Using Camp Fire Songs in Elementary Music

Some of my fondest memories are of summer camp!  I attended many summer music camps and loved all of the traditions, silliness, and singing!  I still remember the songs we sang before a meal, around the camp fire, or with friends!  Singing camp fire songs can be a great source of fun and enjoyment with kids and creates a sense of community.  But camp fire songs can also be a source of great content too!

Creating Community

Whether you spend one day or a few weeks singing camp fire songs, there are some simple things you can do to create community.  First, make sure your children are singing in a circle.  Circles are symbolic of being whole or complete.  Every child in your room is an important part of the whole!  Consider building a “faux” camp fire using construction paper or tissue paper.  I recently found camp fire pillows at Target in their Dollar Spot.  Simple, little things to add to the ambience and create a shared memory add to the sense of community.

Camp Musiwaka

We all know how crazy the end of the school year can get.  Student behavior can be challenging as our anticipation or stress levels rise at the end of the year.  To help build a sense of accountability, my room becomes “Camp Musiwaka.”  Each child in each class is assigned a “cabin” and they sit with their cabin in small groups for music.  Cabins can earn points for their participation, behavior, team spirit, and creativity.  The winning cabin of each class gets to hang in our tent for the next music class.  Is it silly?  Yes.  Does it work?  You bet!  (Our tent is a pop-up beach tent that is fully open on one side.)

Content, Content, Content

We love singing silly camp fire songs but did you know there is so much content you can cover as well?

• As you learn a song, ask your students to identify the meter of the song.  Keep a tally – are most songs in Duple or Triple meter?
• As you learn a song, ask your students to identify the tonality of the song.  Are most songs in Major or Minor tonality?
• Identify a mystery tonal or rhythm pattern and see if students can find it in a song!
• Give a cabin challenge and ask students to create a rhythmic or tonal ostinato to a song.  Bonus points if they add instruments or teach it to the rest of the class.
• Give a cabin challenge to change the meter to a song!  Can they morph a song from Duple to Triple or vice versa?  This is a great challenge for older students!
• Give a cabin challenge to change change the tonality of a song!  Can they change a song from Major to Minor or vice versa?  Another great challenge for older students!
• Can they write a new lyric to a song?  Change the lyric of the song?  Bonus points if they perform it for the rest of the class!
• Can they create an interlude to a song?  Perform it between each verse!
• Can they sing the chord root harmony to a song?  Bonus points if they can they show the hand signs for the chords!
• Can they sing the chord tones (full chord) to a song?
• Can they perform the harmony to a song on an instrument (e.g. ukulele)?  Bonus points if they can accompany another “cabin” while they sing!

There are so many ways to ensure that your students are learning and having fun at the end of the school year!  Need some more inspiration?  Check out my Camp Fire Song resource on TeachersPayTeachers!  It includes a great variety of songs, student songbooks, and a ukulele chord book as well!

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