Songs About Plants and Flowers To Sing In Your Classroom
It is no secret that true magic comes into a classroom through music. One of the first things I did as a young teacher was learn to play basic chords on my trusty guitar. I found that I could play about any song I wanted, simply using the notes A, G, and D. And, with those three simple notes, classroom magic began.
As I move from theme- to-theme in my classroom, the music and finger plays I use are carefully selected for not only enjoyment, but to teach important thematic content and reading skills. One theme I love doing with young children is Plants and Flowers. There are two songs that I will use year-after-year because they are not only lovely songs, they also teach concepts, and are timeless.
Hap Palmer’s song Growing is a great way to connect the concept of plants and metamorphosis to a student’s own growth throughout a school year. The song Inch by Inch is a beautiful song that simplifies the growing process in a lovely way.
Included with all of our thematic units are great songs and finger plays that I love to sing with my students. Most are original words set to familiar tunes such as, A Little Seed, sung to the tune, I’m a Little Teapot. Parts of a Plant, sung to Farmer in the Dell, and Watermelon Pie, a clapping chant that encourages rhythm and intonation.
Another skill I like to teach when using songs is signing. I found that children love to sign, and it truly increases reading skills such as comprehension! A great internet site to use is Signing Savvy. This website will lead you to the correct signs for just about any song. A song I love to sing and sign is Flowers and the Rainbow.
The benefits of using song and finger plays are endless. Two that are truly evident and important to young children as they grow into fluent readers are:
Vocabulary: When teaching a song, it is important that vocabulary is richly developed as the song is learned. Vocabulary, through song, aids students to transfer that knowledge to the written word when reading text.
Prosody: Prosody is the rhythm, stress, emotion, and intonation of speech. It brings important information in text forward beyond the written, literal level. Students that use prosody when they read, have better fluency and comprehension.
Because I know that children receive so many benefits from music, I never hesitate to add songs to my classroom routine. Especially, for both the students and myself, it’s just plain fun! Below are a few examples of our new product line, Meet the Core Standards While Singing!
