Chant Game · Elementary Music · Grades PreK–1
Full lyrics, two classroom games, and a step-by-step teaching guide. A classic chant that teaches steady beat, quarter and eighth notes, and 2/4 meter through pure play.
Complete lyrics
About this chant
Engine Engine Number Nine is a classic American chant game that elementary music teachers have used for generations. Its genius is that it teaches multiple concepts simultaneously — steady beat through the walking train, rhythmic pattern through the identical first four lines, and form through the surprise ending — while students are completely absorbed in the drama of whether the train jumps the track.
From a musical standpoint the chant is deceptively rich. The first four lines are rhythmically identical, making it one of the best vehicles for teaching quarter notes and eighth notes — students feel the pattern before they ever see it on a page. The final line breaks the pattern in a delightful way that older students can analyze as AAAB form.
"Engine Engine is excellent for teaching quarter and eighth notes. The first four lines are the same, which helps reinforce the pattern, and the final line shows how titi and ta can move positions."
— Deborah Skydell Pasternack, The Singing ClassroomThe chant also works beautifully as a management tool. Once students know it, the teacher can use it to line up, transition to instruments, or simply bring energy into the room at the start of class. Children love the train metaphor and the physical movements that accompany it.
Classroom games
Students form a train and move through the room to the beat. There's a specific sequence for building the train, managing the conductor role, and using the microbeat vs. macrobeat depending on the grade. Deborah demonstrates exactly how it runs in the full teaching video.
A partner fist-stacking game invented by a first grader. It has a fatal flaw that students discover almost immediately — and that discovery moment is one of the best things that happens in 1st grade music class. See the full teaching video to find out what the flaw is.
Teaching guide
The chant comes together quickly — most classes have it in two or three echoes. The real teaching decisions are about what comes next: when to introduce the train game, how to manage the conductor rotation, and when to shift from the movement phase to the rhythm teaching phase. For 1st grade, the partner game has its own sequencing that matters.
Deborah's full demonstration walks through both games and the complete rhythm teaching sequence with real students.
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By grade level
Focus on learning the words, the body movements, and keeping a steady beat. Use the train game to practice taking turns and following a leader. The drama of the train whistle ending keeps even the youngest students fully engaged.
Use the chant to introduce quarter notes and eighth notes explicitly. Explore the AAAB form — students can identify where the pattern breaks. Introduce the partner game for a more challenging cooperative activity with a built-in element of discovery.
Older students revisiting the chant can notate the rhythm, analyze the AAAB form formally, and discuss why the final line is rhythmically different. The chant can also be used as a warm-up vehicle for 2/4 meter at any grade level.
What teachers say
"Engine Engine is the first chant I teach every year. By October every PreK student has it memorized and asks for it constantly. The train game makes it completely irresistible."
"I use this for teaching titi every year with 1st grade. The identical rhythm in the first four lines means they hear the pattern so many times before I ever put it on the board. It just sticks."
"The partner game is genius — my first graders figured out the flaw and were SO proud of themselves. It led to the best conversation about fairness and strategy I've ever had in music class."
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Each of these songs includes a complete teaching guide and step-by-step video demonstration inside The Singing Classroom.
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See teaching guide →Common questions
Engine Engine Number Nine works from PreK through 1st grade as a primary teaching song. For PreK and Kindergarten, the focus is on learning the chant, the body movements, and the train game. For 1st grade, the chant becomes a vehicle for teaching quarter notes and eighth notes, AAAB form, and the more complex partner game. Older grades can use it as a warm-up or for notation work, but it's most powerful as a primary song for PreK–1.
Engine Engine Number Nine is particularly strong for teaching steady beat, quarter notes (ta), and pairs of eighth notes (titi) in 2/4 time. The first four lines are rhythmically identical, which helps students hear and feel the pattern before analyzing it. The final line breaks the pattern, making this one of the clearest examples of AAAB form in any elementary chant repertoire. It also teaches movement response, musical phrase, and ensemble awareness through the train game.
Students are added one at a time in a specific order to build the train. There are decisions about microbeat vs. macrobeat stepping, conductor rotation, and when to call "stop the train" that make the game run smoothly. The full setup is demonstrated in the teaching video.
The partner game has a fatal flaw that students discover almost immediately — and that discovery moment is genuinely one of the best things that happens in first grade music class. We're not going to spoil it here. Watch the teaching video to find out.
The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
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