Sometimes my 4th and 5th graders are a little “too cool” for my spooky season activities. Please tell me your kids are like this too! The activities I’m going to share in this post are all based on “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edward Grieg. I always tell my 4th-5th graders that this piece is too scary for the little kids so I save it for them. 😂
We start out by doing a very short composer introduction and talk about the story of the piece. If you’re unfamiliar, here is a quick guide to how the story goes! We talk a lot about how this music tells the story of Peer Gynt without any words! If your district uses the Quaver curriculum, there’s also a fun listening activity there!
👑 King of the Mountain Game (with a twist)
My kids are obsessed with Amy Abbott’s King of the Mountain game — and we’ve put our own spin on it.
Instead of moving around the room, each student gets a rhythm card and three mini erasers to place in front of it. I start the game by reading one student’s rhythm out loud (without saying who it belongs to). The student who recognizes their own rhythm has to immediately read it back to me.
If they get it right and knew it was theirs, they become the next caller. If not? I get to steal one of their erasers. We keep going as long as we want, and the student with the most erasers at the end wins.
They love when I play because their #1 mission is to steal all of my erasers. They even make me switch rhythm cards mid-game so I can’t memorize mine.
It’s pure chaos — and pure rhythm practice. They’re laser-focused, reading rhythms over and over again, all in the name of beating the teacher. Honestly? I’ll take it.
It’s not directly tied to In the Hall of the Mountain King, but the vibe fits perfectly — and it’s an awesome way to keep that energy going.
🥁 Play-Along Videos
I love a good play-along video. It gets instruments in kids’ hands, builds confidence, and makes rhythm practice feel like a game (which, let’s be honest, is the real win).
Musication is one of my favorite YouTube channels for this — their videos are clean, visually engaging, and super easy to follow.
I’ve linked my favorite In the Hall of the Mountain King play-along below. Just grab a few non-pitched percussion instruments, assign each one to a color or symbol, and students will play only when their symbol appears. It’s simple, effective, and your kids will absolutely lose their minds over it — in the best way.
🎵 Composition & Vocabulary
In the Hall of the Mountain King is basically a gift-wrapped lesson on accelerando and crescendo. The build is so obvious and dramatic, even your most distracted kids can’t miss it — plus, the rhythms are super simple, so they’re not getting bogged down trying to decode something too complicated.
One of my favorite ways to take it up a notch with 4th and 5th graders is by having them compose their own piece that gradually gets faster and louder — just like Grieg intended.
We start with the basic 4-measure rhythm (see below), and their job is to build a piece that adds both tempo and dynamic changes over time. I usually give them a loose framework to help them get started, something like:
- Measure 1-4: mezzo piano/largo
- Measure 5-8: mezzo forte/moderato
- Measure 9-12: forte/presto
- Measure 12-16 fortissimo/vivace
We talk about how the shift should feel gradual — not like flipping a switch. The first time we tried this, a few groups were out here playing every measure at a different speed and volume like they were DJing a remix. 😅 Great teachable moment.
Some groups stick with one instrument the whole time and just build intensity. Others get creative and switch instruments every 4 bars — like starting with egg shakers and working up to a tubano. Either way, they’re composing, performing, and actually understanding what those tempo and dynamic terms mean — and they think they’re just making cool music. Win-win.
👻 Make the Most of This One Piece
You don’t need a full-blown unit to make In the Hall of the Mountain King meaningful (or fun). Between a game that secretly drills rhythm reading, a play-along that gets every kid involved, and a composition project that actually clicks with upper grades, this one piece can do a lot of heavy lifting.
It’s engaging. It’s easy to differentiate. And it gives you just enough spooky without going full haunted house.
🎃 Want More Halloween Fun (That’s Also Standards-Based)?
These activities pair perfectly with the other Halloween-themed lessons and games in my store. If you’re looking for rhythm resources that actually keep your kids learning — even when they’re sugared up and in full costume-planning mode — I’ve got you covered.
Click here or on the picture below to shop all the Halloween activities! 👇🏼
