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The Power of Cumulative Songs.

Today, the post is dedicated to a series of activities I did with my 1st graders with cumulative songs.

Initially, we played a series of games and sang cumulative songs, such as: My Hand on My Head, Tooty Taa, Green Grass Grows All Around, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Today is Monday...

After understanding how this structure works, with a verse that is repeated and then adding other parts, the students had to choose a theme and make an original composition. They could work in small groups, pairs or individually.

During classes, students received feedback to ensure that the basic structure was being followed. They could do it in Portuguese or English, or bilingual if they could make sense of them, and they could use the resources available to help with vocabulary and ideas.

Once ready, the students had to perform the composition, which was recorded, and made the necessary adjustments. With the recordings finished, we shared the results between the classes.

What impressed me the most in these activities was the level of commitment of the students, as the cumulative songs demand a series of skills that are not yet fully developed in students this age.

They gained and used a very large amount of vocabulary, they were able to use a structure that is also common in literature (The Enormous Turnip, The Napping House, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly) and they were also able to put their creativity on display.

TIP: If your students' level of understanding and vocabulary is still elementary, instead of an original composition, you can propose the creation of a version of one of the songs. I suggest you start with 'My Hand on My Head' and 'Today is Monday'.

Now it is your turn to put this into practice and let me know in the comments below what your students created. 

Share, comment, like and stay tuned.

See you soon!

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