Prep. Lesson 13. Higher & lower sounds II
- Woodblock Difficulty:
Prior learning: None
This lesson and subsequent lessons will have a strong beat component, but students will practise the concept of high and low.
Students will learn to differentiate between high and low sounds while singing and using arm movements to show pitch changes.
Lyrics
Good night, Sleep tight,
Friends will come tomorrow night.
- Have the students seated comfortably. Explain that they will learn a new song using high and low sounds to understand their differences.
- Let the students know that their arms will go up when they hear a high sound and down when they hear a low sound.
- Sing the song slowly, demonstrating the arm movements. Raise your arm when singing a high sound to show the pitch is higher.
- Lower your arm when singing a low sound to show the pitch is lower.
- Repeat this a few times so the students can see and hear the difference between the high and low sounds.
- Ask the students to join in and sing along, moving their arms up and down to match the high and low sounds you demonstrate.
- Sing the song several times, allowing the students to practice the movements and become more comfortable identifying high and low sounds.
- Provide positive feedback and slow down the tempo if needed to help everyone keep up.
Success Criteria
- I can sing the song while moving my arm up for high sounds and down for low sounds.
- I can follow the pitch changes with my arm movements.
- I can recognise the difference between high and low sounds.
- I can confidently sing along and move in time with the music.
Students will develop pitch awareness and melodic understanding by identifying high and low sounds, matching melodic contours with hand movements, and singing with correct pitch.
Success Criteria
- I can sing the melody of the first phrase while following the melodic contour.
- I can describe sounds as high or low.
- I can accurately point to melodic icons or imaginary contours while singing.
- Begin by singing the first phrase of “Snail, Snail” to the class, guiding them to listen carefully to the melody.
- Project the melodic icons (simple visuals representing the pitch contour of the melody) and point to each one as you sing.
- Invite students to sing the song and point to the icons in time with the melody.
- Ask them to close their eyes and imagine the melody as they sing again. Have them point to the imaginary contour of the melody, imagining snails moving up and down in pitch.
- Hum the first two beats of the first phrase and ask guiding questions:
- “How many pitches did you hear?”
- “Were the pitches the same or different?”
- “Are they in the same place or in different spots?”
- Encourage students to use the words high and low to describe the pitches they hear, helping them develop their vocabulary for pitch description.
- Sing the song again using the words high and low to replace the lyrics, modelling how the pitches move up and down.
- Have the students imitate, singing back in the same high and low pattern while showing the contour with their hands.
Students will develop beat awareness by singing and moving in time with the beat while participating in a collaborative circle activity.
- Begin by singing the song to the class. Invite students to listen carefully to the melody and beat, explaining that they’ll be moving in time with the beat as they sing.
- Arrange the class in a circle with enough space between each student.
- Select one student to stand in the middle of the circle. Explain that this student will walk around the inside of the circle to the beat of the song while the rest of the class sings.
- Lead the class in singing, emphasising a steady beat. The student inside the circle should walk in time with the beat as they move around.
- Encourage the class to focus on keeping the beat with their singing to support the student’s movement.
- When the song ends, ask the student in the middle to choose someone who sang well. This student then takes a turn walking inside the circle for the next round.
- Continue singing the song, allowing different students to take turns walking inside the circle, keeping time with the beat.
- Repeat as time allows, ensuring that as many students as possible have the opportunity to participate.
- Throughout the activity, emphasise staying in time with the beat and singing clearly. Reinforce the connection between singing, listening, and moving to a steady beat.
Lyrics
Ickle Ockle, Blue Bottle, fishes in the sea.
If you want a partner, please choose me.
Success Criteria
- I can sing in time with the beat.
- I can walk in time with the beat while inside the circle.
- I can recognise and encourage my classmates’ singing efforts.
- I can follow instructions and participate actively in the group activity.
Students will develop pitch awareness and beat coordination by matching high and low notes with hand movements at head and waist levels.
- Sing the song once to the class, explaining that they’ll use hand movements to represent high and low sounds.
- Demonstrate that we will raise our hands to head height for a high sound and lower them to waist height for low sounds.
- Explain that students should move their hands in time with the beat.
- Have the students sing along with you, mimicking your hand movements.
- Guide them to keep a steady beat as they move their hands, practising coordination between pitch and beat.
- Repeat the song multiple times, allowing students to practice coordinating their hand movements with the pitch changes and maintaining the beat.
Lyrics
Bye lo, baby-o,
Off to dream land you must go.
Success Criteria
- I can sing and match my hand movements to high and low notes.
- I can raise my hands to head height for high sounds and bring them to waist height for low sounds.
- I can keep a steady beat while coordinating my movements with the pitch.
Students will learn to identify high and low sounds by singing and using a raindrop graphic sheet to represent pitch changes visually.
Lyrics
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again some other day.
- Project the graphic on the board.
- Begin by singing the song to the class. Explain that the raindrop sheet shows high and low raindrops, representing the song's high and low sounds.
- Point out the placement of the raindrops on the sheet: High sounds are represented by raindrops higher up on the page. Low sounds are represented by raindrops placed lower on the page.
- Sing the song again, pointing to each raindrop in time with the melody and beat. Point your finger to the high raindrops for high sounds and lower it to the low raindrops for low sounds.
- Ask the students to sing along with you, pointing to the high and low raindrops on the beat sheet as they sing.
- Encourage them to raise their hands for high sounds and lower their hands for low sounds as they follow along, reinforcing the concept physically.
- Invite individual students to come to the front and point to the raindrops on the sheet while the class sings. This will help reinforce their understanding of high and low sounds and give them hands-on practice.
- To deepen their understanding, have students trace the high and low pitches in the air as they sing, moving their hands up and down to match the pitch changes.
- Repeat the activity several times, allowing students to practice matching their voices and hand movements to the high and low raindrops on the sheet.
Success Criteria
- I can sing while pointing to high and low raindrops on the raindrop sheet.
- I can adjust my voice to match the high and low sounds in the song.
- I can use hand movements to show the difference between high and low pitches as I sing.
- I can actively participate by following the pitch changes on the rain drop sheet.
Sam and Zoe show real-world examples of where beat can be found, other than in music.
Suggested lessons
Y1. Beat II
Y1. Beat III
Y1. Beat IV