Here’s a fun and slightly spooky rhyming song that can be used as a stand alone intervention to teach rhyme recognition. It also serves as an entertaining review of body part identification for kids that might need it.
By using a physical prop like those cheap plastic spider rings that can usually be found at your local dollar store this time of year, all kids can participate and be successful in their own time frame.
I always insist that kids show me the answer by simply placing the spider ring on the body part rather than saying the answer out loud. This gives the children that need it a little extra processing time.
If I sing about putting the spider on “my delly,” they quietly put that spider right on their belly! If I sing about putting the spider on “my dose,” kids can either move that spider to their nose or their toes.
Kids just love to play with language and they have no idea that they are building important building blocks for literacy during this motivating song.
After everyone is familiar with the song, it can be used without props during times of transition. Use it when collecting instruments or encourage teachers to squeeze in a couple of verses when kids are standing in line.
For kids who are still developing the skill of rhyming, a simple extension would be for the kids to repeat the rhyming words (delbow – elbow – delbow – elbow; dack – back – dack – back) in a rhythmic way following each verse. This helps those struggling learners feel the rhyme with their mouth even though the answer may have been “spoon fed” to them.
Why is rhyming so important? More on that next time when I share a portion of my recently published article in Imagine — “Rhythm, Rhyme and Remarkable Repetition: An Effective Foundation for Literacy.”
Click here for your free lead sheet (lyrics, melody and chords) of this super simple and extremely effective song.
After you get a chance to try this song with your clients, students or your own children, leave me a comment with your experience. How did the kids respond? What adaptations and extensions did you come up with?