Follow the Rainbow 🌈
A huge thank you to Rachel Hahn! This video from one of my favorite music teachers is pure joy. She created a scarf dance to go along with Follow the Rainbow from Music K-8, making it an engaging and easy-to-follow movement activity. Grab some colorful scarves and get ready to dance!
Rattlin’ Bog 🇮🇪
This Irish folk song is always a hit—perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any time of year! The Rattlin’ Bog is a lively cumulative song that keeps students engaged with its fun, repetitive structure. This resource makes teaching the song easy with ready-to-use slides, motion directions, and interactive activities. Your students will love singing along, adding new parts with each verse, and moving to the beat!
- Define what a bog, rattlin’, and cumulative is.
- Learn the chorus adding an ostinato – clap, clap, stomp, stomp
- Learn the motions that goes with each thing in the bog
- Sing the song
You can check out the motions and more using this blog post.
You can use the simple image I created in the blog post. If you would like a more in depth presentation and worksheets to expand on this song, I created this resource.
Waves of Tory 🌊
Ready for a challenge? This traditional Irish folk dance is worth it! Waves of Tory mimics the crashing waves around Tory Island and brings a dynamic, energetic experience to your classroom. Students love the complexity—even if it turns into a bit of organized chaos!
To help you teach this dance with confidence, I’ve created a detailed presentation mapping out the entire routine. If you would like to make any changes, remember to make a copy! Dive in and give it a try!
One, Two, Three, O’Leary 🏤
This game is from the book, “Sing Games and Rhymes for Middle Years”. It’s a great song and game for upper elementary students. The game always hooks them. Check out the game in action here!
The Song:
One, two, three, O’Leary,
Four, five, six, O’Leary,
Seven, eight, nine, O’Leary,
Ten O’Leary, postman!
Game Instructions:
Formation:
- Divide students into lines of 6–7 players, all facing forward in a straight line.
- The first student in each line starts with a playground ball.
Actions:
- On beat 1, the first student bounces the ball.
- On beat 2, they catch the ball.
- On beats 3–4, they pass the ball over their head to the student behind them.
- The next student in line repeats the pattern: bounce, catch, pass over the head (completing this action in 2 beats).
- This sequence continues down the line, repeating four full times throughout the song.
End of the Song:
- The student holding the ball at the end runs to the back of the line.
- All teammates spread their legs, forming a tunnel.
- The runner rolls the ball through the legs of all team members to the front.
- The first team to successfully roll their ball through wins!
Irish Dance 🕺
Irish dancing is so intricate with its footwork. It’s very impressive. Here are some of my favorite examples to show students!
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