Surviving Supply Teaching with Sing Up

It is possible to get the children you teach while on supply singing, no matter what plans you have or have not been left or how much or little space there is. Here are a few things for you to try.

Preparation is key
 

Classroom environment

The space available to you can really impact upon what’s possible. Stand or sit in a circle for singing where possible, as this ensures you have eye contact from all children and can help encourage participation.

• A large piece of Lycra or a parachute can help form a circle with FS/KS1 and can be used in songs.
• If you are in a classroom with furniture and no time to move it, then try to make a circle standing around a few of the desks.
• You might be lucky enough to have a classroom that leads directly to the school yard and this is a great space for some of the more physical activities.
• Some schools have open space outside classrooms for groups, so it’s worth checking if this is available. Your class may also be in the hall for PE or you might have access to a hall timetable to check its availability.

Resources for your bag

MP3 player and battery-powered portable speaker.

• Saved playlists on MP3 player, memory stick or CD. (Some schools may already have access to the Sing Up Song Bank, but others may not, so it’s worth having this with you. You may also be able to access the site through the classroom’s whiteboard.)
• There are various activity packs available for download in Bonus Online Content. These include: the Pyramid Pack, the Breakfast Club Pack, loads of seasonal festive packs and many more fun activities.
• Find a whole bank of lesson plans in the Teaching Tools Area.

Some additional resources for FS/KS1:

• Piece of stretchy Lycra/small parachute
• Collections of soft toys to bounce and/or count (five monkeys, five teddies, etc.).

Additional Staff

If you’re lucky enough to have a Teaching Assistant or other adult in your classroom then it’s a great idea to get this person to participate with the group. It’s important for the children to see other adults accepting the activity that you’re doing and they can also help to encourage those pupils who may be reluctant to join in. This person can also play a crucial role in keeping the singing going when you’re no longer there and also may feed back to the manager in charge of booking supply to bring you back for further work.

What to do?

The most important top tip is to have a selection of songs you know well and some activities prepared in advance. Here are just a few ideas to get you started based on how much time you’ve got. You can find all of these on our website by using the search bar (top right hand corner).

When to build in singing

• Assembly cancelled
• Hall time cut short for PE lesson
• Outdoor lesson cancelled due to weather
• You need time for children/TA to get resources together
• Long teaching session needs breaking up
• Waiting in lines
• Tidying up/instructions

5-MINUTE IDEAS

• Call-and-response songs such as Boom Chicka Boom
  and Tongue Twisters will work for KS1 and KS2.
• For FS and KS1, nursery rhymes with actions (or signs, if classes use them) are a great way to get pupils up and about and moving. 
• In advance, write your own words to a nursery rhyme to give instructions and teach it to the class. For example, using the tune to Frère Jacques, you could sing, ‘Are we listening, are we listening, look at me, look at me, time to put your pens down, time to put your pens down, sit up straight, sit up straight’.
• In advance, write your own words to a song for lining up and teach it to the class. For example, using the tune to If you’re happy and you know it, you could sing, ‘If you’re sitting in the red group line up now, line up now, if you’re sitting in the blue group line up now, line up now, if you’re sitting in the green group, you can come and join the others, if you’re sitting in the green group it’s your turn, it’s your turn’.
• For KS2, try out either Hey my name is Joe (Button factory) or Concentration. These songs are great fun and the actions that go along with them (available in the 'Teaching notes and activities' box) will not only get your pupils moving, but also giggling up a storm.

15-MINUTE IDEAS

• For FS and KS1, you can sit or stand around a piece of stretchy Lycra, bouncing a steady pulse and singing counting songs, using props, such as Five little ducks or Five fine bumble bees. Young children will also find it fun to sing Old MacDonald while adding animals from a prop bag to the Lycra circle.
• Test KS2’s rhythm and movement with Clap to the heartbeat and Baby one, two, three. You can also test yourselves by singing the latter in French!

HALF-HOUR OR SHORT LESSON IDEAS

• If you have a larger space, you might want to try out some of the following popular Singing Playground Song Bank songs that come with accompanying actions: Jump Jim Joe (KS1&2), As I was walking down the street (KS1&2), Bow, bow, bow Belinda (KS1&2), Four white horses (KS2).
• Choose a popular song you know fairly well and use the structure for children to rewrite the song to summarise their Science/History/RE topic so far and get them to perform for the class.
• Teach a Signed Song or Makaton song and discuss with the children why they would use the particular type of signing. Many schools can’t access the Sing Up videos through YouTube so you may want to save your favourite videos to a memory stick. You can find all of the videos here.

ARE YOU REGISTERED?

If you are reading a borrowed copy of the Sing Up magazine you have found in the staffroom or on a teacher’s desk, then make sure you register online today. You’ll soon have access to exclusive web content and you’ll get your own copy of Sing Up. To register, click here. First, you will be asked to enter your contact details, followed by some questions regarding yourwork. As a supply teacher, you will need to confirm your role and whether you work independently (as a freelancer), for the Local Authority Music Service or for another organisation.

Whether you have been pre-booked by a school and left perfectly detailed lesson plans for the day or you are there as an emergency cover and have to teach from your bag, hopefully there have been a few ideas here to kick-start your singing supply lessons.

After growing up as part of a family folk group, Pamela McGahon went on to study Music with Primary Teaching in Lancaster, where she then taught in a large primary school until relocating to the North East where she became a Sing Up Area Leader, leading training for more than 1,000 across the North East. She’s now available for staff training and children’s workshops and has been working as a supply teacher in the North East.