He's a Jolly Good Fellow. This tune is one of the oldest in the world, originally known as Malbrouck or Malbrough , with French words about the Duke of Marlborough's going to war. But the music may go all the way back to the Crusades or even earlier. Marie Antoinette sang Malbrouck as a lullaby and Beethoven put it into his Battle Symphony. The origin of the words The Bear Went Over the Mountain are unknown.
Procedure Tell the children they are going to sing today is called The Bear Went Over the Mountain.
Ask children to speculate why a bear might want to go over a mountain. Sing the song. Help children to appreciate the humor in this song. Compare their speculations to the outcome of the song. Suggested Follow-Up Allow children to illustrate the song.