- Definition
Call and response is like a musical conversation where one person or group makes a sound or plays a tune, and another person or group answers with a different sound or tune. Think of it as a musical question and answer.
In a song, the leader might sing 'Who's got the beat?' and the group responds 'We've got the beat'.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Call and response is like when one person starts a cheer and the crowd shouts back the next part.
Ask your child: Let's try one. If I clap a rhythm, can you clap a different one back?
Common mix-up: Kids often confuse this with echo, where you just repeat the leader. In call and response, the group's answer is a different phrase that completes the leader's call.
Examples
- A teacher claps a rhythm, and the students clap a different rhythm back as the answer.
- During the game Marco Polo, one person calls 'Marco' and the others respond 'Polo'.
call and response is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
