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Young Boy Playing the Piano

SNAPPY CLASSROOM - KS1

Snappy Classroom sessions develop the children’s awareness of pulse, rhythm and following simple symbols through chants, songs and instrumental activities. The activities will also introduce some of the ‘musical dimensions’ including pitch (singing with awareness of high and low), duration (making long and short sounds), tempo (the speed of the beat), timbre (the kind of sounds instruments make) and structure (how music is put together, for example four lines of a song)

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Curriculum Checklist:

LESSON 1

LESSON 1

KEEP THE BEAT

SITTING ON THE BUS

(from Singing Sherlock Book 3)

  • Sing songs, speak chants and rhymes

  • Sing songs with a pitch range of do-so

  • Walk, move or clap a steady beat

Sitting on the bus and the light’s on red Can you guess what the driver said? One, two, a-one two three Touch your head, touch your shoulders, touch your knees, touch your toes Wait a minute, we can’t go! Sitting on the bus and the light’s on yellow Can you guess what the driver bellowed? One, two, a-one two three Touch your head, touch your shoulders, touch your knees, touch your toes Wait a minute, we can’t go! (repeat this verse two more times) Sitting on the bus and the light’s on green Can you guess what the driver screamed? One, two, a-one two three Touch your head, touch your shoulders, touch your knees, touch your toes Are you ready, off we go! Add actions in time with the song – these are similar to ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ with an extra word missed out each time.

IT'S GONNA BE HOT

(from earlier edition of Music Express Year 2)

  • Sing songs, speak chants and rhymes

  • Copy and perform short rhythm patterns and word pattern chants

  • Follow symbols to guide singing and playing

It’s gonna be hot, hot, hot, hot That’s what the weather lady says It’s gonna be hot, hot, hot, hot That’s what the weather man says It’s time for the T shirt (T shirt) Beach ball (beach ball) Paddling pool (paddling pool) Sun sun sun! It’s gonna be hot, hot, hot, hot That’s what the weather lady says It’s gonna be hot, hot, hot, hot That’s what the weather man says It’s gonna be wet, wet, wet, wet… It’s time for the raincoat (raincoat) Wellies (wellies) Wet play (wet play) Rain, rain, rain! It’s gonna be wet, wet, wet, wet… Count the words in the pattern ‘hot hot hot hot’ and clap them. Use four symbols to show the four sounds e.g. four suns, four raindrops or rainclouds. Use two different instrument sounds for sun and rain eg metal and wood. Play in time with the song following the picture symbols.

TINGA LAYO

(from Music Express Year 2)

  • Sing songs, speak chants and rhymes

Tinga layo Come little donkey come (repeat) Me donkey eat Me donkey sleep Me donkey kick with his two hind feet (repeat) CHORUS Me donkey walk Me donkey talk Me donkey eat with a spoon and fork (repeat) CHORUS Say and clap the rhythms: Clip clop (during the verses) Come little donkey come Tinga Layo – use a long arc action with one arm on ‘lay’ and clap on ‘o’. Use instruments for each of these rhythms and join in with the song.

LESSON 2

LESSON 2

LESSON 3

LESSON 3

PIE CHART INTRO

(Follow symbols to guide singing and playing)

Use a circle divided into 8 removable sections; Say and clap the word ‘red’ each time a red section is pointed to. Introduce the word ‘rest’ (whispered) if a section is removed. Create different patterns. Instead of clapping, play one instrument sound for each ‘red’ section. Extend to use two colours and make patterns with red and yellow sections. Use different instrument sounds for each colour, for example tapping instruments play on the red sections and shaking ones on the yellow.

IT'S GONNA BE HOT

MISS MARY MAC

  • Sing songs with a pitch range of do-so

  • Follow symbols to guide singing and playing

  • Copy and perform short rhythm patterns and word pattern chants

Miss Mary Mac, Mac, Mac All dressed in black, black, black With silver bows, bows, bows All down her back, back, back She cannot read, read, read She cannot write, write, write But she can fly, fly, fly Her sister’s kite, kite, kite She asked her mum, mum, mum For jam and bread, bread, bread And this is what, what, what Her mother said, said, said ‘It’s time for bed!’ Add actions for Mac (eg clap), black, bows, back etc. Perform the song in thinking voice with the actions. Use the pie chart to represent the three sounds and one beat rest. Extend by using two colours: Red red red rest Yellow yellow yellow rest Invite children to suggest instruments to play on the red and yellow beats. Use instruments to play the three sounds in time with the song. Switch off voices and continue to play the instruments at the right time.

LESSON 4

LESSON 4

SCARED OF THE DARK

(from ‘Music Express Age 5-6’)

  • Sing songs, speak chants and rhymes

  • Copy and perform short rhythm patterns and word pattern chants

  • Follow symbols to guide singing and playing

It’s late at night And there’s something in the house Something in the house going GLUG! Glug glug glug Glug glug glug It’s only water going down the plug Water going down the plug. It’s late at night And there’s something in the house Something in the house going BUMP! Bump bump bump Bump bump bump It’s just my football bumping down the stairs Football bumping down the stairs It’s late at night And there’s something in the house Something in the house going SCRATCH! Scratch scratch scratch Scratch scratch scratch It’s just my puppy scratching on the door Puppy scratching on the door Whisper the words ‘sh sh sh’ and the sound words in the song. How many sounds are there each time? (three) Use the pie chart to make a pattern to match the sounds in the song: (red red red rest, red red red rest) Choose instruments carefully for ‘glug’, ‘bump’ and ‘scratch’. Take turns to play the pie chart pattern each time it occurs in the song.

CHINESE DANCE

  • Listen for different sounds in music and describe what they can hear

  • Mark the beat of a listening piece

  • Follow symbols to guide singing and playing

Listen and add actions in patterns of 4 and 8, for example Clap clap clap clap, head tap, tap tap tap Invite the children to create their own sequence of actions, four each of two actions. Use the pie chart to indicate two different sounds, for example: Tambourines – red slices Triangles – yellow slices Perform in time with the music: Red red red red yellow yellow yellow yellow

...WITH FLUTE!

...WITH PIE CHART!

LESSON 5

LESSON 5

TIMBRE CARTOON

CHINESE DANCE

MISS MARY MAC

KEEP THE BEAT

LESSON 6

LESSON 6

THE PATTERN SONG

RED AND YELLOW

LITTLE BIRD

  • This is from Sing Up, Magazine 8 (Spring 2010)

  • Sing songs with a pitch range of do-so

  • Copy and perform short rhythm patterns and word pattern chants

Little bird, little bird, fly through my window (three times) Buy molasses candy Fly through my window, my sugar lump Fly through my window, my sugar lump And buy molasses candy Butterfly, butterfly, fly through my window (three times) Buy molasses candy Buzzy bee, buzzy bee, fly through my window (three times) Buy molasses candy Tap the rhythm ‘little bird, little bird’. How can we make it using yellow and reds? (yellow red yellow red) Create a pie chart pattern to fit the song: Yellow red yellow red rest rest rest rest Say and clap the pattern. Transfer to instruments. Play the pattern in time with the song.

LESSON 7

LESSON 7

LITTLE BIRD

PULSE

RHYTHM

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