Search, Ponder, and Pray - 2nd Verse: Action Word Melody Map
Create a melody map (or download this one from this site here).
Display it in front of the children.
Ask them: What do you see? What do you notice? What's the same? What's different? Receive their answers.
The children may answer "I see different colors. I see thumbs. I see dots all connected."
Keep asking: What else do you see? What else do you notice?
After you have received some answers from the children, ask: What do these symbols have to do with this song?
Sing the song, pointing to each of the dots (that represent words) as you sing. You might want to over emphasize the green or the yellow dots, or the thumbs. Again ask the children: What do these symbols have to do with this song? and receive their answers.
Now ask the children to point with their thumb to themselves every time it comes. Sing the song again and do the action.
Ask the children to hold their hands like a book when they see the light blue dot or the scripture symbol and the dot that comes after it, adding that to the thumb action as you sing the song. If you think they can remember, also ask them to hold out their thumbs and forefingers in an L shape in each hand and lift that L shape up their body every time they see the green dots. (The hand sign for life.) Sing the song again, doing the action for the thumbs, the scripture symbols and blue dot, and the green dots.
Ask the children what the yellow dots mean or the dark blue dots. (Yellow=references to God) (Dark Blue=prayerfully) I point up to heaven for the yellow dots. I put my hands in the hand sign for prayer for the dark blue dots.) Help them notice that one of the yellow dots is different and has a black outline. Ask the children what that symbol means. (yellow for sun, black for night... it stands for the word day.) I have one hand be the sun going over the other hand like the earth. Ask the children to add those actions to all the other actions as you sing the song through this time. Sing and do all the actions.
Ask the children what the orange, red, and purple dots mean. (Orange=come to understand, Red=Heed the Lord's command, Purple=do) Figure out actions for those phrases. Ask the children to do all the actions for the song as you sing it again.
This very visual way of seeing a melody and where the words fit into that melody and rhythm is a strong way to learn. In addition, the children get to hear the song again and again, focusing on parts as they learn. Doing the actions reinforces the meaning of the words in a deep way. This activity reaches children that need movement to learn, children that need color and shapes to learn best, children that need to visualize in order to learn, and children that learn best through music.