Maracas Song to Reinforce Sight Words and Math

The "Maracas" song (from Music K-8, Vol. 16, No. 4) is really nice for my recorder students (third graders), but I find it equally valuable for grades K-5 students for reinforcing sight words and math facts. I teach the children to continue the pattern of saying "Maracas" every 4th measure. (We do a snake dance around the room playing our maracas and freezing when we say the word "Maracas.") The classroom teachers give me sight words that the children are working on, and then we read the sight word instead of saying "Maracas." I extended this to math facts also. The fifth graders like the song as well. They play the chord pattern using Boomwhackers® and keyboards.