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Here's how to make the Song Bank work for you, across different subjects
Have you ever noticed how much you can learn through singing? It's amazing how well facts stick in your head when they've been set to a melody, and it's easy to teach children about all manner of topics through song. We know that teachers often feel that they are too busy to use singing as part of their daily school routine, so we've assembled a list of Song Bank songs that will get children singing and learning at the same time.
Song sheets and activities for eight of the songs (listed below) are provided in the Song Bank. Don't just take our word for it - go explore the Song Bank yourself! Remember to use the advanced search function to filter songs by subject, so you can quickly find what you're looking for.
We're constantly expanding this resource, and aim to include songs that cover as diverse a range of topics as possible, at Key Stages 1 and 2. If you have any suggestions for songs that we might include, let us know.
Maths
You can learn about all sorts of maths topics through singing. Have a go at teaching children about numbers and arithmetic with these songs:
- Mister double trouble (KS1 doubling)
- Number crunchers (KS1 odds/evens)
- Two little chickens (KS1 multiplication)
- Maths? Oh yeah! (KS2)
- Chocoholics (KS2 division)
- Multiplicity (KS2 multiplication)
- The inch worm (KS2 multiplication)
Counting songs
These songs will get children in KS1 counting as they sing. They can be useful for teaching numbers to children whose first language isn't English, and can also be used to teach numbers in other languages for MFL.
- Mexican counting song
- A douze
- Five little ducks
- One man went to mow
- One, two, three, four, five
- Ten green bottles
- The animals went in two by two
- The counting backwards song
English
These songs are great for all sorts of literary activities, including learning the alphabet, spelling, homophones and rhyming:
- Alphabet athletics (alphabet)
- A cat sat on a mat (rhyming)
- Homophones (homophones)
- Oh, could you tussle with a mussel? (rhyming)
- Song of the fish (spelling)
- The alphabet song (alphabet)
Story songs
Folk songs have a narrative and are a good way to get children telling stories, and teaching them about earlier forms of the English language. Here are a few from the Song Bank:
- The mermaid
- Clementine
- Cockles and mussels
- My grandfather's clock
- One misty moisty morning
- Sumer is icumen in
Science
Singing can be used to teach specific units. Try these science songs:
- What is this stuff? (Unit 1C, Unit 2D, Unit 3C)
- The way in which plants grow (Unit 5B: Life cycles)
- Dem bones (Unit 1A: Ourselves)
- A tiny seed was sleeping (Unit 1B: Growing plants)
- Caterpillar (Unit 2B: Plants and animals in the local environment)
- Use the force (Unit 2E: Forces and movement)
- Switching it on (Unit 2F: Using electricity)
- A B-U-G (Unit 4B: Habitats)
- Make that sound (Unit 5F: Changing sounds)
Other subjects
Here's a selection of songs linked to non-core subjects. Try them out!
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