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Strawberry Shortcake

Denise Gagne

Strawberry Shortcake is a song included in January lessons in Musicplay 1. This is a traditional skipping rhyme. You could include the singing game as one activity in your first class of the new year, or you could build an entire lesson around the song.

Game Directions:

Sing the song, then chant the months of the year. When you come to the month in which you have a birthday, stand up. Try the song at a variety of tempos. The children will enjoy it the most at a fast tempo!

Curriculum Connections:

This song helps students to learn the months of the year. In the Musicplay 1 Big Book, the words to this song are charted. The 11x17 Big Book fits perfectly on a black music stand. The teacher or the students can track the words to the song, reinforcing beginning reading skills, and reinforcing the teaching of the names of the months of the year. Use a reading "wand" --- a princess wand purchased from a "dollar" store to track words.

Screenshot 2023-06-09 at 9.59.49 AM

Strawberry Shortcake Big book page

Music Reading and Writing:

This is a good song to show the melodic contour - how the notes go up and down. They can do this with arm motions. Alternately, they could hold hands and raise and lower all the hands. This helps the weaker students to become more aware of how the notes go. You could draw the melodic contour on the board or show the melody with fruit shapes. Have a child point to the shapes as they sing.

Playing and Creating:

Have the students suggest ways to play each of the months on instruments. Write the names of the months on construction paper, and have the students choose instruments for each pair of months. For example:
January, February play the sounds the words make on temple blocks or wood blocks
March, April play the sounds the words make on hand drums
May, June play the sounds the words make on cymbals
July, August play the sounds the words make on tambourines or jingle taps
September, October, November, play the sounds the words make on shakers
December all play together on December

Teach the students the orchestration that follows (if you have Orff instruments) Have the students create movement to accompany the song. This is a jump rope rhyme, so the movement might involve jumping, or play the jump rope game. For example:
Jump right, jump left, jump right, jump left
Strawberry shortcake Huckleberry Finn
Cup hand to ear as if listening big jump forward
When you hear your birthday Jump right in!

You could repeat the movement, ending with “Jump right out!” and have the students jump back.

Decide on how to perform your creation. For example:

A: Sing and move to the song and accompany with the Orff instruments if you have them. If you donʼt have instruments, you could sing unaccompanied or sing with the CD.
B: Have small groups of students play and chant the months of the year
Perform the creation AB or ABA. Encourage student input to help decide on the final form.