Prep. Lesson 18. Fast & slow II
- Woodblock Difficulty:
Prior learning: None
Students will develop confidence and pitch-matching skills by singing a "Good Morning" greeting using a minor third interval.
Dr James Cuskelly and students of St Joseph's School, Stanthorpe.
Success Criteria
- I can sing "Good Morning" with the class, matching the pitch and keeping in time.
- I can respond individually to the greeting, using the correct pitch.
- I can listen carefully and sing confidently, showing improvement in my response each time.
- The video [mid-year] shows a marked improvement from the first lesson and demonstrates that regular use of this greeting helps build pitch and singing confidence.
- Begin by singing "Good Morning" using a minor third interval (e.g.,so-mi).
- After your demonstration, encourage the class to sing it back to you, listening carefully to match the pitch and rhythm.
- Repeat the call-and-response a few times to build their confidence, with you singing the greeting and the class responding together.
- Emphasise that everyone should keep in time with the response, making it feel like a natural, steady greeting.
- Once the class is comfortable with the melody and response, choose one student to respond individually after the class greets them.
- Allow each selected student to respond to the greeting, providing an opportunity for individual practice.
- Continue this call-and-response activity as time allows, giving several students a chance to respond individually.
- Encourage everyone to try their best, reinforcing that the aim is to build confidence in singing and enjoy starting class together.
Students will develop beat awareness by marching in time to the rhyme and coordinating their movements with the spoken words.
Lyrics
Feet, feet, feet, feet.
Going up and down the street.
Big feet, little feet,
Can't catch me!
- If the students are unfamiliar with the words, teach them the rhyme by speaking it slowly, ensuring they catch each word.
- Repeat the rhyme several times with the class, encouraging them to remember the words.
- Recite the rhyme yourself, stepping along the side of the foot props in time with each word. Speak in a steady beat, showing how to match your steps to the rhythm of the words.
- Select a student to mimic your actions, marching along the foot props as the rest of the class recites the rhyme.
- Instruct the rest of the class to point to the feet props as they chant the rhyme, helping guide the chosen student to step along each word.
- Once secure, have the entire class march up and down the room while chanting the rhyme together.
- Encourage the students to keep in time with the beat, adjusting their steps to match the steady pace.
- If students are familiar with the rhyme, then vary the tempo on each repetition.
- At the end, ask the students how it felt to keep in time with the beat and if marching helped them feel the beat in the rhyme. Give feedback to reinforce timing and beat awareness.
Success Criteria
- I can recite the rhyme while keeping in time with the beat.
- I can march alongside the foot props, matching my steps to each word.
- I can follow the beat when chanting and moving with the class.
- I can participate actively, helping guide my classmates as they march to the rhyme.
Print and laminate the feet cutouts for further use.
Students will develop an understanding of tempo by singing and moving at both fast and slow speeds.
Lyrics
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Print and laminate both icons for further use in teaching tempo.
- Start by singing the song to the class at a steady, moderate tempo. Explain that tempo is how fast or slow we sing or move to a song.
- Now, sing the song slowly and encourage students to march in place to the beat, moving slowly and deliberately to a slow tempo.
- Next, sing the song quickly and have them march faster, matching the faster tempo. Emphasise that the mouse on the clock might sometimes move slowly or speed up!
- Show the class visual cues representing tempo changes: a snail icon for slow and a rabbit icon for fast.
- As you switch between these visual cues, instruct the class to adjust their singing and marching tempo to match.
- Hold up the snail icon to signal a slow tempo and the kan icon to signal a fast tempo.
- Encourage students to listen and observe, adjusting their singing and movements with each tempo change.
- Choose a student to lead by holding up one of the visual cues (snail for slow, rabbit for fast). The class will follow the student’s tempo cue as they sing and march to the song.
- Rotate through a few students as tempo leaders to reinforce their understanding and response to tempo changes.
Success Criteria
- I can sing at both slow and fast tempos.
- I can adjust my movements to match the tempo of the song.
- I can follow visual cues to change my tempo in response to the song.
- I can lead my classmates by choosing a tempo and keeping in time with the beat.
Students will explore the concept of tempo by singing and moving to both fast and slow beats, enhancing their ability to adjust movement with changing speeds.
Lyrics
Ring a ring a' rosy,
A pocket full of posy.
A tish-oo, a tish-oo,
We all fall down.
Success Criteria
- I can sing the song in both slow and fast tempos.
- I can adjust my movements to match the speed of the beat.
- I can perform the final action on “down” accurately, regardless of tempo.
- I can actively participate, adjusting to different tempos and keeping in time with the group.
- First, sing the song at a slow tempo, demonstrating how the students should move slowly and deliberately around the circle.
- Next, sing the song at a fast tempo, showing how they should speed up their movements to match. Discuss how each tempo changes the energy of the song.
- Choose one student to stand in the middle and have the rest form a circle around them.
- Sing the song at the first tempo (slow or fast), with everyone moving in time with the beat and adjusting their steps to match the speed.
- On the final word, “down,” all students in the circle should lie down or squat quickly. The middle student can also join in.
- Have everyone stand up. Then, choose a new student to be in the middle and adjust the tempo to alternate between slow and fast. Use the fast and slow icons as a visual guide.
- Encourage students to keep in time with each tempo, adjusting their speed and movements accordingly.
- After each tempo change, ask the students if they found moving with the fast or slow tempo easier.
Students will develop an understanding of tempo by singing faster and slower and adjusting their movements accordingly.
Lyrics
Big black train, big black train,
Going up the mountain.
Big black train, big black train,
Going down again.
Success Criteria
- I can sing at both slow and fast tempos.
- I can adjust my movements to match the tempo of the song.
- I can keep in time with the beat, whether moving slowly or quickly.
- I can lead the tempo change as the train conductor, keeping my classmates in time.
- Begin by singing the song slowly and have the students march in place or move their arms like a train at a slow tempo.
- Emphasise that they should keep in time with the beat, moving slowly and deliberately, as if they are a train just starting to chug along.
- After practising at a slow tempo, switch to a fast tempo and sing the song again. Encourage the students to move faster in time with the beat. They can march faster or move their arms faster to match the quicker speed, simulating a train gaining speed on the tracks.
- Alternate between slow and fast tempos a few times, prompting the students to adjust their movements to match the new speed.
- Use cues like “slow down” and “speed up” to signal when to change tempo, reinforcing the idea of adjusting movement to match the beat.
- Choose a student to be the train conductor and let them choose whether to sing the song at a fast or slow tempo. The rest of the class will follow their lead, adjusting their movements to match.
- Rotate through a few students, allowing them to experience leading and adjusting the tempo as the conductor.
- Afterwards, ask the students which tempo they found easier or more challenging. Discuss how changing the tempo of the song can change its feeling and energy, just like a train moving at different speeds.
Suggested lessons
Y1. Beat II
Y1. Beat III
Y1. Beat IV