Submitted by Kristin Goodwin, Groton, New York
Idea posted September 14, 2004
As a final activity to my fourth grade musical theater unit, I teach the song "My Favorite Things" from Sound of Music, and then I help the students discover that each verse has the same number of beats. I break down each line of words from the original song and then have the students write down several five-beat phrases (i.e., from the original song - "Rain-drops-on-ro-ses" to "sprink-les-on-ice-cream") and two or three ten-beat phrases (i.e., from the original song: "brown-pa-per-pack-ages-tied-up-with-string" to "rid-ing-four-wheel-ers-out-side-with-my-friends"). The students then submit their ideas to the approval of the rest of the class, and they vote. The song requires twelve five-beat phrases and three ten-beat phrases. I type up the finished copy and give each student a copy.
I have done this for the past five years, and the kids love doing it every year.