Bears Level: Key Stage 1 - Listening, appraising & movement

Peter and the Wolf (motifs)

Not a bear ... but a wolf! One of the best-loved pieces of music that uses motifs is Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. It's a narrated story in which each character is represented by their own little piece of music. There are many recordings of this to choose from - you are spoilt for choice on Spotify, but you might like to try the one narrated by David Bowie. I have to admit to feeling very sorry for the poor wolf; my sympathies lie entirely with him - it's a potential talking point that focuses on caring about all animals. Here's how the story begins:

Lazy Bear (tempo, dynamics, pitch)

First you could tell the children that they are going to listen to music about a bear and that you will be asking them what the music says about the bear: for instance, is this bear happy, lazy, dancing, running? You could ask what they think the bear is doing as the music plays. To begin with, just play the music without showing the video.

At this point it is good for the children to get up and dance around to the music, pretending to move in the way they think the bear might be moving.

Next, the children could watch the video and you could ask whether the notes are high or low pitched (the tune is low) and if the tune is fast or slow (it's slow), then you could tell them the music is called Lazy Bear. The music is played on the piano and you might ask the children to put hands up when they hear it played louder and hands down when it is quieter.