Simple Singing for JRs

[jkkd7680]

I am looking for some very simple singing time ideas. I have a very large (50+) and very young Junior Primary.
Thanks!
Karma
i.e. This week I'm doing lion for loud and mouse for quiet.

[avsfan]

Hey there! I have found that Jr. primary really needs --or at least does MUCH better-- when there is some type of movement involved. It can be signs for the words, or just plain clapping hands or clapping on their knees to the rythm.

If "loud" for lion gets too loud, you might consider "challenging" them (they always love to think they are doing something hard) to switch lions, and instead of being loud, to put their hands around their heads like a mane, and for mouse make some whiskers with their fingers.

The other thing I have learned about Jr, is they need breaks from learning. I always thought it made more sense to spend a good solid 10 minutes review, review, reviewing a song, but not for their age. I guess it's like unto an adult sitting through a 3 hour business meeting--we need a chance to get up and move around. ;)And for kids, 5-10 minutes of the same thing is a long time. So don't be afraid to put in wiggle songs, or rainstorms (with hands) or something like that. It brings them all back into focus. I still have to work on this myself, because once I get in the teaching mode, it's hard to stop!

[versiculouno]

This is how junior singing time usually goes for us:

1) A wiggle song to get them going (like "If You're Happy & You Know It"...)
2) Learn/review the new song of the month. We use different methods so they hear it and sing it many times in a row.
3) Then we do a few more wiggle songs, like "Head Shoulders, Knees & Toes," or "Hinges" or "Rain is Falling All Around" ... or let them pick.
4) At the very end, we review the new song one more time so it'll stick in their minds.


When they are first learning a song, we repeat just the first line several times, then sing it several times. Once they have it down, then we go to the next line/phrase and build until we have the whole song. If they aren't paying attention, you can always switch gears and do another wiggle song, then come back to the new song. Our kids seem to pay attention better this way and burn a little bit of jittery energy.

[prettyeyes72]

First, I must admit that much of this comes from a church music symposium I recently attended. Any good idea comes from a fantastic woman names Sister Dance.

For Junior, I break singing time into 3-5 minute segments. I usually don't spend longer than that on a single verse of a song each Sunday. Also, at least one of those is a wiggle song segment. With that in mind, here are some of my favorite activities that fit in the time frame.

1. Movements: For these I show them what I want first. Then I start singing the song and we match our movements to the beat. Every couple of lines, we will change the movement slightly. For example, change direction, change location like high or low, or change positions. Partner arm swings, marching in place, making circles with arms (like water aerobics), mirror images (have them face a partner, one moves, the other acts like their mirror and follows them), and various rhythm patterns.

2. Cut up pictures from Friend, Ensign, or GAK and sing song while giving the kids a piece to put up on the board and eventually assemble the "puzzle." Ask what the pictures have to do with the song.

3. Choose pictures to go along with the song. Sing as they help you put them in order.

4. Use "instruments." If you have PVC pipe or shakers, that is great. If not, I've used paper plates or straws. Have them do simple rhythms to the beat of the song. Give different instruments to different sides of the room and have them keep different beats (on the 4th beat for one side, on the second and fourth for the other).

5. Put pictures up on the board. Ask them to look at the picture and remember what it looks like. Take the picture away and ask questions about it, like what color was the little boy's shirt? What color was the wall? Was there a window in the picture? Where was the window?

6. Sing as a video clip is playing that pertains to the song.

7. Tell a story and integrate singing into the story. For example, I heard a story about a little girl who was pushed down by a bully. The storyteller was easily able to integrate lines from "Help me Dear Father" about forgiveness. She would tell the story, then sing a few lines, then tell more story, then sing a few lines. The key is to integrate the lines of the song into the story in a way that makes sense.

8. Learn the actual ASL signs for a song. I know some people teach them, I usually just use them as a kind of visual aid.

9. Have the students help you make up actions to the words.

10. Matching game. Sing students come up one by one and try to find the matches.

11. After they have learned the song, play Stop and Go. Have them start by singing the song, then when you hold up the stop sign, have them hum, clap, or stay silent as the pianist keeps playing. Then hold up a go sign (I use a green circle), have them start singing again.

12. Have the students help you make visual aids by drawing pictures that go along with the song as you sing it. You could let them pick or assign certain pictures to different classes.

Here is an example of a "lesson plan" that I might use.
Activity #1: partner arm swings while we sing the first verse of "I lived in Heaven."
Activity #2: tap paper plates twice on knee for 1st and 2nd beat, once on hand for 3rd and 4th beats (so short, short, long) for "How Firm a Foundation."
Activity #3: Sing "My hands" several times through going fast, slow, changing tempo for different lines.
Activity #4: Have students assemble picture "puzzles" while I sing "Seek the Lord Early." Talk about meaning of song in relation to pictures.
Activity #5 (which we probably won't get to, but I have just in case) Have students help me make up actions for the 3rd verse of "Book of Mormon Stories."

[marenras]

My juniors don't mind reviewing the same song over and over as long as I change the way we sing and/or who sings. I use a variety of options, such as:

boys only
girls only
whisper
loud
fast
stand on one foot
stand facing the back of the room
stand on your chair
those wearing buttons
those wearing certain colors
those that have lost a tooth recently or have a loose tooth
watch the director for sudden changes (fast/slow, loud/soft, fermatas/sudden cut offs)
staccato
opera voices
country twang
baby voices
bass voice
vibrato grandma voice
nasal voice
hopping up and down
clapping the beat
etc.

I present these options in a variety of ways too, so they don't realize that we're doing the same activity over and over. Here are some of the ways I present them:

1. Dice. I have two posters number 1-6. The first poster says who shall sing, the second poster says in what way they shall sing. We roll a big soft die. We roll it twice, once for each poster.

2. Gameboard. I drew a simple game of a winding path divided into boxes. In each box is a fun way of singing. A child rolls a die, moves a magnet on the gameboard that number of spaces, and we all follow the directions.

3. Sing or Dare cards. A child gets to pick a card from one of two sets, one labeled Sing, and one labeled Dare. Dare cards have simple things like naming a latter-day prophet, hugging their teacher, or standing on their chair and shouting "I love primary!", etc. The Sing cards have various ways of singing that we all follow.

4. Random directions. Sometimes I just shout out the next direction to keep them paying attention. They never know what to expect next.

5. Have pictures or shapes posted around the room. I've used hearts, monkeys, stars, apples, or just whatever is fun or fits the holiday or season. On the back of each shape is a fun way of singing. Kids get to take turns picking down a monkey head, or whatever it is, and announcing how we're going to sing.

These are amazingly simple ideas, and yet my junior kids love it. In fact, my senior kids love them too.

[jkkd80]

What great ideas! And so simple to understand! Thanks for sharing!

[versiculouno]

I love the game board idea! I'm going to use that on the last Sunday this month to review all of the new songs so far! Thank you!