Happy almost Halloween everyone! I am so excited to be participating in this Halloween Blog Hop! There are lots of great teacher tips, lessons and freebies along the way, so I hope you’re able to visit each store for inspiration and (who’s kidding who!) the awesome freebies! And check this out:
You’ll see the Rafflecopter machine a little further down. But first, I thought I’d take you down memory lane..
Did you used to sing the classic song 99 Bottles of Beer, with its stick-in-your-brain-forever melody and uncanny ability to teach even the most math-challenged among us to rote count backwards from 100?
I did, and it stuck so much that, years ago, I changed the words and created an activity to go with it. Its adhesive quality remains.
The activity:
- Print enough freebies for your entire class, and one for yourself. You’ll also see options for the color version at the bottom of this post.
- Plan enough time for each student to take a turn at the board. You’ll see why in a minute!
- Have some early finishers color and cut out your freebie, mount on sturdy paper, laminate if you wish, and place magnets on the back for use on a magnetic surface.
- Gather the class and draw a wall for your characters to stand on. If you have not read the story with them (optional purchase pictured below), then introduce the activity by discussing their thoughts regarding standing on high walls, predictions about what could happen etc. Throughout the course of the song, one character will be falling at a time.
- Now, warm up that singing voice! “Mi, mi, mi…”
- Give each child a chance to make a character fall from the wall as you sing this song:
 5 Halloween friends on the wall,5 Halloween friends … |
 If 1 of these friends has a big fall,How many friends are left on the wall? |
 4 Halloween friends on the wall,4 Halloween friends … |
 If 1 of these friends has a big fall,How many friends are left on the wall? |
 3 Halloween friends on the wall,3 Halloween friends … |
 If 1 of these friends has a big fall,How many friends are left on the wall? |
And you simply continue this way until there is one friend left on the wall.
1 Halloween friend on the wall, 1 Halloween friend…
If THIS one friend has a big fall, stay away from this crazy wall!
7. Invite your students to discuss what they noticed or found interesting about the song / story. Did they notice any patterns? Does anyone think that there was any math in the story? How could a number sentence be written about any part of the story?
8. Have fun!
Now back to the fun for the grown-ups! Here’s the secret word for the Rafflecopter machine…
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| a Rafflecopter giveaway |
Be sure to pop over to Elementary AMC by clicking below!
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Gemma says
October 18, 2015 at 1:14 pmOh my gosh, this freebie is ADORABLE!! Thanks for sharing!!!
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 18, 2015 at 1:32 pmThank you! I’m so happy you stopped by and like it! Happy Halloween!
Erin (Mrs. Beattie's Classroom) says
October 18, 2015 at 1:42 pmWhat an awesome little song! I bet the kids just love it! 🙂
~Erin
Mrs. Beattie’s Classroom
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 18, 2015 at 3:33 pmThey do! One little student of mine sang it for months! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Michelle says
October 18, 2015 at 5:53 pmI love your idea as relating to the old song “99 Bottles!” So cute! Thanks immensely for sharing and allowing teachers across the web to read your blog and enter your contest!
Thanks 🙂
Michelle
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 19, 2015 at 1:06 pmThanks so much, Michelle! So happy you like it!
Bryn says
October 20, 2015 at 2:06 pmI love this idea…I’m always adding lyrics to songs (much to my students chagrin!) Bryn
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 20, 2015 at 7:45 pmThanks so much, Bryn! Glad to find a kindred spirit! 😉
Christina says
October 20, 2015 at 7:28 pmWhat a cute song! Its a great spin on that classic that does get stuck in your head.
Christina
Hanging Around In Primary
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 20, 2015 at 7:47 pmThanks Christina – and…there it is again…GHAH!
Najda says
October 20, 2015 at 9:31 pmOh my! I love this idea! What a wonderful way to review a concept. Love the song, too! Just adorable!
Thanks for sharing!
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 21, 2015 at 9:34 pmThanks Najda!Happy Halloween to you and yours!
Erin Beers says
October 21, 2015 at 6:47 amThis is adorable! My 1st grade daughter will love creating a book with these characters! The song is adorable and she is working on subtraction. BTW, I sing to my 6th graders. I pretty much turn everything into song! Keep singing!
thatfunreadingteacher says
October 21, 2015 at 9:33 pmI’m so happy to hear that! (And I bet your 6th graders would love if you copied a massive stack of these characters for them to count backwards from whatever number you see fit…)
Catia says
October 25, 2015 at 12:41 pmI LOVE this idea! So adorable!!! Thank you for sharing.
thatfunreadingteacher says
November 9, 2015 at 2:16 pmThanks so much Catia! (Do you recognize your bricks in the story?) lol