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As a music teacher, I try to encourage academics in music as much as possible. That does not mean that I sacrifice musical integrity or that we just read textbooks all day, but it does mean that I try to fit in math, science, social studies, and reading wherever possible. This lesson, with Five Little Monkeys, incorporates math and reading perfectly!
I am pretty sure I got part of this lesson I got from another website, but I cannot find it anywhere. I had already planned on using this rhyme, and the high/low fit perfectly. And if you can know what website the high and low part came from, please let me know so I can link it!
You can also do this without the book, although without the book, there is no reading aspect to it. You can read extension ideas at the bottom of the post.
You can read about my 3-5 Boomwhacker and Science lesson here.
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Five Little Monkeys
Focus: I can differentiate between high and low. Materials:
- Five Little Monkeys book (get it here!)
- White boards
- Erasers
- Expo markers
- Start by gathering the students together and reading the book Five Little Monkeys. Most of my students knew the book already, so just be aware that may happen. Have students hold up five fingers at the beginning and lose one each time. After every monkey ask (So five take away one is what?).
- PS: At least in Georgia, Kindergarten phrases it as “take away”. During 1st grade, they learn subtraction, but depending on what time of the year this is done, you may still need to say “take away” instead of “subtract”.
- Tell them that we will read it again, but this time a little bit silly. We are going to use our high voice and our low voice. So we will read the first part normal, but when we get to “Mama called the doctor and the doctor said” we use our high voice, and when we do “No more monkeys jumping on the bed”, we use our low voice. Demonstrate this for the students.
- After demonstrating the first time, allow students to join with you if they have figured out the words. They can also do some simple actions (Hold up the number of fingers for the monkeys, pretend to bob their head on bumped their head, and then put hands up for the high part, and down for the low part.).
- Go through the rhyme again, but this time, after each monkey, have a few students write on the board (or have everyone write on their own board) the subtraction problem. So the first time it will be 5-1=4. Pick different students each time so that everyone gets a turn. Be prepared to fix some of the problems, even though it feels like they ought to be able to do it themselves.
- Performance time: Have two students come up to the front. Everyone in class will do the first part of Five Little Monkeys. One student will have a solo in their high voice on “Mama called the doctor and the doctor said.” And one student will have a solo in their low voice on “No more monkeys jumping on the bed.”
- Continue until time runs out or everyone has had a chance.
Also read: Free 3-5 Music Lesson: Extra Beat, Take a Seat
Extensions:
- Students could play rhythms or keep a steady beat on instruments.
- Students could act out the scene, starting with five “monkeys”, a mom, and a doctor.
- Students could write down each of the math problems and then draw pictures to accompany each one.
My students (even my second graders) really enjoyed this lesson—even more than I anticipated! They were asking for weeks if they could do the Five Little Monkeys rhyme. From a teaching standpoint, it is great. Students keep the steady beat, move with actions, differentiate between high and low, and use reading and math skills. Talk about a win for everyone!
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Click the picture below to check out the book!
What is your favorite book to use with you students? How do you incorporate academics into your classroom? Let us know in the comments!
Happy teaching!
This is wonderful! My school is working toward STEAM Certification, and I am looking for meaningful ways to still be true to music while supporting this effort. Thank you!
Awesome! There are tons of ways that you can incorporate little bits of STEAM without giving up music!