Songs!

When I started student teaching, I was in a first grade classroom. I remember so clearly the master teacher sitting at the front of the room, puppet on his hand, singing a nursery rhyme. At that moment, I thought, I can never be that 'sing-songy' teacher. Now, eleven years later, my class is singing almost everyday. There is so much value in putting educational content to a catchy tune to help students remember what they are learning. I can name (sing) all fifty states in alphabetical order because of fifth grade. :)

This year I have made it my mission to incorporate more music in my lessons, and what better way to do so than with pop music. We have sung about place value, rounding, regrouping, helping verbs, and prepositions. There are many more songs to come! Because my class enjoys them so much, I wanted to share with any teachers that might find them useful. If you have any questions about the songs, please leave a comment. Hope you like them!

Place Value Song

To the tune of Happy

It might seem crazy what I’m about to say

I’m good at math; teacher take a break.

Listen to my song - it’ll help you.

Just move to the left for place value.

You start with ones

Move it to the left and then you get to the tens

Move to the left and you’re at hundreds and then thousands

Move it to left ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions

Move it to the left, that’s all you have to do to learn place value.

I can write in standard form.

I can write in expanded form.

I can even find the value.

I think of money, it’s so easy to do.

Here’s why.

You start with ones

Move it to the left and then you get to the tens

Move to the left and you’re at hundreds and then thousands

Move it to left ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions

Move it to the left, that’s all you have to do to learn place value.

Ones

Tens

Hundreds

Thousands

Ten thousands

Hundred thousands

Millions

Rounding Song

To the tune of Shake It Off

I can learn to round

Numbers up and down

I can estimate, mmm-mmm

I can estimate, mmm-mmm

First I find the place

I’m not rounding in a race

So I take my time, mmm-mmm

Yes, I take my time, mmm-mmm

Once I find the place

I look next door, to the right

And I sing these words, in my mind

In my mind

So I can get the problem right

If it’s five or bigger, add one more more more

Five or bigger, add one more more more

Fill the zeroes in after to the right right right

Round it up, round it up.

If it’s four or less, let it rest rest rest

Four or less, let it rest rest rest

Fill the zeroes after to the right right right

Round it down, round it down.

I Regroup

To the tune of Let It Go

The subtraction problems look hard today...

The bottom number is too big

I can't subtract easily,

and it looks like I'm gonna fail

I have to remember what I learned with in math class

Where's my math journal? Maybe it can help me...

I do not have enough ones to subtract the bottom from the top

So I have to look at the tens

and now I know....

I regroup, I regroup

Just trade one ten for ten ones

I regroup, I regroup

trade one hundred for ten tens

Now I know how to solve the problem

I just regroup

one thousand for ten hundreds.

Helping Verbs
To the tune of Rude (specific to Easy Grammar curriculum, but can be modified :))

Monday morning, jumped out of bed

Put on my uniform

Got in my mom's car, raced like a jet

All the way to school

Today is the test

On all kinds of verbs

Like action and helping

But  the helping verbs are easy to forget

Am, is, are, was, and were

Be, being, been

Have, has, had

Do, does, did

May, might, and must

Can and could

Will, would, Shall, should

Those are the helping verbs

They help the main verb

I have to look for them

So I can underline them twice

Underline twice

Look in the sentence

Underline twice

I don't wanna miss it

Underline twice

  

All of the helping verbs

It's all part of the verb phrase