Thanksgiving Music Activities

 

 

 

Thanksgiving, and well the whole month of November, can get really busy with the holidays approaching. To help you plan your upcoming Thanksgiving music lessons, I want to share with you some of my favorite songs and instrument activities that you can use with your students with little to no prep time. These instrument and Orff activities can be used for kindergarten up to grade 4 or 5. 

 

Let’s dive into my top five favorite Thanksgiving music activities that I use each year.

 

1. Over the River and Through the Woods

My absolute favorite Thanksgiving song is “Over the River and Through the Woods.” If you haven’t yet taught this classic to your students, then absolutely add it to your list right now! 

I start my kindergarten and first graders off by reading the book, and then I explain any difficult lyrics (like “stings the toes and bites the nose” or “dapple gray”). Then we listen to the song while patting the beat. Next, I teach students to sing the song, and I find that a lot of them are at least a little familiar with it.

After that, we are ready to begin some activities. This part is up to you and how you want to use this Thanksgiving song with your students. You can use these to prepare or practice many different musical concepts. For example, I use it to help children recognize the difference between marching music and galloping music (like this song does to match the horse pulling the sleigh). I also love adding a circle dance to it, which you can find for free.

Also, I love adding instruments to all of these Thanksgiving songs, and the kids have a blast too. For K-1, keep it simple: jingle bells on each 8th note and a temple block or wood block doing the galloping beat. 

I also use a full Orff arrangement with my older students, which you can find by clicking here. Plus, find more information by visiting this post on how I use this Thanksgiving song in my elementary classroom.

 

2. I’m a Very Fine Turkey

This song is wonderful! I found it in my school’s Silver Burdett (by Alfred) curriculum book, with words and music by Lillian Wiedman. If you have access to Pearson Music (Savvas Realize) curriculum, you can also find it there.  It is just perfect for younger students just learning how to play glockenspiels or xylophones. I have even used this song with boomwhackers for 2nd graders. Also, you can use this turkey song to listen for high and low notes, as it jumps up and down the octave several times. 

Using a melodic Orff instrument with only middle C, G, and high C on it, I have students play on the last words of each phrase.

Here is a video of a performance of this song and Orff activities to accompany it.

 

 

3. Five Fat Turkeys

Next is “Five Fat Turkeys.” This Thanksgiving song is such a favorite of my students each year. I really enjoy it because there are so many different types of activities that I love including with it. From fingerplay to a full Orff arrangement, you can see what works best for you and your students.

With kindergarten students, I first teach the words, motions, and then the song. When they can sing the song, I teach some body percussion to go with the song:

 

 

I have a few students at a time transfer their pats to a bass xylophone, playing a bordun. A few more students transfer the claps to an alto/soprano xylophone. This transfer of body percussion to barred instruments makes it so simple for young children. You can do this with rhythmic instruments too.

For 2nd grade and older, I use this notated arrangement for them to practice reading and then transfer to an instrument. When all the parts are put together, it can work for a concert, assembly, or just a class performance.

 

4. Shoo Turkey

Now, here is an active Thanksgiving song called “Shoo Turkey,” which is a simple call and response song. It works so well with young students, and, trust me, they will have a blast!

To use this song with kindergarten or 1st grade students, I use the shortened version heard in this video:

 

But you could also try the full length of Bessie Jones’ song by clicking here.

 

I first let them listen to the song. Then I explain how the question and answer works with other questions that they can relate to – like “did you do your homework?” or “do you like some ice cream?” This helps them understand it much better. I encourage students to join in singing the answers they hear in the song – always on the words “yes, ma’am.” Now, we are ready to practice singing the response and singing the chorus all together.

 

After my students know their part, we’re ready for some more Thanksgiving fun! Using 4-6 hula hoops placed on the floor all around the room, I place rhythmic instruments in each of the hoops. Then I divide the class into equal groups of no more than 5, gathered around each of the hula hoops and instrument stations. I have found that any instruments that can be shaken or played with one hand work the best: i.e. egg shakers, maracas, tambourines, etc.

With a short explanation of when to play and when to be quiet, we are ready. This is really up to you and how you would like to use instruments. If you’re interested in how I use instruments with this Thanksgiving song, click here for more information.

5. Great Big House

Finally, let’s look at an old folk song called “Great Big House.” It may not specifically be about Thanksgiving, but the lyrics include “pumpkin pie.” So, that sounds like a Thanksgiving song to me, right?! It is a great song for your older students, whether you want to do it with a dance or an Orff arrangement. 

When I ran an after-school folk dancing club, this song was a favorite of theirs, and we did it all the time – not just for Thanksgiving. Since it is a folk song that isn’t necessarily tied to November, you can really enjoy it any time that it works into your lessons.

Here is a great video to help you try out the circle dance:

 

I also love creating an Orff arrangement with this song. I use this arrangement with my 3rd grade classes. It is a great way to practice and apply all of the rhythmic and melodic reading that they have learned. Of course, they love putting it all together and performing it for their classroom teacher!

 

Well, I hope you found an activity or idea that you can use in your own classroom! Let me know what your favorite Thanksgiving song is by leaving a comment below, emailing me (beth@bethsmusicclassroom.com) or sending me a DM on Instagram @bethsmusicclassroom.