In recent years, we have learned about call and responses. For those of you who are not familiar with this concept, the teacher calls out a phrase, and then the student completes the phrase. It is a great way for students to refocus their attention back on you, the teacher!
Popular Call and Responses
Below are some of our favorite call and responses:
1. Gangham….Style
2. Mine….Craft
3. Do You Want to….Build a Snowman!
4. Peanut Butter….Jelly Time!
5. We Are Students….Bump, ba bump, bump, bump, bump, bump (from the Farmer’s Insurance commercial).
6. Harry….Potter
7. Click it….Or Ticket
8. Zip it Lock it….Put it in Your Pocket
9. Echo Clap (teacher claps a pattern and students repeat it)
10. Shake Shake Shake….Shake Your Milkshake
Here are five more!
11. All Right Stop….Collaborate and Listen (From Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”)
12. Sportscenter Theme: Da da da….da da da
13. Hey Class….Hey What (say it in different voices and they mimic)
14. Insert school name and mascot: Moorehead!….Mustangs!
15. And probably the funnest one of all, make one up with your class!
We would love to hear what call and responses you use. Please comment below so you can share your wonderful ideas with teachers across the world.
Please subscribe to our newsletter for monthly tips, strategies, and free resources to help boost teacher morale! We want to make a difference!
If you want increased student engagement check out some of our favorite resources below:
Random Acts of Kindness Activity
One of my favorites is when I say, ” Minions” and the class responds with, “bananas!”
That’s a good one too! Thanks for sharing!
Teacher: Are you ready kids?
Students: Aye, Aye Captain!
“Red Robin” – “Yumm!”
I say “HOW ARE THE CHILDREN” & the students say “THE CHILDREN ARE WELL”
I like it! Great idea!
We’ve got an ocean theme so I say “Shark Bait” they answer “Ohh haha”
I use something similar when I’m subbing for middle school. I whisper, “If you can hear my voice put your hands on your head. If you can hear my voice put your hands in the air.” I do the motions with them and change it up every time. Similar to Simon Says. It prevents students from getting creative with the sub and screaming the response.
Great idea for substitute teachers and even regular classroom teachers! Thanks for sharing!
I do this sometimes too and my students love it!! It’s such an effective way to get attention while promoting a quiet, calm environment!
The two I use are:
Teacher: “Hands on Top”
Students: [put hands on head] “Everybody stop”
Teacher: [put hand in air] “Give me five… four… three… two… one…” while also countin down with fingers
Students: raise hand and count down either verbally or with fingers
I am a Star Wars fan so I try to incorporate Star Wars whenever I can. I say “Yoda” and the class says “Chewbacca”
Great! I am a big fan too. With the new movie coming out we are doing: “Star” and then “Wars.”
I say “Hocus Pocus”
They respond “Time to focus”
In my first and second grade combined class I will say :
Capiche (Caposh)
Eyeballs (Click)
That’s funny! I use “Eyeballs!” and the students respond with “CLICK!” too!!!!! I have never heard it being used by someone else!
I love :
I say ” All eyes on me”
They say” All eyes on you”
We often say : 1,2,3 Eyes on me and kiddos repeat 1,2 Eyes on you!
When I taught first grade I would say”1,2,3…” they would say “all eyes on you”.
Some of my favorites I’ve picked up include:
I say “ba-dop-bop-bop,-bah… they say “I’m loving it!”
I say “ready to rock” they say “ready to roll” a good one to say before we enter the hall
Another variation…
Call: 1, 2, 3 All eyes on me.
Response: Red, Yellow, Blue All eyes on you!
I say
Teacher:Class Class
Class: Yes Yes
Back when it was popular we had the entire secondary trained that when we said “What does the fox say?” they all responded with “Ringa-ding-ding”
Love it! That song still comes up every once in a while.
I use,
(Teacher) Ba da ba ba baa…
(Students) I’m loving it…
(Teacher) Okie dokie
(students) Artichokie (play on Artichoke)
The best for my Buckeye state students is O-H…I-O. We also do To infinity…And beyond. Nice thinkin’…Abe Lincoln. Winner Winner…Chicken Dinner. I call them holler backs, but my 4th grade students and I both call them out softly in the classroom. I love using them and my students really respond to them!
Very creative! Thanks for sharing!
Being from Ohio and a Buckeye fan, I love it!!
Wax on…..Wax off
Hocus pocus… Everybody focus!
Can you do it? Yes we can! ( Bob the builder)
I say, “everybody clap your hands” students respond by clapping to the beat of the song.
I live in Ohio. I say O-H and students reply, I-O!
all set? – you bet!
Less talking – more working
To infinity – and beyond
Name on your paper – first thing
Pencil on your head when you’re – ready
Iceburg – straight ahead or where?
Hey you! – who me?
Just a few 🙂
A couple favorites in my room:
Teacher: Flat Tire. Kids: Shhhhhh
Macaroni and Cheese, Everybody Freeze.
321…..talking is done
I have a class of all girls, and so we love the one; Zip zip zap? We’re all that! I also want to try Zip it, lock it? Put it in your pocket!
With my kinders I say: 1-2-3…
They reply: Can’t catch me!
I say, “Watch me whip!” They say, “Watch me nae nae!”
I say watch me whip they say hey now watch me nae nae
you have to do it in the tune of the song
R E S P E C T……find out what it means to me!!
Love it!
A couple I use are-
Turkey, turkey…. Looking perky!
Yakkity yak… Don’t talk back!
Ready Rudolph… Ready Santa!
The kids love them and they work well for bringing the students’ attention back.
Very good ideas! However, “funnest”?????????????????? Please!
1 2 3 eyes on me… 1 2 eyes on you
T: 1-2-3, back to me! S: 1-2 back to you!
My call and response is: Can you dig it! We can dig it!
I say “Heersche” (Hershey), they say “chocolate.” This was their idea.
Teacher: tootsie rolls and lolly pops
Students: we’ve been talking, now we stop!
I also use the McDonald’s one ba-dop-bop-bop,-bah… but instead of saying them saying “I’m loving it!” they
say “I’m learning it!”
Love this variation!
I say class
they say yes
Macaroni and cheese… Everybody freeze.
Yo ho, yo ho… a pirate’s life for me!
It’s a small world… after all!
Chicka chicka… boom boom!
I have a ton that I use…here are some favorites:
You say: Waterfall!/ Kid’s say :Shhhhhhh!!! *hands move down in a twinkling motion*
You say: Mahna Mahna/ Kid’s say: Do do-do do
and then I use a lot of local sports ones that my kids love (luckily, we live in San Francisco and our sports have been amazing and the teams are filled with a lot of great role models for my kids)…the one we’ve been using the most lately?
You say: STEPH CURRY WITH THE SHOT! / Kid’s say: SPLASH!!!
Teacher- Macoroni and cheese! Students- Freeze!
Teacher: Scooby
Students: Doo
I always get a good reaction from my kids when I say “surf’s up!” and they reply in the voice of Crush from Finding Nemo with “duuuuuuuuude”
I say “watch me whip” and they respond with “watch me nay-nay”
My children need practice with vowels so I say ah, ah, ah (as in at) they say short a.
I say ai, ay, a silent e students say long a!
I call out “Waterfall” and they all wiggle their fingers down from the sky (like it’s raining) and they say “shhhhhhhhhhhhhh”. Works every time!
I have to say “waterfall” was my all time favorite this year and worked the best with my 1st graders!
I’m not really sure how to incorporate the call and response into my math lesson. Can you post a video of a lesson using this technique please.
How about during stations. Mor anytime you’re ready for the, to transition.
Teacher:Whistles the mocking jay (from hunger games)
Students: repeat and raise the mocking jay salute.
My eighth graders chose “Stop” and then they responded “hammer-time.”
I would say, “Give me 5”, then I’d start counting backwards from 5, while holding up my fingers. I taught the kids from the first day of school that when we reached 1, they were NOT to say, “Blast off!” In fact, as we reached 1, our voices got quieter.
We love turtles and dr. Seuss. I say “yertle!” And they say, “Turtle!”
My students favorite…
Teacher: ABC….
Students: …it’s easy as 1, 2, 3 (Jackson 5 song, ABC)
Scooby Dooby Doo……….where are you!
I say Here he, here he.
They say All hail the queen
Are you ready?….. I was born ready… (one of my students responded one day with this and we kept it)
Get it…. Got it…. Good
Bada Bing…. Bada Boom
Groovy?….Groovy Mannnn!
I teach art… so we use artists that we’ve learned Leonardo…. DaVinci!
When calling on a student to respond to a question, “Hit me with your best shot….fire away.”
I saw Red Robin and they respond with YUUUMMM!
To infinity… And beyond!
We use a few
T: Cha-cha
S: cha, cha, cha
T: Gobble gobble
S: Wobble wobble
T: class, class
S: yes, yes
and I mix this one up and they just mimic and replace “class” with “yes”
ex. T: oh class, oh class
S: oh yes, oh yes
T: 1, 2, 3 eyes on me
S: 1, 2 eyes on you
T: oh me
S; oh my
We’re in Ontario Canada so for
September (I was teaching in a Core French class) we did
T: C’est la
S: vie!
October (playoff baseball)
T: Blue
S: Jays!
November (because of Remembrance Day)
T: Give peace….
S: a chance.
December:
T: Hot…
S: chocolate!
My students clap “we will rock you” by Queen
I say Marco! They say Polo!
I use Mona…….. Lisa (they have to sit like Mona Lisa but hands on desk)
And flat tire……..shhh
Tootsie Roll, Lollipop
We were talking, now we stop
is our current favorite!
This little light of mine……IM gonna let it shine!
My favorites are
“flat tire” “shhhhhhh”
“hocus pocus” “everybody focus”
“Mac and cheese” “everybody freeze”
“class, class” “yes, yes” (said in a silly voice usually.)