Music

• Listen to the song. Can children identify different sections of the song? E.g. The differences in tempo (speed of the beat). Which section has a fast tempo and which section has a slow tempo?
• Create characters to represent a fast tempo e.g. rabbit and a slow tempo e.g. turtle. Make two flashcards showing a rabbit and turtle. When a leader holds up the 'rabbit ' flash card children clap hands as fast as they can; when the leader shows the 'turtle ' flash card children clap hands slowly.

Science

• Habitat - where does a hippopotamus live?
• Why is a hippopotamus regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in the world?

Dance

• Listen to "Hippo Medley" and ask children to suggest ideas for actions to go with each verse.
• Children then view the video song on YouTube and compare the actions with their own ideas.

Literacy

• Sing and read along to the YouTube song to achieve multi-sensory learning "Do it, see it and hear it!"

Print out the song PDF

• Read the song lyrics - ask children a variety of questions.
• Re-read the song lyrics and ask children to join in.
• Recognise and use a variety of punctuation when reading. " " ! ? . ,
• Look at print and conventions (bold, italics).
• Talk about interesting/challenging words and discuss what they mean.
• Word study - phonic knowledge, compound words, rhyming word, contractions etc.