Abiyoyo

This is the first lesson in my 2nd grade World Unit. I tell the kids we're taking an imaginary trip to somewhere else in the world. See if they can guess where. (South Africa) Then I play a song like this while they guess. We find South Africa on a map. (Remind them that Africa is a continent, and South Africa is a country.) They have probably studied continents already in social studies.

Abiyoyo from Beth Thompson

Then I teach the song Abiyoyo. It's easy to learn quickly (you could listen to the beginning of this and sing along) before showing them the book and playing the CD of Pete Seeger telling the story. We discuss how the song is calming, and it makes sense that it's a lullaby. (Pete Seeger mentions it at the end of the story.) We feel that rocking motion (meter in 2) as if a mother were rocking her child. We can also act out the story and/or watch the Reading Rainbow Abiyoyo DVD. Here's a clip from that DVD: