When I Was a Baby

K-6, Music and Science (20-30 minutes)

Materials

“When I Was a Baby” from Jump Jim Joe: Great Singing Games for Children, New England Dancing Masters Productions (includes CD), life cycle handouts/visuals; my university class also recorded this traditional singing game on youtube (see below); some space for movement

Standards
Science (life cycles)
Music (traditional chant, creating new lyrics)
Dance (creating actions and non-locomotor movement sequences)
Language Arts (group collaboration, composing text)
Social Studies (the role of music in various cultures)

Process

• Learn “When I Was a Baby” and sing it as a class on multiple occasions
• Discuss the purposes/functions of this singing game
• Discuss the human life cycle relative to the game
• Explore additional ways to keep the beat throughout the game
• As a class, adapt the parts of the singing game to include additional or different parts of the life cycle.
• As a class or in groups (depending on additional help available in class) review the life cycles of various animals or insects and adapt them to the singing game (It might be helpful to use this sentence and fill in the blanks: “When I was a (stage in life cycle) . . . this is what I did. I went (action) this-a-way . . .”)
• Discuss elements of a quality performance; practice and refine performances

Assessment
Video record the final performances, view, and discuss as a class