Term

Complete lesson plan

Week

1 4

Suggested Objectives
The following objectives are suggestions that should be achievable to enable steady progression
across the term, however they should be reviewed before each lesson and modified according to the
ability of the class.

To begin using musical words to describe music (pulse, beat, rhythm, pitch)
To understand the difference between pulse (or beat) and rhythm
To show good posture, rested and seated position on the instrument
To begin improvising rhythms on the instrument

Overview:
Part 1: arriving
Activity 1: coming in to the lesson
Part 2: playing games
Activity 2: pulse/rhythm/pitch games
Part 3: singing and playing
Activity 3: playing instruments
Activity 4: song Hey you!
Activity 5: song Rhythm in the way we walk
Part 4: at the end
Activity 6: summarise what the children have learnt
Activity 7: put the instruments away

General

Constantly building on what the children have already learnt, repeat some activities from previous
weeks, ask some of the same questions (sometimes worded differently), remind children of
vocabulary etc. Aim to include everyone in the lesson: invite different children to give answers etc.

In Hey, you! children are invited to improvise: first clapping a rhythm and later on their instrument.
Introduce this with plenty of encouragement. Point out that when someone improvises, the music
comes from inside them and belongs to them, so its impossible to make a mistake! The children
wont know that many adults find this a challenging thing to do and they wont be self-conscious
about it in the way that adults are. Discuss the idea of telling a story in the music; of using musical
phrases instead of sentences; of coming home at the end. Give plenty of praise just for having a
go: at this stage thats as important as doing a good improvisation.

Also in Hey, you! comes the opportunity to perform a solo or in a small group. From the beginning,
instil in the children the importance of showing respect to a peer who is brave enough to perform a
solo! If you were singing/playing on your own, you would hope your friends would be keeping
their fingers crossed for you, hoping you would do well, etc.
Copyright 2009 Charanga Ltd.

Part 1: arriving
Activity 1: coming in to the lesson
ON

Switch on track You cant stop the beat from the musical Hairspray

1.1

Welcome the children to the class the introductory music is already playing. Remind the
children of the routine established last week where they enter carrying their instruments
and put them in an allocated safe place (or whatever is appropriate to your
circumstances).
While they do this, find the pulse with your feet and ask the children to join in with you as
they join the circle. Revise the meaning of pulse.

1.2

Play with the pulse

Find the pulse with your feet.
Clap on the off-beat.
Play Statues! to end the activity. Use the same hand signal as before.
Invite an individual child to lead by calling Statues! and by giving the hand signal.
Begin to invite individual children to lead activities whenever appropriate, throughout
this lesson and in subsequent lessons. Always enable children to begin by giving them
a strong count-in (1, 2, 3, 4) so they know when to start.

1.3

Ask the children to sit down where they are, in the circle.

1.4

Listen carefully for a moment to the music. Does anyone recognise it? Heres some
information about the song:
Its from the finale of the musical Hairspray
The film was made in 1988
It includes 1960s style dance music
The story is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the
1960s.

1.5

Lets talk about the music. Put your hand up if you have an answer for me.
Is it the same piece of music that we listened to last week? (No.)
Do you like it?
o Why?
o Why not?
Revisit the questions from weeks 2 and 3 and ask others too.
o Is there a singer? More than one singer?
o Can you name any of the instruments you can hear?
Here are three questions specific to this piece of music:
o This is a song from a musical. What is a musical? (A story set to music,
performed on a stage with lots of singing and dancing.)
o How does this song make you feel? (Happy, cheerful etc.)
o Why? (The music is fast, up-beat, it uses dance rhythms etc.)

OFF Switch off You cant stop the beat

1.7

Revise the childrens musical vocabulary.

Copyright 2009 Charanga Ltd.

This should be getting larger and (depending on the instrument the class is playing) might
include mouthpiece/neck/fret/bow/reed/string/valve etc as well as
pulse/rhythm/pitch/ensemble etc. Include here the verb to improvise: to make up music
and play it as it comes out of your head i.e. it isnt written down. The children will begin to
do some improvising soon; using the notes they know on their instrument.
1.8

Praise the children for something e.g. how well they assembled their instruments.

1.9

The children stand up.

Part 2: playing games

Activity 2: pulse/rhythm/pitch games
Use track Hey, you! games track throughout the whole of the activity
As in week 2, track Hey, you! games track is played throughout the whole of Activity 2.
Remind the children that teamwork in music is important; they must always be aware of
the ensemble.
ON

Hey you! games track

2.1

Pulse games

2.2

Rhythm games

2.3

Revise the meaning of pulse.

Find the pulse with your feet.
Copy me! Clap hands on the off-beat: continue until everyone can do it.
Copy me! Tap head x 2, tap shoulders x 2, clap hands x 2, tap knees x 2. Repeat
until everyone can do it
Copy me! Hand/knee crossovers (diagonal hand to knee).
Lets be elephants keeping the pulse.
Lets be mice/giraffes/snakes/lions/parrots/bees etc keeping the pulse.
Invite the children to suggest other animals keeping the pulse.
End each idea with Statues!

Lets find the pulse again with our feet.

Revise the meaning of rhythm.
Always mark the pulse with the feet.
Copy this rhythm after Ive clapped it (keep to simple 1-bar rhythms).
Revise the meaning of improvise.
Invite individual children to lead with an improvised clapped rhythm; the rest copy
(without talking about bars, encourage them to fit their rhythm into 4 counts).
To end, play Now be a statue.

Pitch games
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Lets find the pulse again with our feet.

Revise the meaning of pitch.
Always keep the pulse going with the feet.
Warm up voices (imaginary elastic bands).
Warm up mouth muscles: Listen to me first, then copy me after Ive finished. You
sing laa/lee/lii/low/luu at one pitch; the children copy you.
Repeat using maa/mee/mii/mow/muu; paa/pee/pii/poh/puu (have fun!) etc.
Warm up lips and tongues with humming, buzzing, hissing etc.
Listen to me first, then copy me after Ive finished. Sing any two notes to la; the
children copy you. Then ask, Which is higher/lower? Repeat several times with
different notes.
Listen to me first, then copy me after Ive finished. Sing phrases from Hey, you!
Sing: Now be a statue!

OFF Hey you! games track

2.4

Ask the children to sit down.

2.6

Ask the children to appraise an aspect of their work e.g. are they beginning to recognise
different pitches?

2.7

Praise them for something they have done well e.g. listening carefully.

Part 3: singing and playing

Activity 3: playing instruments
This will be third time the children play their instruments.
3.1 Repeat and reinforce the material from the two previous weeks and begin to build on it,
teaching children the names of the note/s they are playing.
3.2 Revise the importance of:
Good ensemble work: watching the conductor, starting and stopping together,
playing/working as a team
Good posture
Not playing when they shouldnt
Rest Position
Seated Rest Position.
3.3 Stand/sit in the circle with instruments, ready to play in the next activity.

Activity 4: song Hey you!

Copyright 2009 Charanga Ltd.

4.1 Track Hey, you! For nodding

Revise nodding heads on Hey and Im.
Revise this activity from previous weeks, using track Hey, you! for nodding. Nod heads on
the words Hey and Im. Are we nodding with the pulse or the rhythm? (The pulse) Always
use the two bar intro between repeats as a rest.
4.2 Track Hey, you! For instruments
Play instruments on Hey and Im.
Instead of nodding on the pulse, play instruments. Use track Hey, you! for instruments.
4.3 Track Hey what Im rhythms (a faster pulse).
Nod heads on Hey what Im rhythms (a faster pulse).
Explain to the children that you would like them to nod at a faster pulse: on the words Hey
what Im rhythms (they will now be nodding twice as fast as before). Use track Hey, you! for
faster nodding. Nod heads to the new pulse until you can see that everyone can do it.
4.4 Track Hey what for instruments (playing faster).
Play instruments on Hey what Im rhythms.
Use track Hey, you! for instruments (playing faster) to play on the words Hey what Im
rhythms (children will now be playing twice as fast as before).
4.5 Track Hey, you! improvise on instruments
Invite individuals to improvise a rhythm on their instrument.
Revise the meaning of to improvise. Use track Hey, you! improvise on instruments.
Encourage individual children to improvise a simple rhythm lasting for two bars (the
equivalent of one Q and A in the song).
Play a couple of examples first (keep them simple!) to give some ideas, and to show that
its easy! Make up a rhythm on your instrument, for the length of two lines or one
question and answer. You can play anything you like. Point out to the children that the
great thing about someones improvisation is that its their music, from inside them, so noone else can tell them theyre wrong. Whatever they play will be right!
Encourage several individuals/pairs/small groups to have a go. Give plenty of praise and
positive feedback before and after make a big thing of children having a go/attempting
something new/succeeding. If children dont want to try, point out that not having a go is
not an option in literacy/numeracy. Explain that you expect everyone to have a go, although
they may wait until another week.

4.6 Track Hey, you! your arrangement

Copyright 2009 Charanga Ltd.

As a class, make an arrangement of the song.

Discuss and decide on an arrangement e.g.
Rap
Sing
All play on the fast pulse (beats 1 and 3)
Solo or small group improvising (to instrumental section)
All play on the fast pulse
Solo or small group improvising
All play on the fast pulse
Solo or small group improvising
All play on the fast pulse
Rap
Be statues at the end
This is just an example: encourage the children to make their own arrangement/choose
their own order of performance. Use track Hey, you! your arrangement to put together your
own version of the song.
4.7 Perform your arrangement.
Give a performance to someone e.g. a teaching assistant or another class. Remind the
children to be statues before and after the performance. Smile but stand completely still
during the applause. Thank the audience and send them away!
4.8 The children put their instruments down on cases and come back to stand in the circle.
Activity 5: song Rhythm in the way we walk
5.1 Track: Rhythm in the way we walk verse 1 sung by Kim
Revise singing verse 1.
5.2 Track: Rhythm in the way we walk verse 1 sung by Ben
Learn to sing verse 2.
Revise the meaning of improvisation. Listen to track Rhythm in the way we walk verse 2
sung by Ben. Add actions to the verse appropriate to the lyrics.
Verse 2
Pitch is high and pitch is low in the
Melodies and songs that we all know.
Pitch is around us everywhere
It's something we all share.
Improvisation, we all agree
Will open up our hearts and set us free,
Improvisation's near and far
It's part of who we are.

Copyright 2009 Charanga Ltd.

5.3 Track: Rhythm in the way we walk verse 1 and 2 sung by Kim and Ben
Perform verses 1 and 2.
Use track Rhythm in the way we walk verses 1 and 2 sung by Kim and Ben. Remind the
children to be statues at the beginning and the end. Smile but stand completely still during
the imaginary applause.
5.4 The children sit down in the circle.

Part 4: at the end

Activity 6: summarise what the children have learnt
6.1 Id like two people/anyone to put up their hands and tell me what they have learnt here
today.
Activity 7: put the instruments away
ON: See you next time
7.1 The children put their instruments away while the track is playing. Sing along with the track,
and encourage them to join in. Supervise the children putting their instruments away. After
you have seen each instrument has been put away properly, ask the children to line up at
the door. Every lesson will end like this.
7.2 Give the children a final word of praise at the end of the lesson.

Copyright 2009 Charanga Ltd.