We came to a number of conclusions why we use songs in class...
- They are a flexible resource for teachers. We can use them in many different ways for a variety of language learning activities, for instance ...
- They make learning more memorable. Can you provide an example?
- We can practise rhythm and stress with the children. Take for instance Jazz Chants ...
- Children learn songs and rhymes easily and quickly. They enjoy them and they are good for building confidence. Examples?
- Many songs and rhymes are made of repetitive, set phrases with new words added between phrases, i.e. ideal for language teaching. Examples?
- By using a song or rhyme in class you are giving children a complete text with meaning, even if the children cannot read! Examples?
- If carefully chosen and slotted into your teaching syllabus, song and rhymes can be used to introduce or practice new language...
In the comment section, provide your own examples... i.e. those songs, rhymes, chants which serve as examples of our conclusions...
Over to you!
10 comments:
•Children learn songs and rhymes easily and quickly. They enjoy them and they are good for building confidence. Examples?
Inside, Outside - Pockets 2 (kindergarten book)
Inside the classroom,
What do you see?
A teacher and a book,
Boys and girls,
Scissors and glue,
Crayons and paper
On a shelf,
That’s what I see!
Outside on the playground,
What do you see?
A teacher and a hula hoop,
Boys and girls,
A ball, a slide, and a jungle gym,
That’s what I see!
•Many songs and rhymes are made of repetitive, set phrases with new words added between phrases, i.e. ideal for language teaching. Examples?
If you're happy and you know it,
Clap your hands
(Clap hands twice)
If you're happy and you know it,
Clap your hands
(Clap hands twice)
If you're happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it,
Clap your hands.
(Clap hands twice)
If you're happy and you know it,
Tap your toe
(Tap toes twice)
If you're happy and you know it,
Tap your toe
(Tap toes twice)
If you're happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it,
Tap your toe.
Tap toes twice)
If you're happy and you know it,
Nod your head
(Nod head)
If you're happy and you know it,
Nod your head
(Nod head)
If you're happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it,
Nod your head.
(Nod head)
If you're happy and you know it,
Say Ok
(OK!)
If you're happy and you know it,
Say Ok
(OK!)
If you're happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it,
Say Ok.
•They are a flexible resource for teachers. We can use them in many different ways for a variety of language learning activities, for instance ...
Friday I´m in love - The Cure
I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love
Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love
Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...
I don't care if Mondays black
Tuesday, Wednesday - heart attack
Thursday, never looking back
It's Friday, I'm in love
Monday, you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday - watch the walls instead
It's Friday, I'm in love
Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...
Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a sheik
Spinning round and round
Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you eat in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff
It's Friday, I'm in love
I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love
Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love
•By using a song or rhyme in class you are giving children a complete text with meaning, even if the children cannot read! Examples?
Hello Song
GET UP ON YOUR FEET, GET UP ON YOUR FEET
GET UP ON YOUR FEET, AND TO EVERYONE YOU MEET
SAY HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.
WHEN YOU MEET SOMEBODY NEW FIRST THING
YOU SHOULD DO IS SAY HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.
SAY IT HIGH, SAY IT LOW, SAY IT FAST, SAY IT SLOW.
GET UP ON YOUR FEET AND TO EVERYONE YOU
MEET SAY HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.
WHEN YOU WANNA MAKE A GOOD FRIEND, GIVE
A GREAT BIG SMILE AND YOU SAY HI, HELLO MY
NAME IS ZACK, LIZZY, TOM, KATHY, ANYMORE YOU
KNOW IT, YOU'LL HAVE A FRIEND NEW PAL, TRUE BLUE,
TILL THE END, WHEN YOUR FRIEND SAY IT AGAIN.
SAY IT HIGH, SAY IT LOW, SAY IT FAST, SAY IT SLOW.
GET UP ON YOUR FEET AND TO EVERYONE YOU MEET
SAY HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.
SAY IT HIGH, SAY IT LOW, SAY IT FAST, SAY IT SLOW.
GET UP ON YOUR FEET AND TO EVERYONE YOU MEET
SAY HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.
•They make learning more memorable. Can you provide an example?
I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing Aerosmith
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
Far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Well, every moment spent with you
Is a moment I treasure
I don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
Lying close to you
Feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together
And I just wanna stay with you
In this moment forever, forever and ever
I don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
I don't want to miss one smile
I don't want to miss one kiss
Well, I just want to be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just want to hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time
Don't want to close my eyes
Don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
'Cause I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
I don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
Don't want to close my eyes
Don't want to fall asleep, yeah
I don't want to miss a thing
•We can practise rhythm and stress with the children. Take for instance Jazz Chants ...
These are two that I learnt when I was 8! (According to this definition: Jazz Chants are beat chants and poems that use jazz rhythms to illustrate the natural stress and intonation patterns of conversational American English. They reinforce structures of everyday situations.)
I think these might be sort of jazz chant)
1-
I like coffe
I like tea
I like you
Do you like me?
2-
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
We go to school for five days,
the other two are fun days!
Wow, Gaby! What a resourceful teacher you are!!! Congratulations! It does show you have wide experience in the use of songs in your lessons!
What about poetry (e.g. rhymes, riddles, etc.). How many of those do you use in kinder?
A useful site: http://www.lanterntree.com/nurseryrhymes/nurseryrhymeindex.html?gclid=CLfZwOPNuaECFYgf7godImnRgA
Cheers,
Silvia
• They are a flexible resource for teachers. We can use them in many different ways for a variety of language learning activities.
It can be used as an introduction to ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ story.
Red Riding Hood
Red Riding Hood, Red Riding Hood –
a little girl who’s very good!
Chorus:
Red coat, red shoes,
and a little red hood.
This is the story
of Red Riding Hood.
Grandma’s very sick today.
Red Riding Hood is on her way.
Repeat Chorus
The big bad wolf is watching her.
He’s got big teeth and lots of fur!
Repeat Chorus
She stops to pick some lovely flowers,
and stays in the wood for hours and hours!
Repeat Chorus
• We can practise rhythm and stress with the children.
Elephant, envelope, and egg.
All these words begin the same.
They begin with /e/, yes!
Now tell me the letter name.
• Children learn songs and rhymes easily and quickly. They enjoy them and they are good for building confidence.
The Hokey Pokey
You put your right foot in,
You put your right foot out,
You put your right foot in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your left foot in,
You put your left foot out,
You put your left foot in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out,
You put your right hand in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your left hand in,
You put your left hand out,
You put your left hand in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your head in,
You put your head out,
You put your head in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your whole self in,
You put your whole self out,
You put your whole self in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
• Many songs and rhymes are made of repetitive, set phrases with new words added between phrases, i.e. ideal for language teaching.
Numbers Song
Sailing in my boat I see the moon
Sailing in my boat I see the moon
I see one moon
Sailing in my boat.
Sailing in my boat I see two stars
Sailing in my boat I see two stars
I see, the moon, two stars,
Sailing in my boat.
Sailing in my boat I see three birds
Sailing in my boat I see three birds
I see, the moon, two stars, three birds
Sailing in my boat.
Sailing in my boat I see four fish
Sailing in my boat I see four fish
I see, the moon, two stars, three birds, four fish
Sailing in my boat.
• By using a song or rhyme in class you are giving children a complete text with meaning, even if the children cannot read!
Never Talk to Strangers
(From Snow White and the seven Dwarfs – Express Publishing)
Never talk to strangers
no matter what you do!
They’re not your friends!
You don’t know them!
They can be mean to you!
Don’t take things from strangers!
No apples, cakes or sweets!
You must say ‘No’
and walk away!
You don’t need any treats!
Never go with strangers!
You must say ‘No, no, no’!
They may look nice,
they may look kind –
don’t go with them! Don’t go!
• If carefully chosen and slotted into your teaching syllabus, song and rhymes can be used to introduce or practice new language...
People at School
I see many people
When I go to school!
They say hello.
I say hello.
Hello! How are you?
Bus driver, gym teacher, gatekeeper…
They work at school.
Principal, secretary, music teacher…
They work at school-
English teacher, janitor, cashier…
They work at school-
They say hello.
I say hello.
Hello! How are you?
Hi Gise!!
Well I already rejoice with the idea of having anthologies full of lovely poems and songs and the like... If you can produce all this material in a blog... I can't imagine the powerful anthology you will put together for beginning of June!!!
Congrats!!!
Silvia
When I did my internship in kindergarten I used to sing many of the songs the girls have written on the blog, mainly the one that says(because of the syllabus):
"You put your right foot in,
You put your right foot out,
You put your right foot in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about."
Nowadays, it is a bit difficult for me to choose songs. As I told you in another post, because as I'm working at a Christian School I can't select any song that I consider useful and that's it.
So, what I try to do, according to the syllabus, is to choose songs that contain some of the structures I need among the ones the school allows.
Post a Comment