These activities for use in schools have served me well over the last 25 years of working in classrooms as a composer and teacher. The first set here all use a war-related song as their starting point.
Archive | Music Teaching Activities (Primary)
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SOUNZWrite Resources
Categories: Music Teaching Activities (Primary), Music Teaching Activities (Secondary)
Ten teaching resources commissioned by SOUNZ, The Centre For New Zealand Music as study guides for some NZ compositions.
Song Stories: When My Roots Begin To Grow
Categories: Music And Science Mini Units, Music Teaching Activities (Primary), Song Stories
A song composed to assist with the study of flowering plants in primary school . It’s up-beat and uses relevant vocabulary and concepts for 7-11 year-olds
Musical Dramas
Categories: Music Teaching Activities (Primary)
Lots of musical drama activities from my “Teacher Of The Arts” days all brought together. In truth they’re not all here yet, but they will be!
Limerick Composing
Categories: Music Teaching Activities (Primary), Song Stories
A generic limerick tune that can be used to sing any limerick and also to create new lyrics in that form.
Song Stories: Rainbow Song
Categories: Music Teaching Activities (Primary), Song Stories
A song with eight verses, each focusing on a different colour, and one on the rainbow itself.
Song Stories: Touch The History On The Breeze
Categories: Music Teaching Activities (Primary), Song Stories
A Northumberland song composed for three local primary schools with verses on the river, the castle and the ocean.
Musical Digestive System
Categories: Music And Science Mini Units, Music Teaching Activities (Primary)
“Why not take a music journey through the digestive system?” I once asked myself when, confronted with a year 4 class whose teacher wanted them to learn about food and nutrition in my music lessons. The digestive processes lend themselves readily to replication in musical composition, after all!
Lungs And Breathing
Categories: Music And Science Mini Units, Music Teaching Activities (Primary)
Another science and music unit. This one started with what is now the ending – a request by a Year 1 class teacher to help with a musical presentation for Book Week on the theme of Visions Of the Future. I then developed the science aspect for future use.
Seeds Grow Into Plants
Categories: Music And Science Mini Units, Music Teaching Activities (Primary)
When asked to design some musical ideas to help with the study of flowering plants for some 9-10 year olds, I composed a song and then went to town with a complete unit of work using science and music curricula, with a bit of art and dance thrown in for good measure.
