Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Black Cat, Black Cat
(Steady Beat Game)
Lower Elementary (PK-1)
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
Bonus! This teaching strategy includes a set of DHMR downloadable visual aids.
This teaching strategy is all about playing a game like “I Spy with My Little Eye” with an original chant called “Black Cat, Black Cat”. It goes with Disney’s “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” by 3 different artists (London Music Works (2012); Massimo Roberti (2023); and Pickin’ On Series, Billy Troy (2008)) for students to experience a few interpretations of the same song—and hear horns and strings!
These tracks are available on multiple streaming audio platforms. (Like many of my teaching strategies, you should feel free to find other audio tracks to anchor the learning experience using music that works in your setting or new tracks to simply “mix it up.”)
Pedagogical Foundations
What do you see? No really.
The ability to make observations is an important skill in music class—and in life. As teachers we observe SO many things in the classroom everyday, but I sometimes wonder what students see us doing (lol).
In my view, music teachers wear all the hats… It would be cool if students saw even a few of these roles we perform:
Advisor
Advocate
Cheerleader
Coach
Collaborator
Creator
Decision Maker
Decorator
Detective
Empath
Event Planner
Guide
Knowledge Bearer
Leader
Listener
Manager
Mediator
Mentor
Motivator
MUSICIAN
Nourisher
Protector
Provider
Referee
Ring Leader
Role Model
Storyteller
Super Hero
Supporter
Teacher who changes lives and empowers students to experience and make music while also learning to respect others and contribute as citizens in an ever-evolving world.
Today’s teaching strategy “Black Cat, Black Cat” includes moving to the steady beat and making observations—and decisions. I hope you give it a try with your students. But first, let me remind you who I am:
Hi! I’m Darla, an experienced PK-12 music educator, college professor, and former Berklee College of Music Dean looking to connect with teachers, parents/caregivers, and others seeking to advance creative music making for today’s students—and their teachers. In Darla Hanley’s Music Room you will find teaching strategies, advice and teaching tips, playlists, and more.
Today we are going to play a game called “Black Cat, Black Cat”! It’s about a cat sitting high upon a wall. We need to figure out what he can see from up there. Let’s play!
Speak the “Black Cat, Black Cat” chant without the recording and lead students to tap the steady beat.
Ask students to choose what the Black Cat sees by selecting one of the DHMR Black Cat Visuals (downloadable PDF). Once the student selects an image, lead all students to chant its name 4x before starting the chant again (e.g., tree, tree, tree, tree). Video provided to make it easy!
Play the recording of “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” by London Music Works, Keith Ferreira, speak the chant, and invite individual students to select the image the cat sees to chant 4x with the track.
ProTIP: Begin chanting at 0.08 following a brief introduction.
ProTIP: The tempo changes at 1.22 of the track. Use the first 1.21 as an excerpt—or go with the music!
Now instead of choosing one of the pictures as what the Black Cat sees, you need to look around the room to find something YOU see—that the cat could see too!
ProTIP: This could be a “free observation” moment OR you could place a set of objects in the front of the room for students to see and use in their responses (e.g., Ball, Teddy Bear, Chair, Drum, Egg Shaker, Scarves, Book).
Play the recording and perform “Black Cat, Black Cat” with students identifying items in the room to chant 4x.
Materials/Set Up
Variety of Items (e.g., Ball, Teddy Bear, Chair, Drum, Egg Shaker, Scarves, Book)
DHMR Black Cat, Black Cat Visual Aid PDF
🎵 London Music Works "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” Link to Track on Spotify
🎵 Massimo Roberti "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” Link to Track on Spotify
🎵 Pickin’ On Series, Billy Troy "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” Link to Track on Spotify
Black Cat, Black Cat
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
Black cat, black cat, round and fat
High upon the wall he sat;
Looking this way, looking that
What could he be looking at?
Video
EXTEND the Learning:
Play the recording of “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” by Massimo Roberti or Pickin’ On Series, Billy Troy and invite students to perform “Black Cat, Black Cat” with a new track.
Have students draw pictures OR color individual coloring book pages and use those images as what the black cat could see in the game.
Learning Targets
Chant, Move
Learning Outcomes
Respond with individual choice and body percussion
Create artwork to use as visual aids in the game*
Perform steady beat with body percussion
Assessment
Informal Observation/Formative Assessment
*This only happens within the EXTEND the Learning part of this teaching strategy.
Thanks for checking this out. If you use this teaching strategy, be sure to leave a comment to let me know how it resonates with your students!