How to Create a Jazz Chant

Hints for creating your own Jazz Chant by Carolyn Graham:

1) Choose a topic of interest to your students.

2) Use “real” language that’s useful and appropriate for the age of your students. (“What’s your name?” is real language. “What is your name?” is not real language, because no one really talks like this.)

3.) For a vocabulary chant, choose 3 vocabulary words–a 2-syllable word, a 3-syllable word, and a 1-syllable word and put them together with a bit of repetition:

Baseball, basketball, golf.

Baseball, basketball, golf.

Baseball, basketball, baseball, basketball

Baseball, basketball, golf.


4.) To reinforce grammar, add a pattern:

He plays baseball.

She plays basketball.

They play golf.

They play golf.


5.) Have fun and don’t be afraid to play with language!