I’m excited about this unique singing time idea, an I Will Walk with Jesus Letter Sounds activity! You’ll swap out the lyrics for letter sounds that help you focus on song dynamics and the melody.
The kids will also have the words sneak in the “backdoor” as they sing them silently in their head as they convert the words to simple singing sounds.
I Will Walk with Jesus is one of our Come Follow Me Old Testament songs! If you’re teaching it this year, the kids will love this one of a kind lesson plan.
** See 12 fun I Will Walk with Jesus Singing Time Ideas here **
I Will Walk with Jesus Letter Sounds
How to Play:
Sing through I Will Walk with Jesus (Flip Chart Here) once, before introducing this activity.
Tell the children today we’re going to sing like Ghosts or that we’re going to practice the notes and the melody, instead of the words.
Sing through the song singing the vowel sounds. You might sing through the first 1 or 2 lines demonstrating and pointing to the sounds. Then start back and the beginning with the kids joining in.
E says it’s own letter name. A says “ah”. O says “ooooh” (Like oooh, aaaah).
Verse 1 Letter Code & Color Guide:
Verse 1:
- E-E A A O-O / Jesus walked in wisdom
- E-E O O O / Jesus grew in truth
- E E O O A A A / He showed love to God and man
- E E E A / while in His youth
- E-E A A A O / Jesus wants to guide me
- E-E A A A / Jesus shows the way
- O O O A A A A / Calling me to come and walk
- O O E E / with Him each day
Color Guide Verse 1:
- Purple = Jesus/He
- Green = Walk/Walked/Guide/Way (Directions/Actions)
- Blue = Wisdom/Truth/Love/Calling (Christ’s Attributes)
- Orange = Me
Verse 3 Letter Code & Color Guide:
Verse 3:
- O O A A E-E / I will trust in Jesus
- O O O E E / I will hear His call
- E E A-A O O / He will never leave me
- A A O O / even when I fall
- E-E O O A-A / Jesus gives me power
- E E A-A O / lifts and comforts me
- A-A O O O / helping me to live
- A A E-E-E / and grow eternally
Color Guide Verse 3:
- Purple = Jesus/He
- Green = Call/ Lifts/Comforts/Helping (Christ’s Actions)
- Blue = Trust/Hear/Power/Grow (Attributes Christ Gives Me)
- Orange = Me/I
Extension Activities:
- Let the kids pick a new substitute sound for one of the letter sounds (for example all “a” sounds change to “m” sounds).
- Have them help you convert the chorus into the “sound code”. Just use a mix of a/e/o sounds. I aimed to have Christ paired with e-e’s and I/me paired with o’s, and actions paired with a’s, but it doesn’t have to.
- Have the kids “find” all the words for Jesus in the code. Sing “Jesus” instead of the “e-e” whenever you find one! You could have Junior primary circle all the sounds to help remind them when to sing out Jesus.
- For an increased challenge in Senior only, you could scramble up the letter sound strips and see if they can get them back in order! The keywords for Jesus and the number of syllables per line will help!
For another fun way to focus on the melody of the song, head over to see our Families Can Be Together Forever Melody Chart!
I Will Walk with Jesus Letter Sounds Printable Singing Time Lesson Plan
This PDF printable lesson plan for using letter sounds to teach I Will Walk with Jesus includes a quick 1-page overview with directions on how to use this singing time idea and fun extension activities.
It also includes the verse and color guides to help you easily decode the activity yourself before you use it in Singing Time!
It also includes a printable color guide and each verse has 4 pages with letter sound strips! You can keep them as a full page or cut them out into strips – either way!
To access the free in-post printables for this post, you’ll just need to create a free account or login with the Grow.me tool. Then, confirm by email and refresh the page and ALL my free printables will automatically unlock in every post!
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For another fun way to teach this song, head over to see our I Will Walk with Jesus Unscramble the Words activity!
What other fun ways could you use this I Will Walk with Jesus Letter Sounds activity in Primary?
Absolutely LOVE everything on your website. I use it monthly for a good chunk of my singing time, especially introducing new songs. The kids enjoy the activities so much in primary! With Jr and Sr Primary combined a lot of the activities work for both which I really appreciate from a planning standpoint.
Do you have the letter sounds for verse 2 or the first page of verse 3 letter sounds?
Really appreciate the feedback and that the ideas have been helpful!
Thanks for catching that! I had the first 2 lines for verse 3 at the end of the 1st verse, so I thought they were duplicate and deleted them, they were just in the wrong spot! I’ve fixed it in the doc. I usually use my ideas for only ONE verse, so I didn’t create the pattern for the 2nd verse. I did add the 3rd as I thought it would work really well for that verse.
Thank you so much. Again, as a new primary music leader your information has been a lifesaver. Can’t sing enough praises! I’m sharing every chance I get.