Color Song Small Group Time Activity

“Color Song” Small Group Time Activity Developed by M. Speranza Pictures from Teri Kenyon’s RPPP class at School #23

Before doing this activity, children should be familiar with the original “Color Song” song card from the Music Building Blocks website (www.rcsdk12.org/prek/blocks). I draw their attention to the long and short notes/sounds as they sing it.

Preparation: In each child’s basket, have several strips of 3 or 4 different colors of construction paper approximately 1” x 5” (I use colors other than those on the original song card because this helps children to create their own song rather than copy the one they know), scissors, liquid glue or glue stick, and a piece of plain paper. For back-up materials for the group, have other color strips, crayons and markers available.

NYS Prekindergarten Foundation for Common Core Domain 2: Physical Development and Health – 5 c, d Domain 4: Communication, Language and Literacy, Part A (Approaches to Comm.) –2 d; 4 d; 5 c Domain 5: Cognition and Knowledge of the World - Mathematics – Geometry 2; The Arts – 1 a,d,e; 2 a,b,c;

Possible HighScope KDIs: A3,6; C17; D21,22; E34,38; F40,41

Possible COR Advantage items: J, V, X

Beginning: Say something like, “Remember our “Color Song?” (You might want to sing it as a group at that point, with the song card, unless you have done it earlier that day.) “It has some long sounds/notes (point to the blue rectangles) and some short sounds/notes (point to the small yellow squares). I thought you might want to write your own color song today!” Take one of your strips of construction paper and paste it onto the plain paper. “I think I’ll use (say the color) to start my song and then maybe I’ll choose another color to go next. I might even cut or tear my strips to make them like the shorter noes.” After putting on 2 or 3 pieces on, point to the colors and sing them on any notes, then say, “I wonder what colors and sizes you will use for your song!” Pass out

~ 1 ~ a basket to each child. “If you want, when you are done, you can sing your color song to us. It doesn’t have to look or sound like the other color song. You can make it any way you want.”

Middle: As they work, move from child to child. Be sure to watch and listen FIRST. Often, children will start talking to me about their song and then I can comment and converse. For example, if I see that they have put a long strip of green paper on their song, I might say, “Oh, I see a long green strip. I wonder if this note might be long, like this.” Then I hold a long note on that color word, i.e. “Greeeeeeen!” If you ask questions, be sure they are open-ended, i.e. Not “What color is this piece?” You might ask them if they would like to sing you their song. This literacy- building activity is very open-ended and children will work in their own way. Some may just be content with cutting or tearing the strips of paper; some will glue pieces on and point and sing them but not use left-to-right tracking; some children will use some sort of melodic tone while others will just speak the colors as they point to them. Whatever your children do, support them where they are developmentally and try to scaffold them to the next level. If a child finishes quickly or appears disinterested, you might give him/her some other color strips and/or crayons/markers to make their song card.

End: Give children a two-minute warning that SGT will be ending and tell them that they can work on it more during Work Time if they wish. Have children put materials away, and transition to next part of the daily routine.

Ms. Kenyon, who has done this activities for several years in her UPK classroom said, “I asked the students if they wanted to sing their songs themselves or have me sing them. I have some very quiet ones who wanted me to sing it-- I told them I could give it a try but because I wasn't the composer it would be a guess. With one student I purposely sang the wrong colors and as she corrected me she started singing it herself and 'found her voice.'” Mrs. Kenyon extended this activity for a couple of days. By day three, some of the children were able to cut their own strips from the whole sheet of construction paper! She also put the children’s song cards under the document camera on the Smart Board and the children sang their song to their parents and peers. She said this is what really “cemented” this activity for the children!