Transition Routines and Cheers for Primary
It is often difficult to create smooth and timely transitions with small children. It helps them when they can stay focused on the direction they are moving throughout the transition so they don’t wander off or meander into difficult social situations. This can be supported with songs and rhymes to remind them of the transition task or other practiced movement routines that become predictable and keep them on track. Any transition will need time for practice, often in little chunks, with some discussion of what we can do to make it better before it will be clear if it works for your class.
Transitions with Music:
It often helps students to sing a song or even listen to a song as they move from one place or activity to the next. Here are some ways to use music for smooth transitions:
· Play calming music as the children first enter the classroom or as you start a new lesson or activity. When all have arrived in the room or at a designated place, have them watch you and copy your slow movements in silence. Breathe deeply, sway, lift arms, relax your body, etc.
· Play a clip of a well-known song that students have a sense of how long it is. When the music stops, all must be at their seats
· Sing together a simple transition song with words that match the actions you’d like to see. Here’s one that can be set to any tune or just spoken in unison. It may need to be repeated if all little friends aren’t at their places.
One, two, three, four, little feet cross the floor
Five, six, s even, eight, little friends at their place
Nine and 10… in our seats again!
· If the teacher plays an instrument or likes keeping a rhythm with clapping, snapping or percussion, s/he can play a simple melody or put together clapping and snapping beats to a certain number of counts. Students do the rhythm as they move, stop at the end of a set number of beats and all who are at their seats sit. Continue the rhythm as the others go to their seats, stopping after a second round to have all sit, and so on until all are seated.
· Sing a song with number groups like “Five little Monkeys” and after each verse, choose a group of students to send along to the next activity
Transitions with Verse:
Much like transitioning with music, students may enjoy transitioning with verses/poems/rhymes
· Use tongue-twister type rhymes to transition with and build phonemic awareness. Some examples for each letter of the alphabet can be found at this site: 4kids.net/tongue.html
Teachers should feel free to adapt words and phrases to suit their children’s needs. Also see alliteration exercises at /commons/library/documents/35714
· Children might also say a verse that gets quieter and quieter with each step they take so the transition ends in silence. Here’s an old favorite for this kind of verse transition:
A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke.
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Can we all be like that wise, old bird?
Transitions with Movement:
Designing specific movements to get children to the next step can keep the whole class moving together in the right direction. There are infinite ways to do this—here are a few ideas:
· Begin with the children in a circle at the carpet holding hands or with hands on the shoulders of the child in front of them. Singing a song, chanting a verse or moving like little mice as quietly as possible, tip-toeing about, a leader (start with the teacher) breaks off the circle and leads the line to one seat at a time, dropping off students from the beginning or end of the line (or both). This will work best of there’s something at the tables when the children arrive for them to start on
· Divide students into animal groups (birds, butterflies, mice, fish and other small creatures that can move slowly, smoothly or quietly are best). Each group practices the movement of that animal. Then on cue, the birds are asked to fly gently to their seats. Then the mice scamper off, then the fish swim along, etc. A variation on this is to have the whole class swim to their seats (even accompanied by a song about fish, for example)
· Play Simon Says starting at the carpet or in one part of the room and offering commands that step by step, move the children to the next place you want them to be. For instance, if all start sitting on the carpet the steps might go as follows:
o Simon says stand up
o Simon says turn and face the tables
o Simon says take 3 small steps towards the tables, and so on.
Cheers
· Sparkle or Shine (fingers wiggle towards the person being celebrated)
· ASL Applause: spread our fingers and hold hands next to your head and turn wrists as if waving.
· Marshmallow Clap (hands clap without touching as if squishing a giant marshmallow)
· Trucker Cheer: “Honk Honk” (pulling a truckers horn), “Good Job, Little Buddy”(as if holding a CB radio)
· Fireworks Cheer: Hands together move up in the air (with rocket sound). Hands move apart and fingers wiggle (with firework sounds)
· Fantastic Cheer: Mime spraying a window and wiping it with a rag. Say “Fantastic” afterwards.
· Looking Good Cheer: Draw a mirror in the the air with your pointer fingers, dust shoulders and point into the mirror and say “Ooh, Aaah, Looking Good!”
· Disco Cheer: Sing “ah, ah, ah, ah” as your finger points above your shoulder and then below your waist, then sing, “You did a good job, You did a good job!” as you point and shake with both fingers towards the person being cheered. (Think “Staying Alive” and John Travolta :)
· Hamburger: Put one hand on top of the other and clap 3 times. Look at the palm of your hands and say, “Not done yet.” Flip hands and clap 3 times. Look at the palm of your hands and say, “Not done yet.” Flip hands and clap 3 times. Look at the palms of your hands and say, “Well done.”
· Cowboy Cheer: Slap your thighs 2 times. Clap 2 times. Lasso your hand in the air and say, “Yee-haw!”