Welcome to
Choosing to include music in your curriculum is a wise decision. Music mirrors
the natural rhythms and repetitions present in children’s language, play, and
movement. Children are naturally drawn to verse and song and learning is more
fun when lessons are set to music. As teachers, we are always looking for better
ways to present material to children while involving them in the learning process.
What better way to meet both goals than with the expressive art of music?
Your Sing Along & Learn book and audio CD set contains this book and five CD
collections of upbeat educational tunes that emphasize skills and learning related
to important early childhood concepts. In the book, you’ll find a reproducible song
sheet for each song in the collection, song-related activities to enrich your
curriculum, and reproducible activity pages to help reinforce and extend children’s
learning. Here’s what you’ll find on each audio CD:
Sing Along & Learn:
The Alphabet
Sing Along & Learn:
Early Concepts
The opening song on this CD rollicks through
the entire alphabet. Each additional song
focuses on a specific letter, giving children
opportunities to explore the letter and the
sound it makes in words. These fun tunes
can be used to teach letter recognition,
letter-to-sound associations, alliteration,
and much more!
Each of these tunes centers on a particular
skill or concept, such as ABCs, numbers,
opposites, colors, and time. When children
move or sing along with these fun-filled lyrics,
they automatically become active participants
in their own learning.
Sing Along & Learn:
Around the Year
Songs in this collection are connected to
seasonal and holiday themes for each month
of the year. As children sing along, they
learn concepts related to every area of your
classroom curriculum, including science,
social studies, math, and language arts.
Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Sing Along & Learn:
Following Directions
How to Use This Book
These interactive songs invite children to
engage in movement, pantomiming, and roleplaying in fun and engaging ways. As children
build their abilities to concentrate, pay
attention, and follow directions, they learn
that listening is an active process—and a far
from boring one!
You can use the songs and activities in this
book to enrich your curriculum and add a
measure of fun to every aspect of children’s
learning. The book is divided into five sections,
one for each CD in the set. Each section is
conveniently arranged to help you make
the most of each irresistible song on that
particular Sing Along & Learn CD. Here’s
what you’ll find on these pages:
Sing Along & Learn:
Marvelous Math
Teaching With the Songs: This section provides
Each of the lively songs in this collection
targets a specific math area, such as counting,
subtraction, estimation, shapes, measurement,
time, money, and more. Important math skills
and concepts come to life as children move and
sing along with these educational songs.
Getting the Most From Each Song: These
As you introduce and use the songs in your
Sing Along & Learn collection, you’ll discover
that music has an extraordinary way of
reaching children of all learning styles—
making it an indispensable addition to
your classroom!
general teaching tips and activities that can
be used with any song in the collection.
activities, provided in the section for each CD,
include easy and entertaining follow-up ideas
that reinforce the concepts presented in each
song. The suggested activities are song-specific
and connect to a particular area of the
curriculum. But don’t limit children’s learning
to these suggestions: let their enthusiasm
guide you in further explorations of a song’s
many curriculum connections. Also, keep in
mind that some of the activities are easily
adaptable and can be used with other songs in
the collection.
Reproducible Activities: Instant, fun, hands-on
pages are provided for students to complete on
their own, with partners, or in small groups.
These reproducibles reinforce concepts related
to the songs and provide children with
additional exposure and practice. They can
also be used as home–school connections to
help communicate with families and extend
children’s learning beyond the classroom.
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Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
Song Sheets: These reproducible lyric sheets
make it easy for you and your students to sing
along. They’re also a natural way to build
literacy. Laminate several copies of the song
sheets and keep them on hand to use during
group sing-alongs or to place in your listening
center along with the audio CDs. You can use
a wipe-off marker to underline or highlight
target words and phrases on the laminated
song sheets.
Teaching With the Songs
Read on to discover flexible teaching tips and
easy activities for enriching your classroom
curriculum with the songs from Sing Along &
Learn. You’ll find that many of these activities
may be used with any song in the book.
Set Up a Listening Center
Place a CD player and the Sing Along &
Learn CDs in a listening center. Put the song
sheets for each CD in a separate folder and
write the name of the CD on the front of each
folder. Add the song folders and headphones to
the center, as well as a supply of paper,
crayons, and markers. Invite children to visit
the center to listen to specific songs or the
songs of their choice. While enjoying the
music, they might be inspired to express their
moods, thoughts, or inspirations on paper.
Track the Print
Make a copy of the song being learned for
each child. You might also write the song on
chart paper (or make an enlarged copy of the
song sheet). Then, while playing the song,
invite children to track the print on their
pages as you track it on the chart paper.
Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
Create Song Charts
Write each song on chart paper. Highlight the
words or phrases that support the featured
concept of the song. You might write them in a
different color marker, underline them, or use
a highlighter pen to make them stand out.
Invite children to illustrate the charts by
drawing pictures of the song’s topic around
the border of the pages. Place the charts
around the room for children to read during
center or independent work time.
Play Musical Chairs
To give children repeated exposure and
pleasure from the music, invite them to play
musical chairs. Gather a chair for each child
and then take one chair away. Place the
chairs in a circle. Then play a song as
children walk around the circle. When you
stop the song, the child who doesn’t find a
chair will sit out the next round. (He or she
might stop the song on the next round of
play.) Continue play until only one chair—
and one child—is left in the game.
Use Instruments During
Repeated Singings
Distribute instruments such as triangles,
tambourines, or small drums. Instruct
children to strike their instruments at
designated times during a song, such as when
a word beginning with a specific letter is
named, or when a sound effect is used. Small
groups of children may want to form bands to
perform their own musical renditions of each
song, using the instruments.
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Act It Out
Circle-Time Treat
Many of the songs encourage active
participation. As you sing a song with
children, ask them to listen for action words or
for opportunities to pantomime or role-play
different characters. Then sing the song again,
this time inviting children to act out the song
or add movements to it.
After introducing each song, copy the lyrics of
the song onto a flip chart. At circle time, invite
a child to choose a song from the chart for the
class to sing. Be sure to select a different child
each time, so that everyone has an opportunity
to participate. (You can write children’s names
on slips of paper, put the slips in a box, and
draw one at random each time.)
Shake, Rattle, and Tap
Students love to listen to and play instruments
as they sing. Here are some ideas for creating
quick-and-easy instruments to use with
your songs:
• Make a great percussion instrument with a
pair of wooden spoons.
• Place dried beans, pebbles, or corn kernels
in a clean, dry milk carton. Tape it closed.
It’s a shaker!
• Decorate a paper bag. Then fill it with sand
and close it tightly with a twist-tie. It’s a
soft-sounding shaker!
• Make jingle-bell bracelets by stringing jingle
bells onto yarn and tying the ends together.
Daily Ditties
Liven up every day of the year with your Sing
Along & Learn songs. In addition to using the
songs to support your curriculum, gain extra
enjoyment by building in times for repeated
singings—just for fun! For example, you might
start the day with a song. Or you can invite
children to sing one of the songs while they
pack up at the end of the day or line up to go
to other classes. If you like, turn a song into a
game: Can students accomplish a given task
before they finish singing the song?
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Name That Tune
Reinforce a song’s playful melodies with this
game. Ask a small group of students to decide
on a song to hum together, without telling the
rest of the class which song it is. As they hum,
ask: Who can guess the song? If you know it,
raise your hand and hum along!
It’s Our Song, Too
Look for opportunities to personalize a song
for children by replacing words in the song
with their own names, words, or experiences.
For example, in “Back in School Again,” on
page 70, students may enjoy substituting
their own classroom rules for the third verse
in the song (“You’ve got to pay attention,
follow the directions...”). Write the new
version of the song on chart paper so that
students may easily follow the words as they
sing along.
Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
Sing and Learn
Create an Illustrated Songbook
Use your song sheets to enrich reading
lessons. You can choose a specific letter for
children to focus on. Or you can have them
look (and listen) for a particular word,
rhyming words, or alliterative phrases. You’ll
find that many of the songs provide repetitive
phrases that can be used to help children
predict what words come next in a song.
Make copies of the reproducible song sheets
for each CD. Give each child a song sheet and
a piece of drawing paper. Then ask children to
illustrate their songs, paying particular
attention to the concept, theme, or topic of the
song. Place the songs and illustrations in a
three-ring binder to create a class songbook.
Display the book in your class library for
children to enjoy during free reading times.
This Way and That
Stir up interest and sharpen listening skills
with these playful variations.
• Divide the class into groups of four or five
students. On repeated singings, invite
groups to take turns singing every couple of
lines. Have students watch for a signal from
you to know when it’s their group’s turn to
sing. (Signaling groups at random helps to
keep singers attentive and on their toes!)
Share Send-Home Songs
Children enjoy sharing songs with their
families, so make copies of the song sheet for
each song you sing. Then send the song sheets
home with children so that they can sing and
teach family members the tune. (You might
suggest that parents keep the songs in a
binder, making it easy to return to their
favorite songs again and again.)
• Identify the instruments in a song. You’ll
hear percussion instruments, piano, string,
bass, and more.
• Invite students to play “air instruments”
while they sing.
• Don’t just sing the song—whisper it, sing it
loud, clap it, or move to it!
• Invite students to perform an interpretive
dance to a song.
Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Around the Year: October
Te n R e d A pp l e s
Ten red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make an apple pie
for my friends and me...
Nine red apples, hanging in a tree.
Nine red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make apple cider
for my friends and me...
Eight red apples, hanging in a tree.
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Eight red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make applesauce
for my friends and me...
Seven red apples, hanging in a tree.
Four red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make apple juice
for my friends and me...
Three red apples, hanging in a tree.
Seven red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make apple jelly
for my friends and me...
Six red apples, hanging in a tree.
Three red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make a baked apple
for my friends and me...
Two red apples, hanging in a tree.
Six red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make apple muffins
for my friends and me...
Five red apples, hanging in a tree.
Two red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make apple fritters
for my friends and me...
One red apple, hanging in a tree.
Five red apples, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apples I ever did see.
Gonna make apple strudel
for my friends and me...
Four red apples, hanging in a tree.
One red apple, hanging in a tree,
best-looking apple I ever did see.
Only one apple left, oh my, oh me...
No more apples, hanging in a tree.
Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
Early Concepts: The Alphabet
The A l phabet Vacation
CHORUS:
It is the alphabet vacation.
The letters all took a rest.
From Z to A, they all went away
to do what they liked best.
A went to the aquarium.
B went to the beach.
C took a cruise to the Caribbean.
D went diving in the deep.
M went to the mountains.
N took a nap each day.
O always goes to the opera.
P went to the park and played.
Q rode quarterhorses.
R rode the railroad instead.
Meanwhile back at the office,
a sign on the doorway said...
CHORUS
E rode an elephant in Egypt.
F flew to the fair.
Meanwhile back at the office,
a sign on the doorway said...
S went sailing by the sea.
T toured the Taj Mahal.
U saw his Uncle Ulysses.
V played volleyball.
CHORUS
G goes golfing with the gang.
H likes to hike the hills.
I went to the islands.
J took a jungle trip.
K flew a kite with the kids next door.
L likes to lie in bed.
Meanwhile back at the office,
a sign on the doorway said...
W went on a whale-watch.
X played the xylophone.
Y went to Yosemite
and then on to Yellowstone.
Z saw the zebras in the zoo
then zipped off to New Zealand.
Meanwhile back at the office,
a sign on the doorway said...
CHORUS
CHORUS
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Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
Following Directions: Listening
Hop and Stop!
Each verse of this song gets a little faster. Try to hop and stop when I tell you to.
1st verse
Hop, hop, stop,
hop, stop.
Hop, hop, hop,
stop...hop.
2nd verse
Hop, hop, hop,
Stop...hop.
Hop, hop, stop,
hop, hop, stop.
Hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, stop.
Hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, stop.
3rd verse
Hop, hop, stop.
Hop, hop, hop.
Stop...hop,
hop, hop, stop.
Hop, hop, stop,
Hop, hop, hop.
Stop...hop,
hop, hop, stop.
Hop, hop, hop,
Stop...hop.
Stop...hop.
Hop, stop...
Hop, hop, hop,
stop...hop.
Stop...hop,
hop, hop, hop.
Hop, stop...
hop, hop, hop.
Stop...hop.
Hop, hop, stop.
Hop, stop...
hop, hop, hop.
Stop...hop.
Hop, hop, stop.
Sing Along & Learn Scholastic Teaching Resources
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