Why am I including cheers, chants, raps, and poetry in a site about music?
Chanting has many of the benefits of song:
It uses rhythm and rhyme in an enjoyable way.
It provides patterns that can make learning easier.
It builds children's confidence in oral language.
It can promote a sense of community, which is conducive to learning.
It provides a change of pace and mood to improve student motivation.
It offers opportunities for repeated readings, which build fluency.
It can serve as a writing prompt, offering students the chance to write new verses.
Kids love it!
Chants, raps, cheers, and poetry can be performed anywhere, even if your voice is as bad as mine! I encourage you to incorporate chanting into your lessons, and see how it builds energy for learning.
Special Feature Sonja Dunn on 'The How and Why of Chanting'
Just What Is A Chant?
Chanting: A Springboard into Learning
Dramatic Possibilities With Chants
Encouraging Students to Write Their Own Chants These chants and raps song lyrics are available from a variety of albums:
Action Chants
Going on a Bear Hunt– Traditional/Tickle Tune Typhoon
The Grand Old Duke of York– Hugh Hanley
Kye Kye Kule– Traditional/Tickle Tune Typhoon
Mashed Potatoes– Katherine Dines
Warm Up Time– John 'Kinderman' Taylor Art Raps
Art, Art, We Love Art!– School Art Theatre Productions
Colors– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Review Rap (Famous Artists)– School Art Theatre Productions
Character Education Chants
Cool Cooperation– James Oglesby
Dealing With Feelings Rap (The I-Message Song)– Paulette Meier
Do You Know Your Community Helpers?– Music with Mar.
I'm A Special Kid– Dr. Thomas Moore
Low-Down High– Linda K. Williams
Say 'No' to Drugs– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
S.O.S.– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Wake Up!– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
We Want Peace– John 'Kinderman' Taylor Holiday and Calendar Chants and Raps
Chant and Sing for Kwanzaa– Caroline Figiel and Danny Jones
Weekly Rap– Hap Palmer French Language Raps
Comment est-il?– John DeMado
Je pars en vacances– John DeMado
Salut!– John DeMado
Tu fais quoi?– John DeMado Language Arts: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Raps
The ABC Rap– Steven Widerman And The Gum Rappers
Alphabet Animals at the Zoo– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Cookie Mouth Sounds– Music with Mar.
Grammar Rapper– Dennis Westphall
Hand Talk– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Have You Heard About Compound Words?– Jack Hartmann
Hop Over It– Jack Hartmann
Keemo Kyemo!– Katherine Dines
Let's Make Words– Jack Hartmann
Make a Rhyme, Make a Move– Jack Hartmann
Make New Sounds– Jack Hartmann
Move to the Alphabet– Jack Hartmann
Parts of Speech Rap– Learning by Song
Peanut Butter and Jelly– Jack Hartmann
Popcorn Words– Jack Hartmann
Pronoun Rap– Learning by Song
Question Marks– Felice Green
Work Out to the Letter Sounds– Jack Hartmann Math Chants and Raps
2's, 2's, I Got a Beat for You (Multiplication Rap)– Earth Tone
The Add and Subtract Body Part Dance– Jack Hartmann
Angles– Mary Perrine: Believers and Achievers
Chicken Count– Jack Hartmann
Circles 'Round (Radius, Diameter, Circumference, Pi)– Mary Perrine
Fifteen March– Ron Brown
Fusili Turkish Proverb(counting chant)–Katherine Dines
Hand Clap Rap (Patterns)– Jack Hartmann
Hip-Hop Around the Clock– Jack Hartmann
Learn the 7's Right Now (Multiplication Rap)– Earth Tone
Median Dance– Mary Perrine and Sue Herby: Believers and Achievers
Months of the Year Cheer– Jack Hartmann
Number in the Middle– Jack Hartmann
Polygon Rap– Mary Perrine: Believers and Achievers
Teaching 'Mode' and 'Mean'– Mary Perrine: Believers and Achievers Multicultural Chants
Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta-Chants–Katherine Dines Poetry
A Pumpkin Sigh Poem– Linda Brown
The Elf Poem– Linda Brown
Gingerbread Man Poem– Linda Brown
The Lamplighter– Robert Louis Stevenson
Looking Glass River– Robert Louis Stevenson
My Shadow– Robert Louis Stevenson
Velvet Faces Poem– Linda Brown
Whiteness Poem– Linda Brown Preschool Raps
Tie Your Shoes Rap– Jack Hartmann Science Chants and Raps
The Electric Connection Rap– Kathleen Carroll
The Longitude / Latitude Rap– Ron Brown
No Backbone Beat– Tickle Tune Typhoon
Science Is– Tickle Tune Typhoon
Six Simple Machine Rap– Jack Hartmann
Turtle Rap– Stephanie Burton
Vibration Rap– Kathleen Carroll Social Studies Raps and Chants
Abe Lincoln– School Art Theatre Productions
Canada Chant– Mr. I
Heroes, Heroes, We Love Heroes!– School Art Theatre Productions
John F. Kennedy– School Art Theatre Productions
Martin Luther King Jr.– School Art Theatre Productions
Thomas Jefferson– School Art Theatre Productions Spanish Language Raps
Cómo es tu familia?– John DeMado
Pajarito (Traditional Mexican Game)– Katherine Dines
¿Qué haces para cuidarte?– John DeMado
¿Qué te gusta hacer?– John DeMado
Salut!– John DeMado Test Taking Raps
Organize– Musically Aligned
Test Ready– Musically Aligned
Test-Taking Preparation Chant #1– Jack Hartmann Traditional Folk Songs and Nursery Rhymes
A Crooked Man– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Doctor, Doctor– Skip West
Flea Fly Flow Mosquito– Katherine Dines
Funga A La Feeya– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Funga A La Feeya (West African)– Katherine Dines
The Gingerbread Girl– Jim Rule
Hickory Dickory Dock– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Humpty Dumpty– Jack Hartmann
The Humpty Dumpty Sidewalk Chant
The Itsy Bitsy Spider– Jack Hartmann
Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill– Jack Hartmann
Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick– Jack Hartmann
Little Boy Blue– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
Me Stone Is Me Stone– Katherine Dines
Mister Ram Goat-O– Katherine Dines
Paddycake, Paddycake, Baker's Man– Jack Hartmann
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater– John 'Kinderman' Taylor
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe– Jack Hartmann
The Three Little Pigs– Jim Rule Transition Raps
Clean Up Rap (Art Room)– School Art Theatre Productions
Funga A La Feeya (West African)– Katherine Dines
Get In Line Rap (Art Room)– School Art Theatre Productions
Get Your Supplies (Art Room)– School Art Theatre Productions
Stack Up, Pack Up, Trash Up– Musically Aligned | 