Teach Primary Issue 18.6

Singing is good for you. Extensive research shows the benefits of singing and making music for both young children and their grown-ups. Singing together enriches social inclusion and enhances mental and physical wellbeing; it encourages mindfulness, memory and focus. This lesson includes opportunities to try simple movement sequences and echo vocal patterns using a variety of vocal sounds. Children will sing songs, using well-known tunes, to sequence events in their lives, and will have fun creating new songs using limited notes on tuned percussion. 1 | SEQUENCE SONGS Explain to the children that they are going to sing a song about getting ready for school in the morning. Discuss the different things they have to do each day before leaving the house. Invite them to make up mimes or actions to go with each idea. Use the tune to ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’ and try these words: This is the way I get out of bed, Get out of bed*, get out of bed. This is the way I get out of bed, When I’m going to school. [*put on my clothes/eat my breakfast/brush my teeth/ pack my bag] Talk about how the song is a sequence, because it lists the actions in the correct order. Can the children think of some ideas of their own to add to the song? Adapt the song to illustrate other sequences, such as getting ready for bed, walking to school, or going away on holiday. Start by making a list with the children of all the things that they have to do, and then say them as a chant and fit them into the song. 2 | DAYS OF THE WEEK Songs are also a useful way to learn fixed sequences of events such as the days of the week. Try learning this song to the tune of ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’: Sing a song together, it helps in many ways. START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l How to echo sing l How to create a sequence l Singing a sequence song l Writing pentatonic patterns l How to write a new song Music, English, History Introduce the word ‘sequence’ as a series or chain of events. Invent a movement sequence for the children to copy, such as clap, clap, stamp, stamp (repeat) or stretch up high, bend down low, turn around, nice and slow (repeat) . Try a vocal sequence using a variety of vocal sounds, such as hum, hiss, oooh, tongue click (repeat) . Invite children to demonstrate other vocal sounds to create a pattern. Let them use a handheld mirror to look at how their mouths move to make different sounds. Try some echo singing: Use two chime bars to pitch the notes; can the children copy or echo the two notes in different combinations? Sing a song of sequences – all about our day Judith Harries shows how to use new words, traditional tunes and simple melodic patterns to help children order events KS1 LESSON PLAN 90 | www.teachwire.net