Article by Clare Zabrowarny, Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School
I find that it can be really rewarding creating lessons for kinder and lower primary, the more creative the better! I try to incorporate lots of props and characterisation, and have found themed lessons to be particularly engaging for kinder/prep. Any topic can work; Bees, Crocodiles, the Jungle or Zoo and even Fruit!
Here is a Bumble Bee themed lesson which I created for my kinder class. I made 25 simple pipe-cleaner bee finger puppets (pink and black of course as I work with girls) which the children took home with them after the class. This way they could sing all their favourite songs to their family and friends at home!
Click this link for the Lesson Plan
Songs from the Lesson Plan:
Below are some of my favourite tips and resources for ELC music classes:
- Begin each lesson with a familiar warm up activity to encourage singing – improvise with vocal exploration and alter the activity slightly each week
- Start the year with lots of nursery rhymes – there are great movements and finger play to match and young children are more likely to sing something familiar at this early stage
- Encourage shy singers by using a soft toy or puppet as an aid – children are often less self-conscious singing to a toy than a teacher
- Intersperse the lesson with plenty of movement activities
- Create smooth transitions/connections between activities to maintain engagement levels
- The New Useful Book – Songs And Ideas From Play School is a fantastic resource
- John Feierabend has many wonderful books of songs and ideas including circle games, finger play and pitch exploration
- Song story books are fantastic in the middle of a lesson:
- Iza Trapani has many great books based on nursery rhymes and folk tunes
- Never Smile at a Crocodile – Jack Lawrence & Frank Churchill
- Robert Munsch has many including Up, Up, Down, Mmm Cookies, Mortimer
- Puff the Magic Dragon – Peter Yarrow & Lenny Lipton
- Willbee the Bumble Bee – Craig Smith & Maureen Thomson
- Do Your Ears Hang Low & There’s a Hole in My Bucket – Jenny Cooper