Ho, Ho, Ho!

Here's a song I bet you know:

Well, here's a holiday take on it:

If you don't know the song or dance, it's really sweet and the kiddos eat it up!  It's perfect for 1st grade and working on quarter rest.  It can be brought back in 2nd grade to prepare re.

Formation: single circle, with all students facing a partner
Action:

1. Phrase 1: pat partner's hands three times (on the text, "Ho, ho, ho!"
2. Phrase 2: pretend to be looking at Santa Claus
3. Phrase 3: trade place with partner (I have them place their hands on each other's hands or hold hand.
4. Phrase 4: pat partner's hands three times and jump a half-turn on the rest so that they are facing a new partner.

Here's a PowerPoint I created that I will be using with my 1st graders in the next couple weeks.  We just presented quarter-rest and are singing & reading songs that practice this new concept.

We start by reading the text while we sing:

Then we sing and keep a steady beat:

Next, we sing and clap the rhythm:

Then we replace the text with the known, most familiar rhythms, ta & ti-ti:

Finally, we read it with the newest rhythmic element:

I've created some flash cards that we will use to reinforce the rhythms.  One fun thing to do with this is play "Clap what you don't see."  They way you play this is pick 4 cards (with older grades you can use more cards).  The student practice reading each of the cards one-by-one.  Next, you have them try reading all four cards without stopping in-between songs.  After a few times reading all the cards, turn the first card around.  They must still clap all the cards but they must remember the rhythm of the first card.  Gradually, all the cards are turned around so that all they are seeing are the back (blank) sides of the rhythm cards.  This is a fun memory game and they LOVE it!

This assessment is very similar to those that I created for the older grades with "Deck the Halls" and "Up on the Housetop", but simpler for my younger kiddos.  One one side of the card is printed the Santas and on the other card are the rhythms of the song.  The students receive four cards and must put the rhythms in order to match the song.  You don't have to print out the Santa side, but it makes it more visually appealing. ;)

If you would like a copy of this file, you can download this PDF file for free from my Teachers pay Teachers store.