3 Ways to Play Singing Games During Online Learning

Making online music lessons more interactive can be tricky, but after a few weeks of teaching online, I have found a few ways that you can play some of your favorite singing games during a virtual meeting! 

Types of Singing Games That Work Best

• Mystery Singer Games
  • Who’s That Tapping at the Window
  • Doggie, Doggie
• Elimination Games
  • Bee Bee Bumble Bee
  • Apple Tree

Mystery Singer Games – Live 

Let’s start with mystery singer games! Here is how we played “Who’s that?” during a google meet. 

1. Create a visual 
   1. Make sure to highlight the words the the mystery singer needs to sing
2. Explain to the students that you will be picking a student to close their eyes and turn away from their computer.  While they are turned away pick who is tapping at the window and who will knock at the door. 
3. Write these students’ names on a white board and show it to the screen. 
   1. I usually do one at a time. I write down the student’s name down for tapping on the window and show it to the camera.  The student that chose will give me a thumbs up when they see it. 
   2. Then I pick the student knocking at the door with the same process. 
4. We sing the beginning part and the soloists each unmute at their turn and sing their solo. 
5. I remind them to make sure they each have gone on mute before the other student opens his or her eyes. 
6. The student guesses and then we play another round.

The first time it took us a little while to get used to the new format, but the second lesson that we played it went very smoothly!

Elimination Games – Live

Here is how we played Apple Tree! 

1. Share your entire screen of the google meet so all the students can see each other. 
2. If you are feeling fancy use the google chrome extension and change your cursor to an apple! 
3. Hovering your mouse over each child and sing the song just as you would in person.
4. When a student gets out they turn off their camera. Having cards of the camera icon helps for students to locate it! Make sure to explain to the students when they are out they just have to turn off their camera not leave.  I had one student the first time we play think he had to leave and jumped off the call 😂 Luckily, he realized that he probably didn’t need to leave and hopped back on a few minutes later! 
5. Keep going until you have a winner.  Its a cool visual because that is the only student you can see by the end! 
6. Have everyone turn their cameras back on and congratulate the winning student with a round of applause! 

Elimination Games – Recorded

You totally can play singing games with your students even if it is a recorded video! With a little creativity and some fun “players” you can keep your students engaged!

For example, let’s use Bee Bee Bumble Bee as our game.  As for the “players” have fun with it.  Tell the students in your video that you have some friends that would want to be the ultimate Bee Bee Bumble Bee Champion! I used 4 players, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and Ironman! The options are endless! You could use characters from tv shows, movies, or books. Singers might be fun or even just clipart of different animals.  But, once you have your players in mind collect some clipart of each.  

Paper Version

• Print out the pictures of your players and laminate them for longer use.  
• Then add velcro dots to foam board
• Add a velcro dot to the back of each picture
• Adhere them to the board
• You could even tape a themed picture to a pencil as your pointer. For example, I might add a picture of a bee to the pencil.  If you were playing Apple Tree you might add an apple etc. 

Now you can record and play the game hovering your pointer over each player and taking them off the board when they are out till you have a winner! 

Digital Version

You could also do this in Google Slides or PowerPoint!

• Add your clipart to a slide 
• Add animations for the “player” to disappear on click
  • To do this figure out who will first be out 
  • Select the clipart
  • Press Animate
  • Use the drop down menu to select animation (fade out) is the easiest one to use
• Screen record them playing the game

I hope this gave you some great ideas of how you can still play games with your students, just in a different way!