The Engagement Library

A Fun Russian Song (PreK-6)

"Sasha" is one of Dave's most requested songs. Put this on when you have five minutes between activities, and watch students engage! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: world cultures, world communities, language...

A Fun Song with Jaw Harp (Gr. 2-6)

Here's Dave with his group, The Canal Street String Band, performing a funny old song that's beloved by kids of all ages. Sing along! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: tall tales KEYWORDS: crow, animal sounds,...

Black History Month: Play Hambone! (K-8)

For Black History Month or any old time at all, this is a super fun activity for preK through high school students. Hambone is the ancient art of making rhythm on the body with roots in Africa, th...

CBS Sunday Morning: Erie Canal (Gr. 2-8)

Featuring Dave! Here's a great 8-minute overview of the history and national impact of the Erie Canal, with our favorite singer of canal songs. Dave was thrilled to be involved with this productio...

Chicken and a Chicken: Game Song (PreK-1)

This is one of those songs your students will continue singing long after school today. It's time-tested fun from the days when kids were responsible for entertaining themselves! Get ready to sing,...

Colonial Trades Song (Gr. 2-8)

Twenty four of the colonial trades in alphabetical order (from the Colonial Williamsburg book) with a challenging (but singable) chorus and lots of guesswork on the students' part - I describe a tr...

Cumberland Gap (K-8)

A great song and a mini history lesson all wrapped into one. Sing along! From the "Westward Expansion and the Gold Rush" program. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Westward Expansion, Wilderness Road, Pioneer A...

Dave on PBS: Adirondack Music (Gr. 2-8)

A highlight reel of Dave's appearances in the 2013 regional Emmy Award-winning "Songs To Keep" documentary. Dave discusses and performs historical and traditional music of the Adirondacks in the d...

Down on the Farm (PreK-5)

A rare old folk song sung and played on the jaw harp - a kid favorite! Taken from the "Regions of the U.S. in Song" program. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: agriculture, farming KEYWORDS: farm, barn, cows, c...

Erie Canal Song - common myths (Gr. 3-8)

Did you learn the song as "15 miles on the Erie Canal?" Me too. Turns out we all learned it wrong! Here are six myths (BUSTED) about the world's most famous canal song. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Westw...

Erie Canal Song - history (Gr. 3-8)

Here's the backstory on everyone's favorite song from canal days. "I've got an old mule and her name is Sal ...." CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Westward Expansion, New York State history, Erie Canal, indust...

Erie Canal Song: Low Bridge... (K-5)

Sing along, and don't forget to duck your head (and wave to your neighbors) as you pass under the bridges! From the "Westward Expansion and the Gold Rush" program. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Westward Exp...

Everybody Loves Saturday Night (K-5)

Sing along in Nigerian, Italian, and Japanese! From the "World Communities" concert program. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: world cultures, world communities, international studies, languages other than Engl...

How to Play the Spoons! (K-8)

A great activity for the classroom. Here's a ten-minute lesson on how to play the spoons. Just gather two plastic (or metal) spoons per student and press "play!" CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Pioneer Ameri...

Iroquois Corn Dance Song (PreK-8)

Part of a much longer traditional Haudenosaunee song to celebrate the planting and harvesting of the corn, performed with gourd rattle. Students sing back to me - in Iroquois! Taken from the "Colon...

Iroquois Pigeon Dance Song (K-8)

Part of a much longer Haudenosaunee song that was sung traditionally to welcome back the passenger pigeons (an important source of food for the Iroquois) in the springtime. This is taken from the f...

Iroquois Smoke Dance Song (K-8)

A piece of much longer traditional Haudenosaunee song used to clear the smoke from the longhouse on a cold winter night. Sung in Iroquois, with maps and a quick story too. The instrument is a water...

Jaw Harp Demonstration (PreK-8)

Students can't get enough of this old fashioned instrument - there's something irresistible about the sound, and the "cartoon" part sends them over the edge. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Pioneer America (t...

May There Always Be Sunshine (PreK-2) no story

A heartwarming movement song celebrating the simple things in life, without the story of the five-year-old who wrote it! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: wants and needs KEYWORDS: sunshine, blue skies, mother...

May There Always Be Sunshine (PreK-2) with story

A heartwarming movement song celebrating the simple things in life, along with the story of the five-year-old who wrote it! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: wants and needs KEYWORDS: sunshine, blue skies, mot...

Mole in the Ground (K-6)

A southern Appalachian folk song performed on banjo, and featuring a made-up verse for each grade level from K-6! From the "Regions of the U.S. in Song" program. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Regions of Ame...

Native American Instruments demo (K-8)

This is a quick cell-phone video shot before a school program. Dave plays and demonstrates the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) cowhorn rattle, gourd rattle, and water drum. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Native Am...

Oleana: A Song of Immigration (K-6)

A song of Norwegian immigrants brought to "the land of plenty" by famed violinist Ole Bull, only to discover that their land couldn't be farmed. Fun, singable chorus with a few challenges for stude...

Prep for Colonial America Show: #1 (Gr. 3-8)

Plan on using the full-length "Colonial America" concert video? You can familiarize students with the Dutch song "Trip a Trop a Tronjes" ahead of time if you wish! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Colonial Am...

Prep for Colonial America Show: #2 (Gr. 3-8)

Plan on using the full-length "Colonial America" concert video? You can familiarize students with Dave's "24 Colonial Trades" song ahead of time if you wish! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: Colonial America,...

PREVIEW: Colonial America (Grades 3-8)

"Colonial America: Music From The 13 Colonies" is a 43-minute interactive program for grades 3-8. Sing authentic songs in Dutch, Iroquois, and English . . . try your hand at an ancient musical act...

PREVIEW: December FUN Show (K-5)

"December FUN Show" is a 43-minute interactive program for grades K-5. December is a time for classroom celebrations and fun. Join Dave for a grab bag of his "greatest hits," strictly for fun, alo...

PREVIEW: Immigration to America (Grades 3-8)

"Immigration to America" is a 55-minute interactive program for grades 3-8. From the Native Americans to Ellis Island and beyond, here are some carefully selected songs and stories of several diff...

PREVIEW: Regions of the U.S. in Song (K-6)

"Regions of the U.S. in Song" is a 53-minute interactive program for grades K-6. A musical trip across America! Interactive songs, stories and musical instruments from various regions of the count...

PREVIEW: Singalongs and Game Songs (preK-1)

"Singalongs and Game Songs" in a 35-minute interactive music program for grades preK-1. Authentic children’s songs, singing games and stories from American, European and African traditions offer y...

PREVIEW: Songs From Our Communities (K-2)

"Songs From Our Communities" is a 40-minute interactive program for grades K-2. As we know, children learn best when they are doing, and when they are having fun! Your students will be moving, l...

PREVIEW: The Amazing Erie Canal (K-8)

"The Amazing Erie Canal" is a 58-minute interactive program for grades K-8. With guitar, banjo, jaw harp, bones, spoons and more, Dave leads students on a fun-filled musical journey into American ...

PREVIEW: The Iroquois: Northeastern Woodland Tribes (K-8)

"The Iroquois: Northeastern Woodland Tribes" is a 52-minute interactive program for grades K-8. With guitar and traditional Native American (Haudenosaunee) instruments, Dave leads students on a fu...

PREVIEW: Westward Expansion & the Gold Rush (K-8)

"Westward Expansion and the Gold Rush" is a 45-minute interactive program for grades K-8. Dave leads students on a fun-filled musical journey back to 19th-century America. Starting with the Cumber...

PREVIEW: World Communities (K-6)

"World Communities" is a 43-minute interactive program. Perfect for grades K-6, this video features songs, stories and musical instruments from around the world - - Russia, India, Ireland, Japan,...

Produce TEL #2.mp4

Sampler Video - Use With Students Today!

A 30-minute sampler taken from seven different programs contained within the library. Annual subscriptions get unlimited access to the entire library.

Season of Light: Winter Holiday Song (PreK-5)

Here's a fun singalong (and clap-along!) for grades preK-5 celebrating the winter holidays, with verses for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. This is an excerpt from the full-length "December FUN ...

Story That The Crow Told Me (PreK-6)

"Caw! Caw!" A fun and funny old song performed with the jaw harp, from the "December FUN Show" video. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: tall tales KEYWORDS: crow, animal sounds, nonsense, shaving, nose, drowni...

Sweet Betsy From Pike (Gr. 3-5)

A great song of the California Gold Rush and the days of westward expansion. WARNING!! There is a "bare bum" (naked bottom) reference in the song - upper elementary loves it! CURRICULUM TIE-INS: ...

That's Responsible (K-4)

A song originally written when I was in The Hill Brothers, celebrating responsibility and all those responsible things that students do every day. Taken from the "Songs From Our Communities" progra...

The E-ri-e Was Rising (Gr. 2-6)

A fun Erie Canal song with tall tales of disaster (and jokes about the cook!). Students get really involved with this one, singing, moving their bodies, and figuring out which parts are true, and w...

The Mermaid of Ontario (K-5)

Shel Silverstein (author of The Giving Tree, Where The Sidewalk Ends, etc.) wrote this song and came up with at least 15 rhymes for the word "Ontario." See if you (and your students) can figure the...

The Old Chisholm Trail: Cowboy Song (K-6)

An authentic cowboy (and cowgirl) song from the days of the cattle drives from Texas up to Kansas. Students sing the chorus, and laugh at some made-up words too. From the "Westward Expansion and th...

The Season of Light: A Winter Holiday Song

Here's a fun singalong (and clap-along!) for grades preK-5 celebrating the winter holidays, with verses for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.

The Three Sisters: with story (Gr. 2-5)

Girls get to be the corn, boys are the beans, and teachers....you get to be the squash (!) in this activity song about the Native American crops of corn, beans and squash. Taken from the "Songs Fro...

The Three Sisters: without story (Gr. 2-5)

Girls get to be the corn, boys are the beans, and teachers....you get to be the squash (!) in this activity song about the Native American crops of corn, beans and squash. Taken from the "Songs Fro...

The Watermelon Song (K-2)

Singing, slurping, and silliness with this interactive song from the "Songs From Our Communities" program. CURRICULUM TIE-INS: n/a (let me know if you have one!) KEYWORDS; watermelon, fruit, juic...