One way is simply to sing it to someone else. Football chants and playground games are passed on like that. Perhaps you learn songs at school by hearing the teachers sing to you.

Chants and skipping songs

Here are some songs and chants that thousands of people learned just by hearing them.

The first two are football terrace songs:

Blue is the colour, Football is the game.

We’re all together, and winning is our aim.

So cheer us on through the sun and the rain.

Because Chelsea, Chelsea is our name!

With an N and an E and a wubble U-C.

An A and an S and a T-L-E.

And a U-N-I and a T-E-D Newcastle United - FC.

These two are skipping games:

Strawberry Shortcake, Treacle Tart.

Tell me the name of my sweetheart.

A - B - C (etc)

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear touch the ground.

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn around.

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear climb the stairs.

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say your prayers.

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn off the lights.

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say good night.

THINGS TO DO

Ask pupils to:

* Think of short songs and chants they may have learned without ever seeing them in written form and write some of them down. (If they don’t support Newcastle or Chelsea, now’s their chance.) If anyone else has written the same one, did they both write the same words? Why might the words be different?

* Make up, without writing down, a very short song - words and a tune, something like: “I came to school today, wearing my new brown shoes...”

Make sure they can sing it to themselves the same way every time. Now teach it to a partner. Was it easy? What were the problems?

* Can they write down their song and send it to someone else on a piece of paper? If so, can they find a way of showing how the tune goes?

Can they find a way to show where the tune goes up and down?

* Can they e-mail or text their new song to someone else?