Shaking It Up in Music!

I love egg shakers! They are great for students of all ages and abilities. Today I'd like to share with you some of my favorite activities using egg shakers in the music classroom.

Songs

Shake It Baby from Rachel Rambach

I use many of Rachel's songs for my Severe & Profound students. She is a music therapist and writes songs that work well with her students' needs. One of these is "Shake It Baby" which helps students go fast and slow as well as high and low. 

I Know a Chicken by Laurie Berkner is a fun song for egg shakers but also echo singing. 

"Shakey Shakey Egg" from Music K8 17/4 is a nice song to let kids just shake away how they'd like. With older students, you can practice shaking on the beat or inserting rhythmic patterns. You can sample it on Music K8's website to see if it's the right song for you before purchasing.

Books

Shaggy Dog and the Terrible Itch by Bedford & Williamson

I love this story! It is so silly and has wonderful pictures. You can use the egg shakers in different ways with this story. One way is to use it any time Shaggy Dog itches. My students like using it when "the itch came back" because he wiggles and they giggle.

Ol' Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein

I just got this book and can't wait to use it soon. Squirrels are one of my favorite creatures, so this book is perfect for fall in Iowa. I plan on having the students use the egg shakers every time Mama Squirrel says "chook chook chook."

Baby Rattlesnake by Moroney & Ata

I found this idea from another music education blogger. The Kodaly Aspiring Music Classroom has a neat way to tie in rhythm practice with this story. On the "ch ch chhh" part,  she suggests using the rhythmic pattern "ti ti ta." This works well for my first graders who are learning ta and titi. You can also just have the kids use the shakers on that part without a clear rhythmic element. 

Activities

Check out Sing-Play-Creatively for a fun activity about colors! She has a video, music tracks and printables for kindergarten through 2nd grade. Great as a brain break or lesson!

One thing I love about egg shakers is that you can use them all year long! Here's a great activity you can use this month with "In the Hall of the Mountain King." Music with Miss W has an interactive lesson for reviewing half notes including choreography and composition.

You can also do a fun twist on Grieg's tune with a freebie from The Learning Groove. Eric Litwin (Pete the Cat) is half of the group and inserts movement words to add with the shakers.

This last activity is great for older kids! Amy at Music a la Abbott has a full blog post dedicated to this awesome song including ways to expand upon it. Find it here!

I hope you have found something new to use with your egg shakers. Many of these activities can also be done with maracas or homemade egg shakers. You can find directions for making your own egg shakers here. Have a great week shaking it up!