- •Songs and games
- •Learning outcomes
- •Why songs and games?
- •1.1 Why songs and games?
- •1.1 Why songs and games?
- •1.2 To sing or not to sing?
- •1.3 The advantages of songs and rhymes
- •1.3 Advantages of songs and rhymes
- •2.2 Action songs and rhymes
- •This is the way we ...
- •This is the way we say hello
- •2.3 Traditional versus contemporary songs
- •2.3 Traditional versus contemporary songs
- •Pizza and chips
- •3.2 Adapting songs for the language classroom
- •3.1 Commentary - Adapting songs for the language classroom
- •Actions
- •Adding sound effects
- •Substituting other tunes
- •Omission
- •3.2 Adding actions to songs
- •3.2 Commentary - Adding actions to songs
- •The Alphabet Song
- •Other song ideas
- •Final points about songs
- •4.1 Final points about songs
- •4.1 Final points about songs
- •Are the children involved?
- •Is language development integrated into the song?
- •Does it encourage active learning?
- •Games - what and why?
- •5.1 Games - what are they?
- •5.1 Games - what are they?
- •5.2 Why games?
- •5.2 Why games?
- •Purpose, organisation and materials
- •6.1 Purpose, organisation and materials
- •The purpose of playing games
- •Code-control games
- •Communication games
- •Patterns of organisation
- •Materials and equipment needed
- •The Word Chain game
- •Language focus and involvement
- •7.1 Language focus and involvement
- •Competition and Co-operation
- •Uncertainty
- •7.1 Answer key - Language focus and involvement
- •Songs, rhymes and games - things to avoid
- •8.1 Songs, rhymes and games - things to avoid
- •8.1 Songs, rhymes and games - things to avoid
3.2 Adding actions to songs
Listen to Incy Wincy Spider and The Alphabet Song and think of suitable actions that could be used whilst singing.
Incy Wincy Spider
The Alphabet Song
See some ideas for actions by looking at Commentary - Adding actions to songs resource.
3.2 Commentary - Adding actions to songs
Here are some ideas for how the two songs could be used with actions. Did you have similar ideas?
Incy Wincy Spider
It's best to have just one action per sentence otherwise it gets too complicated. 'Incy Wincy Spider' could be a hand with wriggling fingers. 'Climbed up' could be the action of climbing up a ladder (the song has a water spout but this doesn't matter).
'Down came the rain' could be both hands raised in the air and then falling down whilst moving the fingers. 'Out came the sun' could be the hands together making a circle. It doesn't really matter what you and your class choose. But you can be sure of one thing - your students will definitely know the actions of a spider!
The Alphabet Song
You've probably got the idea by now, but the words you would probably want to represent with actions are some or all of the following:
jungle
coconut tree
come
play
friend
two
zebra
chimpanzee
play (again) and
bed.
Some are obviously easier than others - for example, what is the action for a zebra? However, as we said above, if you ask your class they will probably have lots of good ideas!
If you already use songs in your young learner classroom, you probably select ones which are fun and because they fit in with the general theme of your lesson.
A song such as ‘Old Macdonald’ can be sung in its original form, even though it contains vocabulary and a tense which the children may only be able to copy. Other songs such as The Alphabet Song may be repeated many times, long after the language content has been mastered. As we have already mentioned, songs can be used for practising certain language targets and provide an opportunity for lots of repetition.
Songs are natural, fun, emotionally engaging and an entertaining alternative to other forms of drilling that you might use in your class.
Other song ideas
For many more examples of songs suitable for young learners of different ages,visit Learn English Kids.
4
Final points about songs
This exercise will take around 20 - 30 minutes.
4.1 Final points about songs
Having looked at the different types of songs and rhymes available and the techniques we can use with them, it is important to end as we began by saying that we must always critically question and assess the songs we introduce in our classes.
Before using a song in your class, think about the criteria in the checklist in Final points about songs resource below.
4.1 Final points about songs
Having looked at the different types of songs and rhymes available, and the techniques we can use with them, it is important to end as we began by saying that we must always critically question and assess the songs we introduce in our classes. Before using a song in your class, think about the questions below.