Page 66 - CJAug25

CHORTEACH
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them to say their name (so I can learn names and how 3) Whoever loses becomes a part of the winner’s “pos-
to pronounce them), tell them what their favorite song se” and starts following behind them, chanting
is, and tell me something good about their day. After their name.
approximately five students answer, I invite everyone to
sing “Tell Me Something Good,” and we learn about 4) Each winner will then play against another winner.
more students. I always challenge myself that by the They will know who the other winners are be-
end of the activity I should be able to name each child. cause they will also have a posse cheering them
After doing these activities, the students are not feel- on.
ing nearly as nervous or alienated as when they came
into the room. They now know each other’s names and 5) Each time someone loses, they and their posse join
have laughed, sung, and played together. I also take the in following and chanting the name of whoever
opportunity afterwards to explain to the students about beat them.
the warm-up process and why we warm-up our voices,
minds, and bodies. For more warm-up activities, visit 6) This process continues until the entire class is chant-
www.Girlconductor.com. ing the last winner’s name.

Pros: The activity is a quick way for your students to be-
gin to learn each other’s names and to hear their own
Jackson Hill name used in an affirming way. Almost nothing is cool-
Artistic Director, Singing Girls of Texas er than seeing “the shy student” have twenty classmates
Elementary Choir Director jumping around them, cheering them on as they play.
Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
jackson.hill@fwafa.org Things to Consider: This activity should be noisy and will
require your kids to move around the room—you will
need a little tolerance for crazy. To help regain your
Below are descriptions of three activities I incorpo- students’ attention at the end, you should already have
rate into my rehearsals throughout the first week each a mechanism in place to draw their attention back to
year. All of them require no materials, have easy-to- you. This could be a call-and-response, a hand gesture,
explain rules, are a great way to physically and mental- whatever works best for you. Additionally, to help keep
ly engage students, and allow teachers to demonstrate the activity safe, you will want to establish ground rules
that voices can be used in unfamiliar ways and it can about how students should travel around the room be-
be fun. fore you start playing.

Demonstration:
Posse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH44f8nkHo0
or scan the QR code below.
Rules:

1) Each student in the class finds a partner and shares
their name with them. Once they have shared
their names, they need to face you with their
thumbs up to show they are ready to start.

2) Once you say “go,” every pair will play one round of
rock-paper-scissors.

64 CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1