres a Spider on my...

A silly song that incorporates language arts through rhyming words and leads to lots of
giggles.
Learning Targets: I can use my singing voice.
I can improvise rhyming words.

*Move your spider to that part of your body and start rhyming!
Sample lyrics:
Theres a spider on my toe, and I think his name is _____ [Joe],
Theres a spider on my knee, and he likes to drink sweet ____ [tea],
Theres a spider on my arm, and his house is on a _____ [farm],
Theres a spider on my belly, and he loves peanut butter and ____ [jelly],
Theres a spider on my eye, and he likes to eat apple _____ [pie],
Theres a spider on my head, and he needs to go to ______ [bed],

Kentucky Road Trip

Break into groups and incorporate social studies content through making inferences about
locations and creating rhythms!
Learning Targets: I can speak and notate sixteenth notes in a phrase.
I can make inferences based on illustrations.
I can create and perform an eight beat rhythm using sixteenth notes.

*To share, have students board the bus and travel around the room to listen to each
stops creation. Try using the road trip poem for your travel soundtrack!

Winter Words
(melody from Orff Schulwerk Music For Children Vol. 1 by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman)

Use this melody to show students where to correctly place the time signature, bar lines,
and double bar line in a piece of music, and introduce the eighth note-two sixteenth
rhythm.
Learning Targets: I can sing and notate eighth note/two sixteenth notes in a phrase.
I can accompany a song on xylophones.

*Allow students to accompany the melody and demonstrate the new rhythm through
learning the following arrangement!

Special Thanks: to Dr. Rob Amchin, Kathryn Wigger, and Ashley Sumner for helping us
with these lessons!