Back to School Lesson Plan:

All Are Welcome Here

by Daniel Hershman-Rossi

Form Analysis: 

MFC I p. 91 #5

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adapted version

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Materials

Book: Penfold, Alexandra, and Suzanne Kaufman. All Are Welcome. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2018.

Teaching Notes

• I would present this over several of the first few lessons of the school year. It would be applicable to my 2nd and 3rd graders. Kindergarten and 1st graders would also enjoy the book and the song (although the instrument part would be left out this early in the year, and the movement activity may be adapted)
• This lesson goes with a beautiful book about inclusivity at school called “All Are Welcome” by Penfold and Kaufman. I have scanned it to a Google Slides file so it can be easily shown on my Smart Board from anywhere in the room.

Teaching Process

• Begin with movement: present the song “Good Morning” from Cameroon (see Beth’s Music Notes for music).
  • Sing song with accompaniment on guitar or piano. Ask: what are some ways we could greet each other? 
  • Move around room while listening to song. Each time students hear “good morning” give a greeting to a friend (class decides). Choose actions for “so happy to see you” and “how do you do?”
  • Sing song several times, encouraging students to greet various members of the class while moving.
• Show book. Display cover and pictures without reading it. Ask students: what do you predict this book will be about? (meeting new people, going to school, the first day of school, where you are from, etc)
• Present book, singing text to adapated melody. Note that the melody is adapted from Music For Children Volume 1. p. 91 #5. The rhythm is included below. For copyright reasons, the entire melody cannot be presented. Note that measures 5 and 6 in the original are changed slightly and included in this adaptation as an interlude or possible coda.
• Invite students to join on “all are welcome here”
• Discuss: what is the message of this book? What is the meaning? What are some ideas from this book that we can apply to our lives at home and school?
• Go to barred instruments set up in do based pentatonic on C. Allow students to find the pitches for “all are welcome here” (EE DD C).
• Present book again, teacher singing the first part of the text and students singing and playing “all are welcome here”.
• Extension ideas for later in the process:
  • add interlude – what does it represent? (a school bell, a friend calling to you, something else?)
  • students choose how to include the interlude – body percussion, unpitched percussion, etc.
  • present the final product to new Kindergarten and PK students as an in-class performance in September. 

Click here to download a pdf of this lesson plan