PreK Lesson 1
Teaching Procedures
Sing the echoes for “Time for Music”
Talk about beat.
This is an opening song that can be used for each music class throughout the year or throughout the first 17 lessons. In PreK, you can teach songs by rote or teach them by immersion. In rote teaching, you sing a phrase (or play a phrase in the recording) and the children echo. Then you combine phrases until children can echo the entire song. When you teach by immersion, you sing the song (or play the recording) and have the children do a movement while listening to the song. If teaching this song by immersion tell the students to copy your movements while they listen to the song. After doing the movements for several lessons, they will have “caught” the melody and can sing along.
When children know the song and are singing along, invite the children to create their own verses and movements.
At the end of each verse there is an eight beat interlude. During the eight beats continue the movement from the verse and count the beats. Tell the children that when they count to eight, they are counting the beats in the song and explain that beat in music is the steady pulse that you can feel, clap or dance to. I use hearts as a visual to show the beat, and print out 8 hearts to tap on to show the beat during the interlude.
Say the “Hello Beat Chant”
The beat chants are a great way to welcome your students to music class or music time. Some music teachers teach more than a thousand students each week and it can be very difficult to remember the names. Starting your class with a name chant establishes a routine, introduces the term “beat” and will help the teacher remember all of the names.
Say the preschool chant, patting a steady beat as you speak. Say hello to four students, then say the chant again. Say hello to them using high and low voices, quiet and loud voices, fast and slow. Also use speaking, whispering, shouting or calling and singing voices. When singing hello use a variety of solfa patterns: so-mi
so-so-mi, so-la-so-mi-do or mi-re-do-do-do. In the chants where children say their own names, encourage them to use different voices.
Discuss What ifs and How tos
Teaching procedures at the beginning of the year is important for all students, but especially for PreK! If this is your first class with students, discuss them all.
Sing to Melody the Elephant
Practice distinguishing between speaking and singing voices by introducing a toy elephant named Melody. Melody the elephant will do what the children tell her, if they tell her in a “singing voice.” If they speak, she does nothing. Tell Melody to “jump up and down” using a speaking voice. Melody won’t move. Then sing to Melody to “jump up and down” and make your elephant jump. Invite the children to
sing to Melody what to do. This activity helps the students to learn the difference between singing and speaking voices. It’s also great to encourage solo singing. You can soon tell who is matching pitch and who you need to work with when they sing to Melody.
Melody became a requested part of every music class. If I forgot to bring Melody out, they asked for her. They all wanted to give Melody hugs after class, so we developed a routine where if they were sitting nicely in their places, Melody would come and give them a hug.
Warmup your voice by doing an animal warmup
Warmup your voice by doing an animal warmup.
Think about which sounds are high and which sounds are low.
Teach “Three Little Fishies”
This is a favorite fingerplay. I’ve changed the words from “The first fishie said” to “The low fishie said” to teach high-middle-low sounds. Extend by creating high-middle-low sounds for the children to echo.
Learn the actions for “Three Little Fishies”
Learn the "Three Little Fishies" fingerplay.
Copy the actions that the teacher does.
An easy to make mini book is given in supporting resources.
You could make a class set and send them home with your students.
Or - keep the mini-books in your sub-tub to use as a sub activity - there are lots of pages to color!
Sing “Alligator Alarm!” and copy the movements
Optional: Practice printing the letter A
Practice printing the letter A.
You can download the worksheet and complete it.
There are two lines of printing practice.
There are two boxes. In these boxes, draw something that starts with the letter A.
-or-
Save ink and practice printing the letter A and draw some things that start with A.
Listen to “Monkeys”
Listen to the song "Monkeys".
This song was written by April and Susan and celebrates one of our favorite animals that live in jungles and in zoos!
Can you make up movements to the song?
Do the movements and sing with “Monkeys”
Sing the song, "Monkeys" and do the movements that you see the kids in the video doing.
Teach “Shake it Together”
Shake and jump and twist to the song "Shake it Together".
Listen and do the movements that the words suggest.
Shake and jump and twist to “Shake it Together”
Shake and jump and twist to the song, "Shake it Together".
Now watch the kids in the video.
Sing and move with them.
