Lesson plan: How can I keep from singing?

Song Bank link

How can I keep from singing (words and music by Robert Lowry)

Subject links

• RE QCA Unit 6F: How do people express their faith through the arts?

• Music QCA Unit 1: Ongoing skills

• Music QCA Unit 19: Songwriter – How musical structures are used in song

Duration

45 mins - 1 hour 

Learning objectives

• RE: Children will learn that in some religions, music is a form of expressing faith.

• Singing: Children will learn about phrase and musical structure; Children will learn how to make expressive use of musical elements and develop their performances.

Resources

• How can I keep from singing? - all audio tracks

• Highlighter pens

• Printouts of the song melody line.

Prior learning

• Children will have explored religious symbolism in other songs, poems and stories.

• Children will have sung other songs which require expressive use of the elements of music.

Introduction

• Share the Learning objectives with the children at the start of the session.

• Explain to the children that they are going to explore ways in which singing can be used to express (show) feelings and emotions in a religious context.

• Ask the children to describe any singing that they have taken part in, in a variety of situations. These might include football matches, birthday parties, weddings, school assemblies or religious ceremonies. Ask them to explain why they think people sing at these occasions and how the singing makes people feel. Emphasise that singing together is a way of sharing a belief in, or common enthusiasm, for something.

• Show the words to the hymn How can I keep from singing? Explain that a hymn is a piece of devotional music which helps people to share and express their feelings about their religion. This hymn is full of symbolism. Establish what the children understand by symbolism, using an example from the lyrics if required. Then ask the children to work in groups to explain the symbolism in each verse. Each group discusses a different verse and shares their ideas with the whole class at the end.

• You will need to explain/discuss with the children some of the archaic language in the song. (This may lead to future work on how language has changed over time.)

• Ask the children to listen to song and identify what the songwriter meant by the words How can I keep from singing? (eg. singing helps us to express our joy at the way God keeps us safe). Ask the children why they think this line is repeated so much in the song. 

Main activity

• Start by warming up, eg. using the Warm up and stomp canon or Alphabetical consonant warm-up from the Song Bank.

• Learn each line of the song How can I keep from singing? using the echo track(s). Focus on clear diction and confident responses. Display the words on the whiteboard.

• Once the melody line is secure, discuss how to add variety to the song. How will you use dynamics? Eg. could you gradually sing each verse louder and louder until the final line which is sung loudest and with most energy? Some parts of the song may work well sung legato (smoothly) while giving other sections or words emphasis. Try out different ideas and suggestions, asking the children what works best and why. 

• Sing through the song with the backing track adding the expressive ideas.

• Now focus on the words and add facial expression to lines such as ‘when tyrants tremble sick with fear’ or ‘what though the tempest round me roars’. Ask the children to say the words to each other conveying the meaning of the words through their faces.

• Sing the song again with the backing track, rehearsing facial and vocal expression. Ask the children what they think this adds to the performance.

• Split the class into two groups and have each group to sing alternating phrases to demonstrate the phrase structure of the song. Move on to a discussion about simple musical structure through the repetition of phrases (phrase repetition is a common feature of many songs).

Singing tips

• Encourage the children to sing each phrase in one breath. They will find this easiest if they are standing tall with feet slightly apart. This will aid understanding of the structure of each verse as well as helping the song flow nicely.

• Ask the children to imagine a thread attached from the top of their head to the ceiling. As they imagine it being pulled up, they will raise their head a little, encouraging a good singing posture.

• Encourage good diction and expression by warming up with songs or vocal games which encourage the exploration of a variety of vocal sounds.

Independent activity

Please note that if your lesson is shorter, you might like to use this activity as a ‘Next Step’.

• Give the children printouts of the melody line of the song and a selection of highlighter pens.

• Ask them to identify the different phrases in the song, using the same colour to highlight the phrases are repeated.

• Alternatively, do the same exercise while listening to the performance track.

Differentiation

Support:

• Some children will find the group task on symbolism a challenge. Try mixing the groups, with more able children leading the discussion. Use adult support staff to prompt those who need it.

• Include lots of reinforcement of the melody for less confident singers. This might include playing the performance track during group or independent activities. You might also devise activities such as singing the melody to ‘la’ or other syllables, and following the score to identify where the music stops. This will raise confidence levels.

Extension:

• Teach the class the descant melody and ask the most confident children to sing this as part of a class performance, perhaps in an assembly with the other children singing the main melody line.

• Use the flute melody to challenge any instrumentalists in the group or teach it to a group of glockenspiel/keyboard players. You may need to lower it by one octave to make it easier for beginner note-readers.

Plenary

• Ask the children to explain how the song expresses joy to God. What are the singers joyful about and how does the style of singing help express this joy? Ask the children to complete the phrase ‘the singers are joyful because …’

• Invite the children to identify ways of making their performance even more expressive (joyful) next time.

• Ask the children to consider other ways that people express their faith, eg. through writing devotional scripts, dancing or chanting etc.

Assessment for Learning

• Questioning (during discussion).

• Peer and self-evaluation (of the final performance at end of lesson).

• Teacher assessment.

Next steps

• Explore other songs which express faith from a variety of religions and cultures. Some examples from the Song Bank might be Purim day, Ame sau vala tara bal and Siyahamba.

• Explore other songs with repetitive phrase structures, eg. He’s got the whole world in his hands, which also deals with religious symbolism.

• Get the children to compose their own songs of faith or pieces of devotional music using simple, repetitive phrase structures.

Differentiated success criteria

All children will: 

• Recognise that singing/music can express religious beliefs.

• Share ideas in a group and whole class context.

• Perform the song with an awareness of others.

Some children will: 

• Share ideas and describe some forms of religious expression.

• Recognise that music can be used to express their own feelings and views on matters which are important to them.

• Recognise how the musical elements can be used expressively and sing the song with expression.

• Understand that songs have a phrase structure and perform the song with a sense of phrasing.

• Maintain their part in the song with confidence.

A few children will:

• Share ideas using religious vocabulary to describe practices and forms of religious expression.

• Perform a variety of parts in the song maintaining their role in the overall performance.

• Perform from simple notation with expression and a sense of phrasing.