I have two goals for my students when they come to my program: 1) all my students feel that they can use their singing voice and 2) all students find connection and joy through music – however that may look. Coming back from Remote instruction, where it was hard to sing, I worried about how to get my kids feeling safe and excited about singing with others in the music room. One of the ways I chose to address singing was through Call & Response songs!
Call & Response songs are such a great tool for getting your students to sing together as a class, small groups, or individually. I knew a handful of call & response songs – the usual song we use like Kye, Kye, Kule, Skin and Bones, and No More Pie. But as I went digging deeper into the repertoire, there are some lovely little tunes to use at different ages and stages of development.
Who Fed the Chickens
One of my favorite songs to use with my K-1 students is Ella Jenkins’ song, Who Fed the Chickens. I love to start the year with farm songs and chants, and vocal exploration with animal sounds. Who Fed the Chickens has an easy M-D response for kids to sing too! Listen to Ella Jenkin’s perform the song below!
There are several ways to extend the activity. As my students become familiar with the song, we begin to brainstorm other chores we may be asked to do on the farm. We add those verses to the song as a way to explore creativity and composition. You can download a copy of the verses my students add to the song here. I also invite students to improvise new tonal responses for “I do!”
Who’s Got a Fish Pole?
Another favorite call & response song to use with second & third graders is Who’s Got a Fish Pole? I use this song with older students because the response varies in pitch each time it’s sung. It’s a great song to use to extend the range both high and low. It’s also a great tune to have students sing responses individually. You can differentiate responses.
Verse 2: Who’s got a fishline? … Fishline needs a hook.
Verse 3: Who’s got a fish hook? …Fish hook needs some bait.
Verse 4: Who’s got a cricket?…Cricket catch a fish.
Again, lots of ways to extend the activity. If you’re teaching solfege, have students sign the pitches they are singing. Invite students to audiate and perform a new tonal response. Have students write their own variation of the song. Could there be a school version like, “Who’s Got a Pencil? or a sports version? Who’s Got a Football? There are so many ways to play with this song and keep students singing both in groups and as individuals.
Down By the Bay
Of all the call & response songs, my hands-down favorite of my students is Down By the Bay! They love the silliness of the rhymes and echoing each phrase of the song.
If you’ve not heard the song before, one person (calls) sings the song. The group responds while the call holds the whole note. It creates a lovely harmony as well. I love to have students volunteer to sing a verse as a solo or duet while the class sings the response. Another fun extension is to have students create their own verses. I have an easy to use resource that introduces the song as well as has pages for extension as well. You can find it here.
Do you have a favorite call & response song to use in elementary music? Share it below!
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