Sing With a Partner

This game builds self-control and focus. We will sing a song as a whole group, and you will try to resist signing during another person’s turn. You will need to pay careful attention to your partner’s words and try not to sing over their voice. When we focus and practice self-control, we can practice thinking before we act. This will allow all of us to learn deeply together.

1. Play this game in pairs. Students should either stand so they are facing their partner or, if online, ensure they can see their partner’s face on the screen.
2. Choose a song that is familiar to students, and practice singing as a whole class.
3. Then, explain that students will continue singing as a whole class, but will take turns with their partner, trading back and forth who is singing each phrase of the song.
4. When one partner is singing, the other is silent, and when the singer stops, the other person must jump in quickly so they do not miss any words in the song.

• What about this game was easy or hard for you?
• What strategies did you use? What might you do differently next time?
• When do you need to focus at home or at school?
• How else would you like to play this game?

For primary school students:

• To decrease the challenge, use shorter songs or phrases.
• Instead of switching singers within a partnership, students can form small groups of 4-6 students and sing with a small group. Students may need to create a signal to decide when they will switch to the other group.

For students in grades 5-6:

• Organize students into 2-3 teams and take turns singing the song.
• To make the task more difficult, ask pairs or teams to choose the song to sing on their own. Students will need to concentrate amidst distracting sounds from the noise of other groups nearby.
• To add a challenge, increase the speed of the song or the frequency of switching turns.