Since you need to change activities every 5 minutes for PreK-1st graders, you need a lot of activities when teaching these grades. Silver lining: kids this age are generally happy to see activities come up time and again, so you don’t need as much variety from week to week as you do with older students.
I created “Shaking Up the Apple Tree” by adapting an activity from my Orff training. It works in both virtual and in-person classes. It introduces call and answer structure, teaches rhythm steadiness, and even has a math integration! Kristin and I demonstrate it in the video, complete with the short shtick I use to transition from the prior activity. The explanation below is based on having two teachers. If you‘re teaching alone, clap the pulse while you say the rhyme and have the kids join you; then, have them echo your claps in step 3 with clapping instead of drumming.
1) One teacher says the chant below; the other teacher drums a steady pulse to mark the beat. Everyone stops on “STOP!”
Shaking up the apple tree
Watch the apples drop
To hear the apples falling
You’ve gotta’ STOP!
2) The teacher who said the chant claps 1-8 times.
3) The other teacher drums that number of beats on the drum; students drum along.
Little kids love this! The “story” stimulates their imaginations, and they get a fun sense of accomplishment from playing the sound of the apples falling.
Happy teaching!