Superworm for Elementary Music (Movement, Solfege, Rhythm & Movie Day!)
Hello, elementary music teachers.
It’s May.
How are we doing?
No really- How are we doing?
Because if you’re anything like I was in May, you’re trying to keep students engaged, keep learning going, survive field day schedules, finish assessments, and somehow make it all to summer with your sanity intact.
That is exactly why I love using Superworm at the end of the school year. This lesson gives students everything they need to keep learning while also setting them up for a fun movie day. It reviews music fundamentals, gets students moving, includes assessment opportunities, and best of all—it requires very little prep on your end.
Watch a Full Video Walk-Through Here~
Let’s Get Started
Why Superworm Is Perfect for May
One of the things I love most about Superworm is that it comes from Julia Donaldson, the author behind favorites like The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom.
The story is engaging, funny, and full of opportunities to connect music learning to a narrative that students genuinely enjoy.
And if you’re looking for an end-of-year reward, there’s also a wonderful animated Superworm available on YouTube that is only about 25 minutes long. That makes it the perfect length for an elementary music class.
Start with Solfege Review
Even though we’re heading toward summer, I still want my students learning.
So before we even begin the story, we do a quick solfege review using Kerwen hand signs. Nothing complicated. Just enough to wake up their musical brains and remind them of concepts we’ve been working on throughout the year.
This becomes important later because students will eventually take a simple chant and transform it into a full solfege song using do, mi, sol, and la.
I love lessons that build toward something bigger, and this one does exactly that.
Building a Song One Step at a Time
What makes this lesson work so well is that students don’t start with a finished song.
They build it.
First comes the story.
Then comes the steady beat.
The opening pages practically beg to become a steady beat activity. Students chant “Superworm” while finding and tapping the steady beat. It’s simple, engaging, and gives those wiggly students a chance to participate right away.
Then we move into rhythm work.
As students hear about all of Superworm’s amazing adventures—becoming a fishing line, a skipping rope, and helping all of his friends—we begin identifying ta and ti-ti rhythms within the story. Students clap them, move to them, and decide which rhythm patterns fit different parts of the chant.
Before they know it, they’re doing meaningful rhythm analysis without it feeling like a worksheet.
Digital and Printable Assessments Included
One of my favorite things about this lesson is how easy it is to gather data.
Students can complete activities as a whole group, but they can also use either the digital or printable assessment versions. They identify rhythms, complete the chant, and demonstrate understanding of the concepts we’ve practiced throughout the lesson.
It’s a quick and easy way to grab end-of-year assessment data without needing a separate testing day.
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A Built-In Movement Break
Let’s be honest.
If we don’t move students in May, we lose students in May.
So this lesson includes a built-in movement break that requires almost no preparation.
Students jump like frogs, fly like bees, and spin spider webs while moving to classical music favorites including Flight of the Bumblebee and William Tell Overture.
My students often use scarves, but you absolutely don’t need them. The goal is simply to get students moving before bringing them back into the story.
Turning the Chant into a Song
This is where everything comes together.
After practicing steady beat and rhythms, we return to our solfege work.
Students review hand signs, identify pitches, and then take the chant they’ve been working with all lesson long and turn it into a complete song using do, mi, sol, and la.
Suddenly what began as:
“Superworm is super long…”
becomes a musical performance.
It’s one of my favorite moments because students get to see how all the pieces connect.
Steady beat becomes rhythm.
Rhythm becomes melody.
Melody becomes music.
Then Comes the Movie
This is where I give you permission.
Play the movie.
Seriously.
Students have earned it.
And honestly? You probably have too.
The beautiful thing about this lesson is that students don’t just watch the movie afterward. They’ve already connected with the story, practiced the rhythms, sung the melody, and moved with the characters.
The movie becomes an extension of the learning instead of a replacement for it.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the year, I don’t think we need harder lessons.
I think we need smarter lessons.
The kind that keep students engaged, keep the learning going, and still leave enough energy for everyone to make it to summer.
Superworm does exactly that.
Students move. Students sing. Students review important music fundamentals. You gather assessment data. And then everyone gets to enjoy a fantastic movie together.
Honestly? That’s a pretty great way to finish the school year.
Happy playing,
Leanna O’Brien
Founder of The Soaring Scarves Academy
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