Put Your Hand In My Hand
by Teresa Jennings
The simple, but powerful message in this sweet song can be enhanced in many ways. The obvious way, of course, would be to have students join hands to sing it. You might even consider having some or all of them come down into the audience and hold hands with audience members while singing. Using the optional solo/soli part at the beginning and end with your youngest singers is also a guaranteed way to get the point across. And if you're really ambitious, the addition of sign language would certainly add a great deal of emotional impact. We have selected certain key words to demonstrate in the illustrations below. You can use them all, select a choice few, or even add more of your own.
A special thanks to Erin Krause, first grade teacher at La Escuela Fratney School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for her help in teaching artist Cathy Blaski the sign language for "Put Your Hand In My Hand."
Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.