<h3>A Listening Walk</h3><p>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.</p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/behzad-ghaffarian-LBjA0WPtUhQ-unsplash.jpg" alt="Behzad Ghaffarian Lbj A0 Wpt Uh Q Unsplash">    </div>                                                                <h3>A Sound Picture (timbre, structure, texture)</h3><p>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 <em>texture</em>) and some might be played at the same time as others (thick <em>texture</em>).</p>

<h3>Guess the time of year in the music! (timbre)</h3><p>Listen to the music and guess what time of year it is. Yes it's spring time and the birds are singing - I'm sure you'll bear the cuckoo, and several other twittering birds! Ask the children for hands up (silently) every time they hear a bird in the music.</p><p>The music is the Menuet from the Toy Symphony thought to have been composed by Leopold Mozart (the famous Mozart's father). A menuet is a dance from the 17th century. The children can see in the video how the unusual sounds are produced by 'toy' instruments.</p>                                                                <div class="video">    <div class="embed">                    <iframe class="lazy_embed" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/382929230?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;color=A2D6BD" allowfullscreen="">            </iframe>            </div></div>                                                                <h3>Group Composing Activity (timbre, texture, structure)</h3><p>After listening, the children could make up their own piece of music about Spring, choosing instruments to represent frogs croaking, birds singing and lambs bleating. The word to describe the essential sound that distinguishes one instrument from another is <em>timbre</em>. A basic outline of a structure is always a good idea and this can easily be done in a picture story-board format. Encourage different <em>textures</em> in the music - sometimes one instrument could play on its own (thin texture) and sometimes more than one (thicker texture).</p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/seasons_pic.png" alt="Seasons Pic">    </div>

The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Introductory

<h3>Nobody Out in the Rain Today</h3><p>I composed this song out on a rainy walk with my dog, Couber. There really was nobody else silly enough to be walking in the pouring rain. So this one's for my lovely boy!</p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/11anobodyout.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                <ul class="simple lyrics">            <li>Nobody out in the rain today</li>            <li>Nobody else just you and me</li>            <li>Nobody out in the rain today</li>            <li>We&#039;re the only ones who are out to play</li>            <li>__</li>            <li>Plip plop plip plop plip plop pling</li>            <li>When the rain pours we start to sing</li>            <li>Drip drop drip drop drip drop drop</li>            <li>Seems like the rain will never stop</li>            <li>__</li>            <li>Repeat verse 1</li>            <li>Â©Music-Playtime: Arts Enterprise Limited</li>    </ul>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Coubie_sq.png" alt="Coubie Sq">    </div>                                                                <h3>The Wind Blows East</h3><p>Here's a traditional, but little-known, song about the the wind. </p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Lucia_The-wind-blows.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                <ul class="simple lyrics">            <li>Oh the wind blows east</li>            <li>The wind blows west</li>            <li>The wind blows the sunshine</li>            <li>Right down in town</li>            <li>Oh the wind blows the sunshine</li>            <li>Right down in town</li>            <li>Oh the winds blow the sunshine</li>            <li>Right down in town</li>            <li>__</li>            <li>Oh the wind blows east</li>            <li>The wind blows west</li>            <li>The wind blows the setting star</li>            <li>Right down in town</li>            <li>Oh the wind blows the setting star</li>            <li>Right down in town</li>            <li>Oh the wind blows the setting star</li>            <li>Right down in town</li>    </ul>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/kites.jpg" alt="Kites">    </div>

The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Songs & chants

<h3>Frosty Snowball (pulse)</h3><p>This is a passing-in-time game in which the children pass the 'snowball' on the strong beats, which sound like the most important words, like this:</p><p><strong>FROSTY</strong> snowball, <strong>PASS</strong> it on ... and ... Get <strong>RID</strong> of the frosty <strong>SNOW</strong>ball.</p><p>It helps to pat knees on the strong beats before you begin passing the snowball round. Perhaps a fluffy, white ball might be more convincing as a snowball? </p>                                                                <div class="video">    <div class="embed">                    <iframe class="lazy_embed" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/399631974?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;color=A2D6BD" allowfullscreen="">            </iframe>            </div></div>                                                                <h4>We've Got It!</h4><p>The children are starting to pass in time with the music here.</p>                                                                <div class="video">    <div class="embed">                    <iframe class="lazy_embed" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/399632246?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;color=A2D6BD" allowfullscreen="">            </iframe>            </div></div>                                                                <h3>Spring Summer Autumn Winter music (timbre, pulse, rhythm)</h3><p>In a circle, first everyone chant the words: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter lots of times, walking on the spot, in time, as you chant. Next, divide the group into four. Each group is allocated a season and plays sounds in time with their season, as everyone chants:</p><ul><li>Spring - rattle a tin containing rice, once</li><li>Summer - click two wooden paintbrushes together, twice</li><li>Autumn - tap a plastic cup with a plastic spoon, twice</li><li>Winter - bang two metal spoons together, twice</li></ul><p>The children will need to practise keeping in time and making their sound only when it's their turn, in time with the chanting. </p><h4>Group work with instruments (timbre, pulse, rhythm)</h4><p>In groups of four, the children swap their 'found sound' for an instrument eg: </p><ul><li>Spring - scraper </li><li>Summer - drum</li><li>Autumn - claves </li><li>Winter - shaker </li></ul><p>Now they take it in turns to play just their sound with a steady pulse but no chanting. Draw attention to the different <em>timbres</em> (sounds) made by the instruments compared with the found sounds. </p><h4>Keeping a Steady Pulse</h4><p>You'll need to remind the children to keep a steady pulse - by now they will be starting to grasp the concept of 'steady pulse'. Here's an example of children playing with a steady pulse:</p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/in_time_seasons.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                <p>Below is an example of children playing the same instruments in the same order but without a steady pulse. You could ask the children which of these two performances has a steady pulse (closed question - it's the first one) and which they prefer (open question - it's their opinion).</p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/out_of_time_seasons.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                <h4>Cross curricular Activity (art)</h4><p>The children could next have fun making colourful graphic representations of the music. In groups, they make four really big, wax crayon pictures or paintings: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Put them up on the wall in order, with the 'found sound' instruments on a shelf or table underneath the matching picture. </p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Jane_Hayes_big_picture.png" alt="Jane Hayes Big Picture">    </div>                                                                <p>Picture by kind permission of <a href="Picture%20by%20kind%20permission%20of%20Jane%20Hayes">Jane Hayes</a></p>

The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Skills & games

<h3>Summer (pitch)</h3><p>This music is Summer by the composer Glazunov, from The Seasons.</p><p>You could suggest that they children make big movements up and down to show the note pitch going higher and lower. This is good for dancing to with floaty scarves.</p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Summer_variations_Naxos-8.550079-17-HKI199317017.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/patrick-fore-7MRF-ZPbluU-unsplash.jpg" alt="Patrick Fore 7 Mrf Zpblu U Unsplash">    </div>                                                                <h3>Twinkle Twinkle (tempo, pulse)</h3><p>Summer is a good time for seeing the stars in the clear night sky. Here's some music for marching in time, a fun version of the well-known Twinkle Twinkle Little Star tune. The arrangement changes significantly in the middle and you could ask the children to do a different action there, such as standing still and clapping, then go back to marching when the original style of music returns.</p>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Twinkle_twinkle2.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/pono-lopez-qwoW4mdqjWw-unsplash.png" alt="Pono Lopez Qwo W4Mdqj Ww Unsplash">    </div>

The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Listening, appraising & movement

<h3>A Listening Collage</h3><p>You need magazines, glue, large sheets of paper and safe scissors The children all create a picture of what they heard on the <a href="https://pango.education/lesson/184896/The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Creative music">listening walk</a> by cutting out and sticking on pictures they have found or drawn eg dog pictures, real leaves, rice or lentils to represent gravel.</p><p>I like the idea of this being a random representation of sounds, a reminder of a happy sound experience rather than a score to be followed as a timeline.</p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/listening_walk_book.jpg" alt="Listening Walk Book">    </div>                                                                <h3>The Listening Walk</h3><p>A lovely book for children of this age, by Paul Showers. </p><p>ISBN 0064433226 Publisher Harper Collins</p>

The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1 - Cross-curricular activities

<p>This unit contains ideas based on the weather and the seasons, with particular emphasis on the environment.</p>                                    <h3>Elements</h3>                    <ul class="simple elements">                                                    <li><strong>Duration<span>:</span></strong> Long or short notes, RHYTHM.</li>                                                    <li><strong>Timbre<span>:</span></strong> The individual quality of a sound.</li>                                                    <li><strong>Tempo<span>:</span></strong> Fast or slow speed of the PULSE, or BEAT</li>                                                    <li><strong>Structure<span>:</span></strong> The way music is constructed.</li>                                                    <li><strong>Texture<span>:</span></strong> A single sound, or combined sounds.</li>                                                    <li><strong>Pitch<span>:</span></strong> High pitched and low pitched sounds.</li>                                            </ul>                                                    <h3>Resources</h3>                    <ul class="resources">                                                    <li>Tuned and untuned percussion instruments</li>                                                    <li>Floaty scarves</li>                                            </ul>

The Weather & the Seasons Level: Key Stage 1

Year 1

Year 2

Music

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

Music Playtime has been created by a Key Stage 1 and Early Years Music education specialist. The schemes are built in recognition of the fact that most primary teachers are not music specialists. Access the knowledge and the ideas you need to feel confident teaching music.