Grade 4 Extra May Lesson
Teaching Procedures
Warmup with “My Bonnie”
Do you remember this song?
In this song, each time you sing a word starting with "b" you change position.
If you were sitting you stand up. If you were standing, you sit down.
Review “Happy is the Miller”
Explain the miller is someone who would grind wheat into flour. Farmers would take their wheat to the mill, and in return for grinding the wheat, the miller would keep part of what he ground. The miller was often more wealthy than
the farmers and the farmers thought the miller was greedy. In the game, the miller is alone in the middle because the miller has no friends. The greedy miller tries to steal a partner from one of the farmers.
This is a reading song. Have the students read the rhythms using rhythm names. Sing the letter names or sing the song in solfa. When the students have learned the song, play the game.
Review the game with “Happy is the Miller”
Make a double circle with equal numbers in each circle. One student, or the teacher, is needed to be the miller. The students in the inner circle must have a partner in the outer circle. Partners join hands and walk to the beat as the song is sung. On the word "grab," students in the outer circle must move to the next person in the inner circle and “grab” them. The miller in the center tries to steal a person from the inner circle, so that one student in the outer circle is left without a partner. If that student goes out, you need to take a student from the outer circle to be the miller so the number of students in inner and outer circles remains equal. It makes the miller’s task more challenging if the miller has their eyes shut during the singing of the song and only opens their eyes on the word “grab.”
Option 2: Teach the Orff arrangement for “Happy is the Miller”
Playing and Creating: Improvise or create 8-16 beat melodies using DE GAB. Play the melodies between repetitions of the song.
Play the game and sing “Biddy Biddy”
Game Directions: Players sit in a circle with cupped hands outstretched. As the song is sung, one player goes from child to child pretending to drop the ring into each one’s fists. At the end of the song, the children (those who didn’t pretend to get the ring) try to guess who has the ring. The one who is correct, gets to drop the ring next time.
Teacher note: We don't have a kids demo for "Biddy Biddy". If your students would like to see themselves on MusicplayOnline please review the submission requirements here: https://help.musicplay.ca/can-i-submit-a-kids-demo
