People Who Help Us Level: Key Stage 1 - Introductory

Lots of People Help Us (pitch, pulse)

This is an easy starter song that helps the children to think of all the people who help us. You can walk in time to it and also tap the pulse on knees. In the video, the children are encouraged to think of other actions they can do in time with the pulse of the music.

When they know the song, ask the children to think of other people who help us to sing about. These people fit into the song well:

Firefighters, road sweepers, doctors, teachers, caretakers, nurses, dentists, lifeguards, bus drivers, post workers, musicians, hairdressers, opticians, pilots, painters, plumbers.

The rhythm of the word police officer doesn't fit very well because the strong part of the word, pol-ICE is the second syllable.

• Lots of people help us, help us, help us
• Lots of people help us every day
• __
• Firefighters help us, help us, help us
• Firefighters help us every day
• ... and so on

A Road Safety poem (structure, pulse, rhythm)

First make big lollipop shapes in colors red, amber and green to represent traffic light colors. Next teach the poem in a sing-song voice - the words in capital letters are the ones that sound strong when you say them and make it possible to walk in time. Then divide children into groups, with one child per group holding that group's lollipop:

Speakers (can you borrow a crossing patrol lollipop for the speaker group?)

• red lights
• amber lights
• green light

• RED light, RED light, WHAT do you SAY? (speaker)
• I say STOP, and STOP right aWAY (red light group)
• AMBER light, AMBER light, WHAT do you MEAN? (speaker)
• I mean WAIT till the LIGHTS turn GREEN (amber light group)
• GREEN light, GREEN light, WHAT do you SAY? (speaker)
• I say CROSS, but FIRST look each WAY (green light group)
• THANK you, THANK you, RED, amber, GREEN (speaker)
• NOW we KNOW what the TRAFFIC lights MEAN! (everyone)

Extension

Give an untuned percussion instrument to one child in each group, to be played on the children to choose an instrument to play their answer:

• I say STOP, and stop right away = play drum on stop
• I mean WAIT till the lights turn green = play tambourine on wait
• I say CROSS, but first look each way = wood block on cross

At the last line the children all play their instruments together and hold up their lollipops.