This song is available on Hap Palmer's One Little Sound: Fun with Phonics and Numbers.
Subjects:
• Addition and subtraction facts to 10
• Coordination of hands and fingers
Vocabulary:
Add, subtract, sum, plus, minus
Activity:
In this song we hold up fingers to represent groups of people. For Example:
A merry group of 3 (hold up 3 fingers on one hand)
Met a merry group of 3 (hold up 3 fingers on the other hand)
They got together to sing and play (bring hands and fingers together)
They said, “How many are here today? (call out total number of fingers)
A merry group of 6 (hold up 3 fingers on each hand)
Sang and played all day (wiggle fingers and move hands)
Then 3 waved danced away (3 fingers wave and dance away)
How many were left to sing and play? (call out number of fingers remaining)
Let your fingers play and dance with the music. Solve each addition and subtraction problem, and try to call out the answer before you hear it on the recording.
Oh, a merry group of 3 met a merry group of 3
They got together to sing and play
They said, “How many are here today?” . . .
3 plus 3 is 6
A merry group of 6 sang and played all day
Then 3 waved and danced away
How many were left to sing and play? . . .
6 minus 3 is 3
A friendly group of 3 met a friendly group of 4
They said, “Let’s get together
and we’ll have so many more”
Someone find the sum
and say how many we have today
We’re a jolly group,
a traveling troop of 3 plus 4 is 7
Oh, a merry group of 7 sang and played all day
Then 4 waved and danced away
How many were left to sing and play? . . .
7 minus 4 is 3
A friendly group of 5 met another group of 5
They said, “Let’s have a party
now that everyone’s arrived.”
Someone find the sum
and say how many we have today
We’re a jolly group,
a traveling troop of 5 plus 5 is 10
Oh, a merry group of 10 sang and played all day
Then 5 waved and danced away
How many were left to sing and play?
10 minus 5 is 5
Then everyone danced away,
none remained to sing and play
Zero friends were left to say,
“How many are here today?”
Follow-up:
Try the addition-only version of this song (#11) from the recording ONE LITTLE SOUND. Make up your own addition and subtraction problems and sing them with the instrumental version of this song (#23) from the recording ONE LITTLE SOUND.
This song is available on Hap Palmer's One Little Sound: Fun with Phonics and Numbers.
These songs and activities are for the personal use of parents and teachers only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Hap-Pal Music, Box 323 Topanga, CA 90290 e-mail: hap@netwood.net.
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