Bought Me A Cat

Literature Connection

This song can introduce children to animals they are about to see in a read-aloud story. Choose verses that are relevant to the story the children are about to hear.

Levels of Engagement

With the youngest students, try having a pose for each verse. For example, encourage participants to put their hands up like pointy ears when we sing about the cat; put thumbs in armpits when we sing about the hen; hands up like floppy ears for dog, etc.

For kids who are verbal, I recommend introducing them to each nonsense animal sound first. Encourage them to join you for each nonsense word. Many of the words use challenging phonemes that will help develop students' skills of listening, imitation, and articulation.

More advanced students may be ready to sing the song in its entirety. The more verses we add, the tougher the challenge is! A student may wish to take a particular animal's sound as a solo.

Extend your Understanding

Give your students an opportunity for creativity while measuring their understanding of meter, melody, and more. Ask students to create a new verse. Their choice of animal may be inspired by a piece of literature or a geographic region the students are studying. Can students create an original verse with a creative nonsense sound, within the pitch and timing of the original verses?