Teaching singing skills can be challenging, especially in the younger grades. It’s hard enough just helping those little ones remember the lyrics, let alone getting them to sound musical. How many times have you worked really hard with your PreK or Kinder students on some music, and the day of the concert, they’re just shouting those words. Cue the classroom teacher who’s telling them to “Sing louder”. Ugh!!
Today I’m going to share with you 3 tried and true ways to help your young singers, and those who are a little bit older sound musical instead of shouty or robotic. You probably think I’m crazy right? I mean it’s hard enough to get your kiddos to remember the lyrics, let alone get them to sing with expression. I promise you, these strategies work. And you get to tell your students and their teachers how you’re using reading strategies to help them connect to the music.
You may still be saying to yourself, how am I going to get my students to sing musically when they can’t even remember the lyrics! So before we get into all that, I do have one hint to help your kiddos remember the lyrics. Movement! You can create movement to teach the lyrics for every song.
I know . . . you don’t have time to make up great movements to every song! That’s o.k. The movement doesn’t need to be anything super creative and dancy. Think kid movement . . . basically what your students do when they’re singing a song. Confused? Let me give you an example:
Today, we’re going to use my Mother’s Day song, Mommy to the Rescue as our example. Here are the movements I use to help my students remember the verses of this song.
I fell and got a great big cut. OUCH (hands clap in front of body then grab knee)
Mommy to the rescue! (Super hero pose with fists on hips)
I rode my bike into a rut. (pantomime riding bike and falling sideways)
Mommy to the rescue!
I’m hungry as a big brown bear. (hands rub tummy)
Mommy to the rescue.
I grew out of my underwear. (pantomime pulling up undies)
Mommy to the rescue.
Adding movement to your song works every time. And it’s fun for parents to watch.
Now that your kiddos are remembering the lyrics, the next step is to get them to sing with expression instead of shouting. The best way, hands down, to do this, is to use the elements of a story. This helps students connect to the story (every song tells a story) and really know what they are singing about. Following are 3 questions to ask:
- Who are the characters in the song? In this song, they are a mommy and a kid.
- What happens in the song? (this is summarizing the story using the sequence.) With little ones, you will have to go step by step through the song.
- How does the kid feel about his or her mommy?
- Look at the first verse, and point out the phrase “Mommy to the rescue”.
- Discuss what the word rescue means.
- Help students find out how the kid feels about his mommy helping/rescuing him.
- How do you feel about your mommy?
- Does she help you?
- How do you feel when she helps you?
- What do you want to do when she helps you?
- Do you feel like smiling?
- Do you want to give her a hug?
- Do you want to give her a present?
You know that music not only tells a story but can also bring out vivid emotions, even in little ones. Asking them some pointed questions can help them connect to their emotions. This helps them realize that singing is about more than just the music.
I’ll be live in my private Facebook group this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to chat with you more about this step by step process. See you there!