“En-gine, en - gine, num-ber nine, Go - ing down the rail-road line,
If the train goes off the track, Do I get my mon -ey back?”
Engine, Engine, Number 9
Key C, first note so(G)
a cappella count-in: 1,2,3,4,En...
traditional
children's song
circa 1900
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
Engine, Engine, Number 9
train sound track, xylophone
literacy, movement, solfa
The train moves on tracks which become staff lines for an early literacy lesson.
Multiple repeated verses give plenty of opportunity for solo singing or mimicing a
train moving around the classroom.
learning
tempo
upbeat
tempo
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Lesley J Clare
Display the simplified music for "Engine, Engine, Number 9" (print from the pdf ). Instead
of teaching the song by rote (echo) or by assimilation (repeated listening), teach this song
by reading the music.
Read through the time names for the notes.
Check the words for vocabulary and reading recognition.
Read the words to the rhythm.
Sing the solfa to the rhythm.
Sing the words to the rhythm.
Introduce the song --engage student interest.
Is there a local train students have seen or been on?
Make some train sounds prefaced by "Guess what I am?"
Have you recently read a story about trains?
CHOOSE WHATEVER WORKS BEST IN YOUR CLASS.
"When "ta" and “ti-ti” are written on music lines, they have a
little ball/circle attached. The name for “ta” is “quarter
note”, “ti-ti”s are “eighth notes”. Find a word with a “ta”
or “quarter note above it. (nine, line, track, back)Now we can
read the time names for the whole song. Wait for the count-
in. One, two, ready, go ... "
"engine, railroad" Explain that in music, if a word needs more
than one note to sing, it is divided into parts by the hyphens.
It helps if you use a pointer, or hand, to follow the words.
=
ta
quarter
note
+
engine = en - gine
railroad = rail-road
En-gine, En-gine, num-ber 9____, Go-ing down the rail-road line___.
so
so
so
mi mi----
mi----
New Song: New Song: Engine, Engine, Number Nine (reading song)
Begin with the train track music
Move your hand up and down
with the "so-mi.”
“En-gine, en - gine, num-ber nine, Go - ing down the rail-road line,
If the train goes off the track, Do I get my mon -ey back?”
Engine, Engine, Number 9
Key C, first note so(G)
a cappella count-in: 1,2,3,4,En...
traditional
children's song
circa 1900
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
=
ti-ti
eighth notes
+
Note: The videosong doesn’t use staff lines until the ??? verse, but essentially teaches the same
lesson presented here.
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Lesley J Clare
Make 2 or 3 “student” trains. The first person is the engineer.
The last person is the caboose. People/cars in the train put
their hands on the shoulders of the person in front. When the
engineer starts the train, he “chugs” down a track of her/his
own choosing. The train follows along.
Encourage students to move to the beat of the song, keeping
time with the music.
When students sing/hear the word “track”, the train stops
while everyone sings “Do I get my money back?” The
engineer goes to the back of the train and the next in line, a
new engineer takes over.
Do one or two of the students' favourite dance/movement songs.
Ha Ha This-A-Way Here We Go Looby Loo
The Holiday Hop Turkey in the Straw
Trot Old Joe Chay Chay Cool-eh!
The Kangaroo
The Wild Horseman
Have some "train" fun while working on solfa. Use painter's
masking tape, (It comes off without leaving sticky residue.) to
make a set of railroad lines in your classroom. Label one side
of the tracks "so" and one side of the tracks "mi."
Line half the class (if there is enough space on the railroad line
the whole class may do this at one time) up alone the "so" track,
facing the "mi" track. As conductor, stand "below" the mi track,
facing the students.
Sing a few handsign sets; e.g. "so so mi so."
Students echo and jump down to "mi" when singing "mi," then
back to "so."
Give students several additional patterns to echo/jump.
Repeat with the other half of the class.
For the adventurous --try while singing Engine, Engine #9!
so track
mi track
Music & Movement/DanceMusic & Movement/Dance
Lesson Plan for 24 a ends here..
New RepertoireNew Repertoire
Engine, Engine, Number Nine
students stand
facing teacher
teacher
stands
facing
students
so
mi
When singing “so”, everyone
is on the “so” line.
When singing “mi”, everyone
is on the “mi” line.
Changes in position are
made by jumping forward,
then back.
Extra Idea: Extra Idea: Movement with Solfa
En-gine, En-gine, num-ber 9____, Go-ing down the rail-road line___.
so
so
so
mi mi----
mi----
If the train goes off the track___, Do I get my mon-ey back___?
so
so
mi
mi----
mi----
Engine, Engine, Number 9
If the train goes off the track
Do I get my mon-ey back?
En-gine En-gine Num-ber 9
Go-ing down the rail-road line
Ask me to sing a train song!
I can do music in Lesson 24 . My name is _________________________________
c. 2012 LJ Clare, copied with permission for classroom use from CanDo Music
Every tie on the railroad track is either "so" or "mi."
Draw in the missing "so" and "mi" circles and put their names in place.
En-gine, En-gine, num-ber 9____, Go-ing down the rail-road line___.
so
so
so
mi mi----
mi----
If the train goes off the track___, Do I get my mon-ey back___?
mi----
Engine, Engine, Number 9
so
so
I can do music in Lesson 24 . My name is _________________________________
c. 2012 LJ Clare, copied with permission for classroom use from CanDo Music
Our train has one wheel on the "so" side of the train tracks,
and one wheel on the "mi" side of the train tracks. It makes
its song by clicking on either "so" or "mi". Can you keep the
train song going?
Sing the song as you go to help decide if it's "so" or "mi"!
Ask me to sing a train song!
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Lesley J Clare
BB
Work Page Work Page Writing Music
In Lesson 24a, time was spent listening for,
demonstrating with handsigns and reading “so-
mi” for the song Engine, Engine, Number Nine.
Both these work pages provide an opportunity to
move into writing “so-mi.”
Before beginning either work page.
1. Sing the song with students.
USE THE HANDSIGNS!
2. Sing the “so-mi’s” to the song.
3. Display the music with the staff lines.
4. Sing the song again,
following the notes with a pointer.
Emphasize the movement up and down.
Display an enlarged copy of the train
track music. Do the activity with the
whole class before giving out the work
page for individual student working
time.
This work page is more challenging.
Students need to make the circles in the
correct places for “so-mi.” Again, do
the activity with the whole class before
individual working time.
“En-gine, en - gine, num-ber nine, Go - ing down the rail-road line,
If the train goes off the track, Do I get my mon -ey back?”
Engine, Engine, Number 9
Key C, first note so(G)
a cappella count-in: 1,2,3,4,En...
traditional
children's song
circa 1900
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
"There are all kinds of different stations. There’s a police station,
station. Listen to this song and decide what kind of station it sings about."
(Sing/play “Down by the Station.”)
and a bus
"What do you think? What kind of station is it? (If no answer comes say the
words “Choo, choo” in a train whistle kind of way.) Yes ---a train station.
Show the picture of a steam engine. Train engines used to look like this.
On top is a smoke stack because inside there’s a big fire. Coal burns in the
fire to make the train go. Out the top comes the smoke from the fire ---
puffing smoke. Train engineers didn’t use keys to start the train, they used
something else. Listen again for how the engineer starts the train."
(Sing/play the song again.)
“Throttle” --that’s what the engineer uses. I’m going to sing/say a
line, you sing it after me." (Teach the song using echoes for each line.
Then try two lines at a time, and finally the whole song.)
So what exactly is a "puffer belly?" The most reasonable explanation I could find says that one of the first
engines built (1820s) by George Stevenson was called a Puffing Billy which is an easy language shift to "puffer
belly." However, I kind of like the claim of a 95 year-old singer who says it really means "puff and bellows."
Whatever the real meaning, there actually is a "Puffing Billy" steam train still running as a tourist attraction in
Australia. If you're ever there, might want to take a ride --just google the name! There was a similar song
written by Ricks, and Slim Gailard in 1948 that appears to be based on a much older folksong.
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Lesley J Clare
Lesson Plan for 24 b ends here..
New Song: New Song: Down By the Station
Down by the sta - tion ear-ly in the morn-ing, See the lit-tle
puf-fer bel-lies all in a row. See the en-gine driv - er
Down by the Station
Key F, first note do(F)
a cappella count-in: 1,2,Down...
traditional
children's song
pull the lit-tle throt - tle, Puff puff, choo choo, Off we go.
I can do music in Lesson 24 . My name is _________________________________
c. 2012 LJ Clare, copied with permission for classroom use from CanDo Music
Our train has one wheel on the "so" side of the train tracks,
and one wheel on the "mi" side of the train tracks. It makes its
song by clicking on either "so" or "mi". Can you keep the train
song going?
En-gine, En-gine, num-ber 9____, Go-ing down the rail-road line___.
so
so
so
mi mi----
mi----
If the train goes off the track___, Do I get my mon-ey back___?
mi----
Engine, Engine, Number 9
so
so
Sing the song as you go to help decide if it's "so" or "mi"!
Ask me to sing a train song!
“En-gine, en - gine, num-ber nine, Go - ing down the rail-road line,
If the train goes off the track, Do I get my mon -ey back?”
Engine, Engine, Number 9
Key C, first note so(G)
a cappella count-in: 1,2,3,4,En...
traditional
children's song
circa 1900
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
so so mi mi so so mi so so mi mi so so mi
En-gine, En-gine, num-ber 9____, Go-ing down the rail-road line___.
so
so
so
mi
mi----
mi----
If the train goes off the track___, Do I get my mon-ey back___?
so
so
mi
mi----
mi----
Engine, Engine, Number 9
If the train goes off the track
Do I get my mon-ey back?
En-gine En-gine Num-ber 9
Go-ing down the rail-road line
Ask me to sing a train song!
I can do music in Lesson 24 . My name is _________________________________
c. 2012 LJ Clare, copied with permission for classroom use from CanDo Music
Every tie on the railroad track is either "so" or "mi."
Draw in the missing "so" and "mi" circles and put their names in place.
En-gine
Go -ing
If the
Do I
so so
down the rail-road line
train goes off the track
get my mon-ey back?
En-gine Num-ber 9
mi mi so so mi
