Engage PreK-2 students with Eric Litwin’s books in your music classroom. This guide offers practical activities connecting popular stories like ‘Pete the Cat’ to music
standards through creating, performing, responding, and connecting experiences.
by Kayleigh Parker
Children’s storybooks are a valuable resource in the elementary music classroom. Books can serve as a hook to encourage student participation, they can teach music concepts, or even establish the context for a song.
by Terri Lloyd
Being a music teacher for ten years, I’m always looking for ways to include different subjects in the music classroom while meeting music curriculum goals. Books are a great way to do this, and works by author Eric Litwin are particularly effective teaching tools that engage young students while addressing key standards.
Eric Litwin is an award-winning author who has written twelve books and also provides concerts and keynotes. More information about Eric and resources for his books can be found on his website.
The National Core Art Standards (NCAS) created the PreK-8 general music standards in 2014 with four main categories: creating, performing, responding, and connecting. These standards provide a framework for comprehensive music education that develops well-rounded musical skills.
These lesson ideas are perfect for PreK to 2nd grade students. I recommend reading the books first before trying the activities.
Creating: Anchor Standard #2: Organize and Develop artistic ideas of work
Have squares of Pete the Cat and Buttons. Have students create a pattern using cat (one sound) and buttons (two sounds). For older students, you can talk about how a cat is a quarter note (ta) and buttons are eighth notes (ti-ti).
Performing: Anchor Standard #6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
Performing the song in the book. After students know the song, you can challenge them by having them sing the song fast, slow, loud, or soft.
Responding: Anchor Standard #7: Perceive and analyze artistic work
Have different percussion instruments to create the popping off sound for the buttons in the story. Have students choose a sound they like and explain why. West Music has a percussion kit A that has the following instruments that would be great for this: castanets, plastic rhythm sticks, jumbo egg shakers, plastic chiquita maracas, and hand drum.
Connecting: Anchor Standard #11: Relate artistic ideas with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding
You can show students that music can be in books. You can also show that this book includes math (subtracting the buttons) and that if you lose something like a button there is no reason to worry and keep being you.
Creating: Anchor Standard #1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
There is a song included in the book called Get Groovy. Students can create their own movement for the song or they can create their own rhythm patterns when there is no singing and just music.
Performing: Anchor Standard #6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
Performing the song in the book. After students know the song, you can challenge them by having them sing the song fast, slow, loud, or soft.
Responding: Anchor Standard #7: Perceive and analyze artistic work
Ask students if they preferred the song in the book or Get Groovy song that is included in the book. Have students explain why instead of saying one was better than the other. How was one song better than the other? Did students like the melody, etc?
Connecting: Anchor Standard #11: Relate artistic ideas with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding
You can show students that music can be in books. You can also show that this book includes dinosaurs and why sharing is important.
Eric Litwin’s books provide an excellent entry point for integrating literature and music while addressing the National Core Art Standards. These engaging stories not only capture students’ attention but also offer multiple opportunities for creating, performing, responding, and connecting across disciplines.
Litwin, E. (2012). Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. HarperCollins.
Litwin, E. (2016). Groovy Joe: Ice Cream & Dinosaurs. Scholastic.
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. (2014). National Core Arts Standards: Music. https://nationalartsstandards.org
Contributor
Kayleigh Parker graduated with a Bachelor’s in Music with teacher’s licensure (K-12th grade, instrumental concentration) with a minor in community health and a teaching endorsement in health education (9th-12th grade) from Eastern Illinois University in December of 2014. Kayleigh…
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