Hippo Medley
Sing and Learn the Actions with Gus the Hippo!
Lyrics
What a sight to see,
six hippos rockin ' to the beat .
Dancin ' the hippo hop,
Watch those hippo feet!
Hip, hip, hippo hop.
Hip, hip, hippo hop.
What a sight to see,
hippos rockin ' to the beat .
Dancing the hippo hop,
watch those hippo feet!
Hip, hip, hippo hop.
Hip, hip, hippo hop.
Hip, hip, hippo hop,
watch those hippo feet.
What a sight to see,
hippos rockin ' to the beat .
Dancing the hippo hop,
watch those hippo feet!
My name is Gus, I travel by bus.
People make an incredible fuss.
Why do they make such a fuss?
Because I 'm a hippopotamus!
As I was walking down the street.
A hippopotamus I happened to meet.
Bright yellow shoes adorned his feet.
His red and blue suit looked oh so neat.
My name is Gus, I travel by bus.
People make an incredible fuss.
Why do they make such a fuss?
Because I 'm a hippopotamus!
I 'm cool!
Activities
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.
