good morning dear earth song

modifying this technique

  • Feel free to modify this song with other words that you are learning in class. If you’re feeling ambitious, try to make the new words rhyme!
  • While the goal of this song is not necessarily memorization, after a few times students will start to learn the song. When they know the words, ask the students to lead the song so you can repeat after them. This turns the song from being teacher-directed to being student-centered and can validate the students’ leadership skills.
  • If you can’t carry a tune, don't worry! Feel free to turn this song into a rhythmic chant. Remember, your students will learn best when they see you enjoying what you teach; don't stress yourself out.

lyrics

Good morning dear earth.
Good morning dear sun.
Good morning dear trees
and flowers everyone.

Good morning dear beasts
and birds in the trees.
Good morning to you
and good morning to me.

Good morning to you
and good morning to me.

skill breakdown

OBJECTIVE OF THE SONG
The objective of this song is to start the day, calm bodies and minds, and warm up higher order literacy skills.

  • Notice: The objective of this song is not to “learn the lyrics.” This is why Courtney doesn’t waste time scaffolding the gestures, lyrics, and melody separately. She teaches them all at once, because the objective is not memorization.
  • Notice: Instead, she focuses on modeling a calm and focused demeanor while using full sentences and challenging vocab words.

REPEAT AFTER ME SONGS
Repeat after me songs are opportunities for students to learn as they go. This is an activity that actually benefits from less scaffolding than more.

  • Why? Repeat after me songs are fast to teach, and they can establish a focused environment when you don't have time to patiently scaffold.

TEACHER-DIRECTED
Repeat after me songs are mostly teacher directed, meaning the teacher is giving all the directions without student input. Learn more about the difference between teacher-directed and student-centered learning.

  • Why? Teacher directed learning can be useful for unfocused learning environments and to teach students how to follow directions.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CREATIVITY
Courtney starts the song by asking students to show her "how big your earth is."

  • Why? Even in entirely teacher-directed activities, it's important to give students opportunities to take agency and be creative.
  • Notice:  When one student has a smaller Earth than she expects, she validates it instead of correcting it.

SOUND AND GESTURE TECHNIQUE
Courtney couples every challenging word in the song with a clear explanatory gesture.

CLEAR GESTURES
Make sure your gestures are easy to see and simple to copy.

  • Why? Repeatable gestures succeed by encouraging motor skill development and explaining new vocab words. Unclear gestures confuse students.

MODEL THE BEHAVIOR YOU WANT TO SEE
Courtney is calm and positive as she leads the song. She keeps consistent eye contact and engages with every student. 

  • Why? Model the positivity, calmness, and engagement that you want to see.