Being Thankful/Giving Thanks/Thanksgiving Music Activities
In the States, we are coming up to the shortened week where many of us teach for two or two-and-a-half days before we have a break for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Some of us are preparing for an upcoming concert but would like to have an activity that might center around the events that occur in November. Others just finished a Veteran’s Day Concert and would like activities that are musically fun. While others know that the students will be excited about the upcoming time off, so activities that can handle their extra energy are ideal.
For these reasons, I decided to jump back into Wakelet after the October (Fall) Videos for Elementary Music Class 2022 Edition and follow it up with Being Thankful/Giving Thanks/Thanksgiving Activities Wakelet. This Wakelet is a collection of activities for early childhood and elementary music classrooms that can be used in November or at a time of year when needed depending on the theme. I performed a deep-dive into many of the elementary music education networks to find the activities that came highly recommended.
What is Wakelet?
Wakelet is a digital organizational platform that lets educators and students arrange and sort a mix of content, from videos to articles, to tweets, to Flip videos, to Google Drive, to OneDrive, to images, to texts, for easy access.
Some Wakelet Tips:
Tip 1: Wakelet will play YouTube videos inside of its platform with no advertisements or having to leave Wakelet. Just click the full-screen icon for the video to appear fully on the screen.
Tip 2: When using this Wakelet, please view the video or activity before using it in your classroom. I included a variety of activities and videos found by many amazing music educators. However, just because the activity works well with their students in their classrooms, does not mean it will work well with your students in your classroom. You will have to look over the activity and decide if it is appropriate for your classroom.
Categories
I created eight categories for this Wakelet. They are:
Games and Dances
Rhythm and Body Percussion Play-Along Videos
Songs
Boomwhackers
Orff and Ukulele
Being Thankful/Being Grateful
Articles
Teachers Pay Teachers
I will highlight at least a couple of activities in each category below. I chose these categories for a variety of reasons. There are activities that specifically focus on a feast and family celebrations. There are also ones that focus on being thankful and giving thanks. And, there are ones that highlight resources for you to find more themed activities.
Finally, I felt that placing musical activities that celebrate Native American Heritage Month should be its own separate Wakelet and not lumped into a Thanksgiving Wakelet. I did include the Smithsonian article about the myths of the Thanksgiving Story and a video of Ms. P from “Music with Ms. P” performing a ReadAloud and drumming activity to the book, We Are Grateful, by Traci Sorell, a book about the way the Cherokee people show gratitude throughout all seasons of the year.
I encourage you to research your local Native American tribes (in some parts of the States, they refer to themselves by other terms than Native Americans, which is important to find out), talk to them, and invite them in (virtually or in-person) to share Native music authentically with your students. I always appreciate that the fourth-grade teachers in my school have the students research our local Native American tribe, visit with them, and in years past, they have brought in a musician to share music with the students.
Games and Dances
This category includes dances, movements with props, and music games. The Turkey Lurkey Game by Mr. Henry is a great one to do as its own activity or to utilize the extra resources found in the description links in the video or listed underneath this video in the Wakelet. This game features dynamics. By playing the entire video, Mr. Henry explains the game and the musical concept of dynamics. This can also be a great and quick sub-plan when needed. Finally, it has the melody projected as a play-along during the video where you can have your students play along with boomwhackers.
Pass the Turkey found at O For Tuna by Aimee is a very fun music circle game that includes singing, passing on the beat, and a turkey whistle. You can read about the game on the link to her website as well as view a video to see how it is performed. Finally, inspired by Dr. Missy Strong, I included links to a turkey-call app so you do not have to buy the whistle if funds would not allow for that.
There are also Turkey Freeze Dances and a scarf dance to name a few in this category. One that is always a good time is done by The Learning Station.
Rhythm and Body Percussion Play-Along Videos
I begin with one of my own that I created last year. This is a rhythm play-along, along with a separate body percussion play-along video, that includes a medley of five songs that approach the topic of being thankful. They include We Are Family by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, Performed by Sister Sledge; Vince Guaraldi Trio - Thanksgiving Theme; Home by Drew Pearson and Greg Holden, Performed by Phillip Phillips; Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant; and Count on Me by Bruno Mars. The concepts performed are triple and duple meters, quarter rest, quarter, eighth, half, and whole notes.
Another body percussion play-along video is to the song, “Gobble Gobble” by Matthew West, and the video is created by Mrs. Gottschall. This song is infectious as it was created to give everyone a Thanksgiving song so that it could be sung before the holiday songs take over the airwaves. The problem I personally had in my teaching situation was that the video was not appropriate for me to play in my classroom. I am so thankful that Mrs. Gottschall created this play-along video so I can use the song in my classroom without having to show the video.
Songs
The songs included in this category cover Thanksgiving and holiday food. However, I also included songs that solely focused on being thankful and grateful for what we have, as opposed to food. The first one to highlight is “Shoo Turkey” performed by Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. This call-and-response song is perfect for preschool and kindergarten musicians. And this performance is excellent. I encourage you to listen to this recording and use it in your classroom.
There is also the version from Lynn Kleiner listed underneath this video in the Wakelet. While you continue exploring the category, you will find more songs. One is from a music teacher in the music education networks that she created herself because she couldn’t find songs about being thankful that did not involve food or the holiday. Finally, this is another popular song that is all about being thankful.
Boomwhackers
The video I highlight in this category is Swick’s Classroom’s “The Best, Worst Thanksgiving”. This song is very catchy. It is also extremely funny. It is a rock song that has a turkey running around loose with the song ending with revealing who let the turkey free. It is the best, worst Thanksgiving because the turkey got away (best), but they didn’t have anything to eat (worst). The video also includes the xylophone play-along for the melody with the Boomwhacker play-along chords, and the ukulele chords at the beginning.
Orff and Ukulele
This category has a few songs that include ukulele play-along videos or Orff play-along videos. The first one listed is a ukulele play-along video to the popular song, “Over the River and Through the Woods” in the ukulele-friendly key of C. This video has a tutorial before the play-along. Great for a sub-plan.
Being Thankful/Being Grateful
This category gives you the Read-Aloud mentioned above as well as two inspirational gratitude videos. One is by my students’ favorite presidents: Kid President. He gives us 25 awesome things he is thankful for. I adore that he has music on his list. In addition, a “thank you” video where the speakers, like Denzel Washington, remind us what to be thankful for. “Say thank you in advance for what is already yours” - Denzel Washington.
Articles
This category features lesson activities, ideas, resources, and articles pertaining to the activities listed in the Wakelet. It begins with this blog.
Teachers Pay Teachers
This category lists numerous Teachers Pay Teachers Thanksgiving-themed musical activities you can purchase and download from the website.
My Hope
My hope this week is for you all to be able to find an activity that you can use to support your curriculum, or save your voice, or give quickly to a sub, or enhance your classroom, or allow you to ease up on your planning time. My wish is that you have some free time over the four-day weekend to take care of yourself and to remind yourself that you are doing well, you mean a lot to your students, and you are important. Without you, your students would not have a musical experience or have one class where they feel good about themselves.
