Five songs in the public domain can be taught to celebrate spring or used as a concert blueprint for first or second grade. The songs include the languages of English, Mandarin, Ukrainian, and Japanese (with accessible guides for non-native speakers) and also support classroom learning objectives of rhyming and sentence structure.
by Kristen Berger
We started singing songs about spring here in Michigan before the last snowflake had fallen. These are the songs my first and second graders are preparing for a virtual concert. However, these songs can also be used on their own within the existing curriculum to celebrate the change in seasons.
One of my educational philosophy pillars is to ensure students see themselves and their culture within the music that we explore in our music classes throughout the year. My current school is within a large urban-suburban public district, and I have a vibrantly diverse school population. My goal is to showcase cultures that have not yet been explored in my classroom this school year while leaning on some familiar favorites.
This song is a traditional American children’s song, made famous by musicians like Raffi in the 70’s and the Barney television show in the ’90s (Barney, 1992). Check out this cute YouTube video for the fingerplay tutorial that I’ll have my students act out while singing. Beth’s Music Notes has a well-done transcription available here, too.
Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me.
Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Hiding behind the tree.
These little children are asking you,
To please come out so we can play with you,
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me!
While browsing the “I’m a General Music Teacher” Facebook page, I discovered this song. A fellow user, Lucy Nicolson, had submitted this video and accompanying photos at the beginning of March 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The song is very accessible in English (see this similar version on YouTube) since it is so repetitive. The students in my classroom will create their own verses in English and learn the Ukrainian verse by watching Lucy’s video.
I like to sing when the sun is shining,
I like to sing, tra la la la.
This traditional English poem has a surprising history that dates back to the late 14th century (Nursery Rhyme & History) involving England and Spain. The song is a catchy, whimsical song of longing for sunshine and playtime in its current form. In my classroom, we will add rain sticks and xylophones to support the students’ singing and add a rhythmic pattern in between renditions in an ABA form. We’ll use rain-related words such as “rain,” “thunder,” and “pitter-patter” as building blocks to create our pattern.
Rain, rain, go away.
Come again another day.
Little children want to play.
Rain, rain, go away.
This song also has a Mandarin counterpart. My kids really love this version because it involves dinosaurs! Many thanks to my friend and colleague YuTing Yeh for her assistance in finding this song. The song is quite catchy and after a few listens on YouTube, it was accessible for myself and other non-native speakers.
This traditional song is familiar to fellow Raffi graduates and is excellent as a stand-alone song or used as an echo. The class with the most class clowns always gets to do this song so that they can come up with their own verses!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelon grows,
Back to my home,
I dare not go.
For if I do,
My mother will say…
…did you ever see a moose kissing a goose?
…did you ever see a whale with a polka-dot tail?
…did you ever see a llama eating their pajamas?
…down by the bay!
I had the great opportunity to grow up in Japan during my middle school years, and I distinctly remember learning this song from a group of friends. It is about a frog and the sounds it makes when it is singing. Here’s a great instrumental version that I like on YouTube, but many variations are available, like any traditional song. The song is about a frog (kaeru) and its song (uta) and the sounds the frog makes (“gwa” and “gerro”). There are so many other frog songs that could be paired with this song, too!
Kaeru no uta ga kiko ete kuru yo.
Gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa,
Gerro gerro gerro gerro
Gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa
The springtime allows us as music educators to tie in real-world experiences with some family favorites while exposing our young learners to things that may be different and new. This collection can be an excellent springboard for your springtime concert preparation or just for refreshing your last months of school!
Nursery Rhyme and History. Rain rain go away rhyme. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.rhymes.org.uk/rain_rain_go_away_rhyme.htm#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20the%20lyrics,the%20Spanish%20Armada%20in%201588.
Daily Symphony – TuneOne Music. (n.d.). Classical music – wisdom of a man – Wyatt Taylor – youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO4oDpHdPDc
Dany Rosevear. (2017, July 25). I like to sing when the sun is shining – youtube. YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hunH_TZ4a-o
Little Fox Chinese – Stories & Songs for Learners. (2019, January 4). Rain Rain Go Away. YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/?gl=ES
Nicolson, L. (2022, March 2). Facebook Watch. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.facebook.com/lucy.nicolson.5/videos/348950573802229/?d=n
Mister Sun. Barney Wiki. (1992). Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://barney.fandom.com/wiki/Mister_Sun
Contributor
Kristin Berger is a general music teacher at an elementary school in Ann Arbor Public Schools, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She holds degrees in Music Education (BS), Vocal Performance (BA), and Secondary Education (M.Ed) from Xavier University in Cincinnati,…
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