 The hello song

Primary children in general love to sing and it’s important to have a

welcome song that you can sing at the beginning of each lesson. It is
an interactive routine that signals the start of the lesson. Use a song
that has an easy to remember melody with lots of repetition; the
easier the lyrics the better. If it has actions as well then not only will
your learners find it easier to understand, the quieter children will be
more inclined to participate. Here is a site for pre-schoolers but with
songs that are suitable for young learners in an EFL
class: http://www.preschooleducation.com/shello.shtml. You have
many to choose from but this is one of my favourites:
Start the day with a smile (sung to The Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we start the day,
Start the day, start the day.
This the way we start the day,
So early in the morning.
First we smile and shake a hand,
Shake a hand, shake a hand.
First we smile and shake a hand,
So early in the morning.
Then we sit down quietly,
Quietly, Quietly
Then we sit down quietly,
So early in the morning.
We listen very Carefully,
Carefully, Carefully.
We listen very carefully,
So early in the morning.

I like this one because although it has the excitement of a song it also
encourages the children to calm down and be ready to start the class. A
golden rule is of course that you should never start the class or an activity
until everyone is quiet and listening. This song also allows children to have
contact with you and the other children with the ‘shake a hand’ part. This is
a first step towards making them feel part of a group.