Songs As Springboards

Forging links between singing and the Primary Curriculum with Sue Nicholls

Many teachers and practitioners are developing cross-curricular approaches to delivering 'subjects', giving a vibrant and cohesive spirit to classroom activities. So why not absorb singing into this educational practice and select songs that support and underpin topics and themes at KS1 and KS2?

Once you have established a bunch of appropriate 'topic' songs, class singing won't have to be relegated to occasional slots during the school week; your pupils will be able to raise their voices several times a day. The songs you choose will endorse the topic and the singing will enliven and energise your children's learning.

KEY FACTORS IN CHOOSING A SONG

The notion of songs organised by topic is not without its pitfalls. You should be wary of being seduced solely by the lure of a favourite song title and make sure that you take a close look at the number of verses and the vocabulary. These are key factors in choosing a song. Too many complicated words, for example, or large numbers of verses will swamp KS1 singers and dampen their enthusiasm and enjoyment.

Research appropriate topic songs carefully - it will repay the time you spend! Song Bank material always includes a guide to the most appropriate Key Stage and many songbook publishers offer advice about matching material to age group. Successful KS1 songs should be:

• simple and accessible
• short, with just a few word changes in subsequent verses
• sprinkled with some repeated words and music phrases
• catchy and appealing with a singable melody and rhythmic interest

A song can be an exciting introduction to a topic - and a springboard into cross-curricular development.

Here are two examples using the Song Bank songs Hello, hello by Niki Davies for KS1, a delightful greeting and parting song; and Roll the old chariot along for KS2, a traditional sea shanty. You'll find them by visiting the Song Bank. You might want to listen to the recordings before using them. Remember that you can either play the song directly from the website using your interactive whiteboard or, when you're logged in, you can download the recording and burn it onto a CD.

KS1
Theme: People who help us
Song: 'Hello, hello'

1. Use the song to 'springboard' into the topic

- Talk with the children about the adults who help within your school community. Decide on three people and three children to represent them. Use simple props to identify each 'helper', eg. Javinder has a broom to be Mr Walker the caretaker.

2. Introduce the song

- Listen to the song and make waving actions during the 'hello' and 'goodbye' sections.

- Invite the children to talk about the ways in which each adult helps the school community and make a list of some of the things to do. These actions make a connection with the lines: 'I must say, you've made my day.'

- Perform the song as a tribute to each person, but pause between the 'hello' and 'goodbye' verses to read out the 'helpful' list. This would make strong assembly focus and delight the 'helpful' school colleagues!

3. Curriculum links

English

Speaking and listening: Devise a set of questions and interview 'helpful' people. Don't forget to sing the Hello, hello song as a welcome!

Reading: Share Oscar Wilde's story of The Happy Prince, the tale of a statue and a little swallow who both made immeasurable sacrifices to help the poor people of the town. Creative writing: Write poems in the form of kennings for different helpers around the school:

Caretaker
Floor sweeper
Door locker
Wall painter
Litter picker
Table wiper
Chair mender
Friend maker

Science

Discover how the jewels in The Happy Prince are formed and where they come from; learn some other names of gems.

Geography/Citizenship

Sing greetings and farewells from other countries, and use a world map to locate the places of origin. Sing these greetings instead of 'Hello', such as 'Hola, hola!'; if a greeting has only one syllable, add the word 'say': Say ciao, say ciao!'

ICT

Use digital cameras to take photo portraits of helpful people and display these pictures with pieces of creative writing. Alternatively, assemble pictures and text to make a giant book.

Art & Design

Make a large class collage of all the people in the school doing helpful things, or make a 3D statue of the Happy Prince.

Design & Technology

Design and make a gadget to pick up and collect litter in the school playground, or an apron for your school caretaker, or the cook with lots of pockets!

History/PSHE/RE

Conduct research into the lives of famous people who have helped others - eg. Helen Keller or Dr Barnardo.

PE/Dance

Choreograph a dance for the story of The Happy Prince. Allocate parts for the prince, the swallow, the woman and her sick child, the writer and the match girl. Everyone else can take on the roles of the townspeople or the councillors.

Music

Warm-up: Sit in a circle and talk about different ways to greet people: waving, high fives, hugging, shaking hands...plus any greeting words. The leader then greets the child to his/her left by singing the words: 'Hel-lo Jen-ny', using the two 'cuck-oo' notes (G and E). Jenny then sings the greeting to her immediate neighbour: 'Hel-lo Jos-eph', until everyone in the ring has received and given a greeting.

Singing and developing the song: Listen to the song again and notice how the 'rests' separate the greeting words. Try adding claps to emphasise where the rests fall, or play woodblocks or other untuned percussion. Substitute action words for 'Hello, hello!', eg. 'Let's clap, let's clap!' or 'Let's jump, let's jump!' Adapt it to a 'call and response' piece using  a leader and solo singers, by introducing two children's names:

Leader: Hello, Leanne

Leanne: It's good to see you

Leader: Hello, Jamal

Jamal: It's good to see you...

Ask everyone to join in for the rest of the verse and encourage confident children to adopt the leader's role. Sing the song at the beginning and end of the day.

Alternative Songs: Other songs from the Song Bank that could be included in this topic would be:

• Concentration
• Halima pakasholo
• Make someone happy
• People who help us

Every Song Bank item includes cross-curricular links and other ideas to enhance 'subject' activities, so why not include more songs in your topic planning and bring richer singing experiences to your classes?

KS2

Theme: Seafarers and the sea

Song: 'Roll the old chariot along'

Topics and themes at KS2 are wide-ranging and are often led by one main subject area, eg. 'The Victorians' or: 'Mountains'. Some schools take an arts focus, such as the National Gallery's 'Take One Picture', and many Y6 topics focus on 'bridging' projects agreed with local secondary schools, working on a specific book.

Using a song to introduce a unit of work at KS2 reinforces the importance and value of singing as a linking activity to successful cross-curricular delivery. Whatever your topic choices, there are songs galore to choose from. Here's one example using the Song Bank song Roll the old chariot along.

1. Use the song to 'springboard' into the topic

- Roll the old chariot along is a famous old 'stamp-'n'-go' sea shanty that would have been sung by large crews of sailors.

- Legend has it that after Lord Nelson fell in the Battle of Trafalgar, his body was sealed in a case of rum to preserve it. When the sailors heard of this, they drank their fill. Thus, rum became known as 'Nelson's Blood'.

2. Introduce the song

- Tell the children the legend of Nelson's body. Could the story be true? Do they know any other fables or legends associated with the sea - eg. Greek myths about Poseidon?

- Talk about shanties as work songs.

- Notice the similarity between the tunes for verse and chorus.

- Join in with the chorus. Make a slight swaying movement to suggest the motion of a ship on the sea, and add a drum or other percussion to mark the strong beat.

- Make up new verses - eg. 'A month or two on land wouldn't do us any harm... A Sunday roast at home...'

3. Curriculum links

History

• Investigate seafarers - eg. the Vikings, Drake, Magellan.
• Research the history of piracy or Britain's invaders.
• Investigate the artefacts from the Mary Rose. Find out about what life was like aboard a Tudor ship.
• Discover the origin of a 'square' meal or why hammocks were used.

Georgraphy

• Compare a contemporary world map with one from Nelson's time.
• Research the 'spice routes'.

Mathematics

• Make scale drawings of Nelson's ship.
• Investigate the rum ration in imperial measures and convert it to metric.
• Pirates loved dubloons! What would they be worth now?

English

• Write and perform plays about pirates - the current enthusiasm for Pirates of the Caribbean will provide a rich source of characters and plot.

Science

• Research materials used in ship-building.
• Investigate marine life - eg. around Britian's shores, coral reefs...

Design & Technology

• Design and make sailing vessels; devise fair tests for sea-worthiness and for sailing speed.
• Invent a recipe for a ship's biscuit that won't go mouldy.
• Design and make a lighthouse and discuss its importance for seafaring.

Art & Design

• Explore Turner's seascapes or The Wave by Hokusai to inspire art work.

Music

• Perform Roll the old chariot along with several extra made-up verses. Add appropriate percussion or sound sources to suggest sea sounds - recorder tops for seagulls, flapping envelopes for sails.
• Sing other shanties. These songs are 'call and response' songs - led by the shantyman with choruses sung by the men. They needed a strong beat to keep the physical task coordinated.
• Compose lyrics using a verse and chorus structure, with common themes such as hatred or envy of the captain, poor food, the lack of rum, etc. Use the tune of an existing shanty or use
  There's a hole in my bucket.
• Listen to the soundtrack from Pirates of the Carribean and decide what it is that gives the music its nautical atmosphere, eg. a strong beat played on drums, a rollicking tune.

So, me 'earties, sail away to the Song Bank and haul up some songs to support your topic work! Keep singing connected to the curriculum!

Alternative Songs: Other songs from the Song Bank that could be included in this topic would be:

• What shall we do with the drunken sailor?
• John Kanaka
• Pirates!
• Donkey riding
• There's a hole in my bucket

Biography: Sue Nicholls has published many books for generalist teachers with A & C Black and has contributed several songs to collections. Sue works as a freelance music education consultant, providing INSET and training nationwide. She's a Vocal Force facilitator and writes some of the activity notes for KS1 in the Song Bank.