The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Creative music

A Listening Walk

A listening walk in the immediate environment is great fun - in a nearby park if you have one, or the outdoor playground. There are always sounds if we stop and listen quietly. Ask the children to tell you the sounds they hear eg bird song, cars, talking, the rustle of leaves, the wind, dogs barking, footsteps. You could make a list and the children might bring reminders indoors such as leaves or gravel.

A Sound Picture (timbre, structure, texture)

Back indoors, the children can re-create the sounds they heard using found objects, body sounds and musical instruments eg chime bars for bird song, claves for footsteps, rustling crisp packets for leaves, wafting paper for the wind, voices for a dog barking. Some sounds might happen on their own (thin texture) and some might be played at the same time as others (thick texture).