Weeks 4 & 5

RHYTHM MNEMONICS (TA, TA-A, TI-TI)
PITCH (D, R, M)

Further revised as of 8 Feb 2013 (Melody)

What you need:

• Music book (blue)
• Pencil case
• Rhythm mnemonic placards for 'ta', 'ta-a', 'ti-ti' (see LH corner of Mozart Manor's cabinet top)
• Solfege placards for 'doh', 're', 'mi'

HOT CROSS BUNS

Teacher resource: Lemon Lime, Come Butter, Hot Cross Buns handouts

Objectives:

• Recite basic rhythm mnemonics - 'ta', 'ta-a', 'ti-ti' - while clapping the equivalent beats in 'Hot Cross Buns' (concrete)
• Visually link crotchet to 'ta', minim to 'ta-a', quaver to 'ti' (pictorial)
• Create own actions to the above rhythmic beats in 'Hot Cross Buns' (creative ownership)
• Recite 'Button You Must Wander' and 'Cho-co-la-te' in rhythmic mnemonics (revision/application)
• Sing 'Hot Cross Buns' in solfege
• Change lyrics of 'Hot Cross Buns' to own language (NE cultural ownership)
• Sing 'Button You Must Wander' and 'Cho-co-la-te' in solfege (revision/application)

Experience

Tuning-in activity (Lemon Lime)

Le-mon lime. Keep in time.

Make it neat. Feel the beat.

Not too fast. Not too slow.

Keep it stea-dy, go, go, go!

• Teacher chants 'Lemon Lime' once while keeping a steady beat through finger snapping. Class to follow.
• Teacher adds in actions while chanting (tap knees for quaver beats, clap for crotchet beats).
• Pupils partner up and get into two concentric circles, facing each other. They chant the lyrics while doing the same actions, albeit they have to clap their partner's hands this time for crotchet beats. At the end 'go, go, go', everyone in the outside circle will move to their left to the next partner without losing a beat.
• Pupils to do it until they are moving in rhythm to a steady beat.

Concept

• Teacher asks pupils if their actions are in steady beat or rhythm (Answer: Rhythm).
• Teacher tells pupils they will be learning 'rhythm names' today.

Hot Cross Buns

Rhythm

Experience

• Teacher does three different actions for 1 beat, 2 beats and half beat in the rhythm of 'Hot Cross Buns', for pupils to follow, e.g. half beat = touch knees, 1 beat = pat shoulders, 2 beats = top-down comb hair action
• Do the actions again in tandem with the rhythm mnemonics this time, e.g. 'ta ta ta-a', etc. 
• March in steady beat to the above.

Concept

• Teacher asks pupils to list the three different actions from shortest to longest. 
• Teacher introduces 'ti', 'ta' and 'ta-a' from shortest to longest, as well as the standard clapping actions for these rhythm mnemonics. Pupils to clap and chant along with Teacher. 
• Teacher shows flash cards of quaver = ti, crotchet = ta, minim = ta-a for pupils to copy into their Music Books.

Application

• Teacher gets pupils to create their own body percussion in groups of 4, for the rhythm mnemonics they have learnt. Pupils are reminded of shorter and longer actions in tandem with the duration of each note. 
• Before this, Teacher should have written the 4 bar rhythm of 'Hot Cross Buns' on the whiteboard. She will allocate each colour group to a bar to set their body percussion to, e.g. Red Group = Bar 1, Purple Group = Bar 2, Yellow Group = Bar 3, Green Group = Bar 4.
• After 5 minutes, each group will start with their number from bars 1 to 4 and continue in that sequence until the end
• Extension 1: Recite 'Button You Must Wander' and 'Cho-co-la-te' in rhythmic mnemonics after Teacher flashes the scores via the visualiser. 
• Extension 2: Do in different tempo and dynamics.

Melody

Experience

• Teacher leads class in Hot Cross Buns rhythm with body actions, i.e. touch head for 'mi', touch shoulders for 're', touch hips for 'doh' (in correspondence with the respective pitches of each solfege).
• Now, Teacher does the same actions while singing the song in solfege.
• Apply standard Kodaly handsigns while singing the same song:

             Mi re doh -

             Mi re doh -

             Doh doh doh doh re re re re

             Mi re doh -

• Add in lyrics to the song while doing solfege handsigns:

             Hot cross buns,

             Hot cross buns,

             One a penny two a penny

             Hot cross buns. 

• Change lyrics to Malay while doing solfege handsigns:

             Kueh pisang,

             Kueh pisang,

             Satu dua tiga empat

             Kueh pisang

Concept 

• Teacher quizzes pupils on the different handsigns for different pitches, asking them to list 'mi', 're', 'do' in terms of highest to lowest.
• Each pupil can volunteer to stand up while showing each handsign correctly and confidently.
• Pupils write 'pitch = high and low (mi, re, do)' in their Music Books. The first 5 pupils who are the fastest, neatest and most correct (in copying) can be rewarded with an 'Aspiration' chop.

Application

• Get children to brainstorm food and numbers in a different language, e.g. Tamil:
             
*Mur-ta-bak (or Ro-ti John)
Mur-ta-bak (or Ro-ti John)
**Onne rande moone nalle
Mur-ta-bak (or Ro-ti John)

*Murtabak = Moo-tar-bark
**Onne = ooon-ner, rande = run-der, moone = moon-er, nalle = naall-er


• Culture bearers: Identify international pupils in your class (e.g. Korean, Japanese, Bengali, Sinhalese, etc.). Get them to recite 'one, two, three, four' in their own language. Get them also to name a three-syllable food from their culture. String them in song, for the whole class to follow (show PowerPoint photos of the food mentioned below, or prepare your laptop with an internet connection):

          Bi-bim-bab
          Bi-bim-bab
          Hanna **dul set-set net-net
          Bi-bim-bab

          ***dul = do-ool

         Ta-ma-go
         Ta-ma-go
         Ichi ni-ni san-san yon-yon
         Ta-ma-go

• Extension 1: Pupils to perform their own version of 'Hot Cross Buns' while doing solfege handsigns. 
• Extension 2: Perform 'Hot Cross Buns' on resonator bells and percussion instruments (e.g. in groups of 4, 1 pupil will play the melody on resonator bells and 3 pupils will play the rhythm on percussion instruments), singing along.
• Extension 3: Perform 'Hot Cross Buns' on xylophones and metallophones, in rhythm and steady beat respectively: 

          Drone (metallophone): C -  C - C -  C -  C    -     C     -     C -  C - 

          Melody (xylophone):    E D C - E D C - CC CC DD DD E D C -

• Extension 4: Sing 'Button You Must Wander' and 'Cho-co-la-te' in solfege after Teacher flashes the scores via the visualiser. 

Music Book

• See words in blue above.
• Teacher to devote last 4-5 min of lesson or real time to the awarding of CIRA stamps to exemplary pupils/pairs.

Week 3

RHYTHM & STEADY BEAT
- CONSOLIDATION & CREATION -

What you need:

• Music book (blue)
• Pencil case

CHO-CO-LA-TE

A Chilean children clapping game

Teacher resource: Cho-co-la-te handout

Objectives:

• Keep a steady beat through movement (coordination)
• Chant the rhythm of 'Cho-co-la-te' to steady beat actions (psychomotor)
• Create own words and steady beat actions to the rhythm of 'Cho-co-la-te' (ownership) 

Experience 

Action

• In 4, 3, 2, 1 pattern, Teacher pats head, shoulders, knees in steady beat.
• In the same pattern, Teacher now claps front, claps back and fist-punches the air in front of her, in steady beat.

Action + Words

• Teacher adds words in rhythm to these two sets of steady beat actions. Each action will correspond to one syllable respectively, e.g. 'cho-co' = pats head / claps front, 'la' = pats shoulders / claps back, 'te' = pats knees / fist-punches the air.

             Cho-co cho-co la la

             Cho-co cho-co te te

             Cho-co la cho-co te

             Cho-co la te.

• Stop only when pupils have got into a rhythmic and steady groove while chanting.

Pair practice

• Pupils practise the above in pairs.

Concept

• Teacher asks pupils: Which is steady beat? Which is rhythm? Action or words?
• Pupils should also explain why.

Application

Showcase (Change words)

• Teacher models changing words to a set of actions (e.g. the clap front clap back set), on the theme of food. An example:

             Ro-ti ro-ti pra pra

             Ro-ti ro-ti ta ta

             Ro-ti pra ro-ti ta

             Ro-ti pra ta 

• Teacher briefly introduces the word 'syllables' as 'sounds a word has', and gets pupils to guess how many syllables 'cho-co-la-te' and 'ro-ti-pra-ta' have (Answer: 4).
• Pupils brainstorm on their favourite food. Teacher (re)writes pupils' favourite food in the form of four syllables, e.g. if pupil says "chic-ken rice", teacher writes "roast chic-ken rice".
• Children now get into pairs and do the following: (1) Choose a food; (2) Choose one set of actions given by Teacher earlier (e.g. either the clap front clap back or head shoulders set); (3) Practise breaking up the words to their chosen set of actions.
• After 5 minutes, children to perform in front of peers. Teacher to emphasise concert etiquette while performing: (1) Sit up straight; (2) Eyes on performers; (3) Mouths closed; (4) Clap when finished.
• Teacher might also share 'feedback etiquette' with class: (1) 1 positive comment; (2) 1 constructive comment for improvement, in the tone of helping their classmates improve, not to criticise, in line with school values.

Showcase (Change words and actions)

• Now, Teacher models changing actions to the pupils' chosen words, on the theme of food. An example:

             Ro-ti ro-ti pra pra

             Ro-ti ro-ti ta ta

             Ro-ti pra ro-ti ta

             Ro-ti pra ta 

            Ro-ti = twirl RH in the air

            pra = press RH palm down on floor

            ta = press RH palm up on floor

• Children get into pairs and practise changing their actions.
• After 5 minutes, children to perform in front of peers. Teacher to emphasise concert etiquette while performing: (1) Sit up straight; (2) Eyes on performers; (3) Mouths closed; (4) Clap when finished.
• Teacher also shares 'feedback etiquette' with class: (1) 1 positive comment; (2) 1 constructive comment for improvement, in the tone of helping their classmates improve, not to criticise, in line with school values.

Extensions

• Peer teaching: Two pairs get together. One pair teaches the other pair his/her words and actions, and vice versa.
• Check for understanding: Each pair showcases a different pair's words and actions.

Music Book

• If Teacher hasn't already done so, she writes 'rhythm = long and short beats' on whiteboard for pupils to copy into their blue music jotter-manuscript books.
• Teacher to devote last 4-5 min of lesson or real time to the awarding of CIRA stamps to exemplary pupils/pairs.

N.B.: It will suffice for pupils to just write the word 'rhythm', with verbal explanation of 'rhythm', due to pupils' developmental struggle with writing. While waiting for pupils to copy, as a musical/auditory interlude, playing the rhythm and steady beat on the piano on any note with both hands will help pupils internalise what they have learnt in a different musical context. A steady beat can be played with your LH; rhythm, your RH. I've tried this with 'Button You Must Wander' in previous lessons and found pupils humming the melody while copying, even subsequently while walking out of the music room.

Week 2

STEADY BEAT

What you need:

• Music book (blue)
• Pencil case
• 1 button / eraser

1. BUTTON YOU MUST WANDER

Teacher resource: Button You Must Wander handout

Experience 

• To teach song, *first, chant lyrics of song in rhythm, then chant in rhythm and clap in steady beat, and finally, clap in steady beat and sing in melody.
• Now add actions. Sit in a circle. RH clenched on floor in front of you or stretch out LH with RH clenched on it.
• Sing song and move hand in steady beat like this:

             Front        >      Right               >      Front        >      Right...

      or   My LH     >      Friend's LH    >       My LH    >       Friend's LH... 

             But-ton            you must                  wan                  der...

• Stop only when pupils have become familiar with the steady beat groove while singing.

N.B.: Orff-Schulwerk principles of 'Say > Say and Do > Do'.

Concept

• Now, Teacher puts 1 button / eraser on floor in front of her. She explains that they are now going to do the same actions with the button being passed around this time.
• However, no one should be able to tell where the button is.
• Teacher asks pupils why, and introduces the concept of 'steady beat'.

Application

• Game starts. Teacher starts passing the button to the right in steady beat. Everyone's right hand should be in the same steady motion, passing the button from front to right.
• Introduce one 'catcher'. His/Her eyes must be closed while pupils start singing and passing the button, opening his/her eyes from "bright eyes will find you" to locate the button.
• The catcher makes his guess after three rounds of the song OR the song ends immediately as soon as the catcher catches the 'victim' with the button, who will take over as catcher.
• Extension (psychomotor): Change hands (left hand) and play again.

Music Book

• Teacher writes 'steady beat = does not change' on whiteboard for pupils to copy into their blue music jotter-manuscript books.
• Teacher also gets pupils to divide the centre pages into CIRA, if time permits, and explains rationale.

2. ENGINE ENGINE NO. 9

Teacher resource: Engine Engine No. 9 handout

Objectives: Practise steady beat through movement

                     Bridging activity for next lesson's 'rhythm'

Experience 

• Line game in 'train' formation. Walk to a steady beat.
• Start reciting rhyme (below). After reciting the rhyme, they all clap hands to the rhythm of the response YES, NO, MAYBE SO! YES, NO, MAYBE SO!

Engine engine number nine,
Going down the East West Line.
If the train goes off the track,
Will I get my money back?
YES, NO, MAYBE SO!
YES, NO, MAYBE SO!

Concept

• Teacher introduces the response as 'rhythm', also known as 'a series of long and short beats'.

Application

• Psychomotor: Now, pupils try keeping time to the rhythm of the words with their feet, instead of walking to a steady beat.
• Inner audiation: If pupils can accomplish the above, get them to say the whole rhyme in their heads while keeping the rhythm with their feet. They only say out loud the response YES, NO, MAYBE SO!
• Instruments: Divide class into two groups, A and B, with one leader each. A will play the rhythm of the rhyme up till 'money back'; B will play the response. Both leaders will keep a steady beat on the instrument. Xylophones and metallophones can be used; 'C' can be the steady beat, 'E' can be the rhythm; 'G' can be the response.

Music Book

• Teacher writes 'rhythm = long and short beats' on whiteboard for pupils to copy into their blue music jotter-manuscript books.

Week 1

INTRODUCTION - 

GETTING TO KNOW YOU / NATIONAL ANTHEM

What to bring:

• Music book (blue)
• Pencil case

1. NAME RHYTHM GAME

Teacher resource: Name Rhythm Game handout

Experience 

• Sit in a circle as quietly as possible.
• Teacher sets 'I do, you follow' handsigns.
• Teacher chants her name and claps a rhythm, e.g. Miss Ong clapclap clap.
• Class repeats teacher's name and claps in unison chorus.
• Teacher models it for the next 3 to 4 pupils in rhythm, e.g. Jona than clapclap clap; Hari praveen clapclap clap.
• Teacher also models confidence for pupils by using a loud voice.
• Class repeats friends' names and claps in unison chorus.

Extension: Pupils chant their name and interest, e.g. Miss Ong clapclap clap, read ing clapclap clap.

Concept

• Teacher explains that they are now going to learn the names of three more friends in rhythm. 

Application

• When class has got into the groove, teacher breaks pupils up into groups of four by numbering each person 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4....
• In groups of four, in order, pupils take turns to introduce themselves in rhythm. As the groupwork starts, Teacher goes around to facilitate.
• After 5-10 minutes of practice, each group stands up to perform. Teacher introduces "audience" and "concert etiquette" to pupils, and teaches pupils how to behave while watching their friends performing. 

2. MAJULAH SINGAPURA 

   (ONWARD SINGAPORE)

N.B.: The national anthem can be taught in parts across two to three lessons.

3. SCHOOL SONG 

N.B.: The school song can be taught in parts across two-three lessons, e.g. Verse 1 first, then Chorus. 

West View Primary School where we belong

We grow and learn to be strong

West View Primary, the school we hold so dear

Forward we march to face the future with joy and cheer

Chorus:

Aim high we will

Strive hard we shall,

With wisdom we progress,

Striving to do our best.

Aim high we will,

Strive hard we shall,

With vigour we progress,

Striving to do our best.

*********

Pursue knowledge; cultivate values,

Build bonds; make friends and grow strong

Confident we'll be, at West View Primary,

To face the future,

With what you have given me.

Repeat Chorus