Singing Games Lesson Plan - Year 1 Lesson 2

The second lesson in the Year 1 Singing Games series is designed to engage young learners in various musical activities aimed at enhancing their understanding of melody, rhythm, and movement. The learning objectives for this lesson include participating in new singing games, singing with an awareness of the melody's shape, following actions cued by specific words, and moving and jumping in time with the rhythm. Additionally, the children will learn to clap and jump to the music's pulse while chanting, and memorise and perform a sequence of actions in time with a steady pulse. The key vocabulary for this lesson includes 'sing', 'pulse', and 'rhythm', which are fundamental concepts in music education.

Main activities for the lesson involve interactive singing games such as 'Let Us Chase the Squirrels', where children form groups of three to represent trees and squirrels, with movements and actions that reflect the lyrics and the music's pulse. Another game, 'Jump Jim Jo', focuses on finding partners and moving in time with the music, while 'William He Had Seven Sons' encourages children to invent and perform actions to a steady beat. The plenary session revisits 'My Mum Your Mum' from the previous week, with an added challenge of remaining the last one standing in a circle. The lesson concludes with reflective questions for the students about their favourite games and the musical skills they're acquiring. Teachers are advised to refer to detailed notations and instructions provided, ensuring the song is well-learnt before introducing the game aspect, aligning with the National Curriculum's goals of experiencing pitch and duration and using voices expressively in group singing.