Cowboy Joe Name Game

Since I traveled to Texas last week to visit a friend, I thought I should share a "cowboy" activity! 

I teach Cowboy Joe to my 4th graders at the start of the school year.  I originally learned in it my Level 3 Orff training, and have adapted it a bit to work for my students.

First, I teach the body percussion, encouraging students to listen to me model the pattern and find where the "trick" occurs.

Once the kids can do the body percussion, I introduce the poem in conjunction with the body percussion.

Then, we turn the body percussion into a clapping came with a partner, changing the snaps to partner claps.

After that, the students are allowed to create their own clapping game and body percussion with their partner to go along with the song.  We share those ideas out.

Then, we make it a name game, going around the circle.  Each student individually replaces Cowboy Joe's name with their name, i.e. Cowboy Tyler or Cowgirl Alicia.  They also replace Mexico with the street that they live on, i.e comes from New Street.  Then, the entire class completes the last two phrases of the poem, inserting their classmate's name on the last phrase. 

If you want to take it to another level, the students can transfer the levels of body percussion to three different unpitched percussion instruments.

Enjoy my favorite "Cowboy" activity.  Yee-Haw!

Bump Up Tomato Syncopation Game

With my fourth grade students, I've been working to really have them experience, understand, identify, and label syncopation.  I've been focusing more on it than I have in the past, because I want them to have a deeper understanding, which they can use in their performances.

I came across the folk song "Bump Up Tomato," which I had not known before.  The kids love the catchy melody/speech.

I love how this teacher instructs the game.  My kids LOOOOOVE the ending when they get to try to make one of their classmates laugh.  They think it's the best thing ever!

Hope you can use this video as a resource for teaching this great syncopated game!