powerful learning

around you

REWARD
Session 10:
Musical Instruments
 Music and Movement Activities

LANGUAGE

Activity Instructions Tips and Adaptations

Playing instruments Equipment Possible adaptions for special needs

 Various instruments – you can make your own.  Let learners find instruments that
Skills development  CD and CD player, or MP3 player they are comfortable playing.
 Fine motor skills
 Hand-eye co-ordination Instructions
skills  Give learners a variety of instruments.
 Cognitive skills  Play some music and encourage them to play along.

Playing on a homemade guitar for example, helps children practise their hand
and finger control - a skill necessary for writing and handling small objects.

Rhythms Equipment Tips

 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles etc.)  Make the rhythm easier or more
difficult to suit the abilities of the
Instructions learners.
 Clap a rhythm.
 Have learners repeat the rhythm with instruments.

This is an auditory sequencing and memory activity. This skill is needed for
spelling.

1
 Music and Movement Activities

Activity Instructions Tips and Adaptations

Syllables Equipment
 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles etc.)

Instructions
 Let learners clap out the syllables in their names, e.g. Si-bu-si-so.
 Count the claps.
 Let them repeat this with a percussion instrument like a drum or shaker.
 This exercise can be done with any words.

Variation
 You can also break words into letters instead of syllables.
 Say a word, e.g. cat.
 Ask learners to break the word into sounds, e.g. c-a-t.
 Let them say and clap the sounds.
 Repeat using instruments.

Word endings Equipment

 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles etc.)

Instructions
 When you teach word endings like ‘–ing’, have learners clap or bang a drum
every time they hear it in a list of words you say out loud, e.g. running, ran,
skipped, skipping.
 You can do this when teaching blends etc.

2
 Music and Movement Activities

MATHEMATICS

Activity Instructions Tips and Adaptations

Counting Equipment Possible adaptions for special needs

 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles  Count slowly so learners can keep pace.
Skills development etc.)  Choose a number range that the learner
 Auditory perceptual skills can operate in.
 Number patterns Instructions
 Number sequencing  Let learners count forwards and backwards.
 As they count they can clap, bang a drum or shake a
maracas.
 Vary the activity by having them clap or bang on every 2nd
or 5th count.

Skip numbers Equipment

 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles
Skills development etc.)
 Auditory perceptual skills
 Number patterns Instructions
 Number sequencing  Let learners count forwards, backwards or in multiples.
 Tables  E.g. 2, bang, 6, bang, 10, bang, 14.

3
 Music and Movement Activities

Activity Instructions Tips and Adaptations

Measuring Equipment
 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles
etc.)

Instructions
 Use instruments in informal measuring activities.
 Lay out instruments from the same family, e.g. percussion
family, alongside each other.
 Let learners arrange them from smallest to biggest and
then play each instrument to see how the quality of sound
differs from one instrument to the other.

4
 Music and Movement Activities

LIFE SKILLS

Activity Instructions Tips and Adaptations

Rhythm Equipment Tips

 Percussion instruments (maracas, drums, cymbals, triangles  Set aside a corner where the musical
Skills development etc.) instruments are kept. Children can take turns
 Fine motor co-ordination to be in charge of these instruments and to
Instructions hand them out.
 Hand-eye co-ordination
 Each child gets an instrument.  When learners are restless, channel their
 Auditory perceptual skills
 They can shake, bang and strike these instruments in time to energy by letting them play with instruments.
 Collaboration
the beat of rhymes and songs.
Possible adaptions for special needs
 Pair learners with poor rhythm with learners
who have a good sense of rhythm.

Transition music Equipment Tips

 A variety of instruments  The key with transition songs is to have
Skills development specific songs for designated transitions.
 Fine motor co-ordination Instructions
 Learners love repetition and knowing what
 Hand-eye co-ordination  Use instruments to transition between classes, e.g. from class comes next.
to break time.
 Auditory perceptual skills
 You can also sing.
 Collaboration

5
 Music and Movement Activities

Activity Instructions Tips and Adaptations

Guess the instrument Equipment

 Various instruments
Skills development
 Fine motor co-ordination Instructions
 Hand-eye co-ordination  Ask one of the children to play an instrument without showing the
class what it is.
 Auditory perceptual skills
 The first child to raise their hand and guess it correctly gets to take a
 Collaboration
turn.
 This game can be played over a week, until all the children have had a
turn.

Play along songs Equipment Tips

 Various instruments  Songs with motions help children
Skills development practice fine motor co-ordination.
 Fine motor co-ordination Instructions
 Playing on a homemade guitar for
 Gross motor co-ordination  Select songs that allow each child or several groups or the whole class example, helps children practice their
to play with a different musical instruments. hand and finger control – a skill
 Hand-eye co-ordination
 They can also sing. necessary for writing and handling
 Balance small objects.
 Children can even dress up in a costume if you like.
 Auditory perceptual skills
 For each verse of the song, give a specific child or group of children a
 Collaboration
chance to make their own music using the musical instruments.
 You can divide the class into several groups by instrument. For
example, in the bells group each child rings a bell, in the drums group
each child bangs a drum.

6
 Links to CAPS

LINKS TO THE CURRICULUM

Language

Grade 1
Listening and speaking
 Join in the choruses of songs, stories, rhymes
 Say poems and rhymes

Reading and phonics

 Participate in whole class phonemic awareness oral activities: blending sounds (c-a-t into cat); segmenting
words (cat into c-a-t) etc.

Grade 2
Reading and phonics
 Word building and aural recognition activities
 Read well-known nursery rhymes, poems and songs

Grade 3
Reading and phonics
 Word building and aural recognition activities
 Listen to stories, poems and songs
 Read a range of different types of poems

7
 Links to CAPS

Mathematics

Grade 1: Numbers, operations and relationships

Count forwards and backwards
 Count forwards and backwards in ones, from any number between 1 and 20
 Count forwards in tens from any multiple of 10, in fives from any multiple of 5, and in twos from any
multiple of 2
Addition and Subtraction
 Practise number bonds to 10
Calculations
 Add the same number repeatedly to 20

Grade 2: Numbers, operations and relationships

Counts forwards and backwards
 Count in tens from any multiple of 10
Addition and Subtraction
 Practise number bonds to 20
Calculations
 Multiply numbers 1 to 10 by 2, 5, 3, and 4 to a total of 50
Measurement - Length
 Informal measuring
 Estimate, measure, compare, order and record length using non-standard measures
 Describe the length of objects by counting and stating the length in informal units

Grade 3: Numbers, operations and relationships

Count forwards and backwards
 Count in 20s, 25s, 50s, 100s
 Addition and Subtraction
 Practise number bonds to 30
Calculations
 Multiply any number by 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 to a total of 100

8
 Links to CAPS

LIFE SKILLS

Grade 1: Life skills – creative arts

Creative games and skills
 Keeping a steady beat with changes in tempo
 Listening skills through music games using different tempo, pitch, dynamics, duration
 Moving to music in three or four time

Grade 2: Life skills – creative arts

Creative games and skills
 Body percussion: keeping a steady beat and the use of different timbres
 Rhythm games focusing on listening skills and recalling contrasting rhythm patterns
 Playing percussion instruments/body percussion in time to music and/or class singing
 Keep the beat of music or drumming
 Polyrhythms using body percussion and/or percussion instruments

Grade 3 Life skills – creative arts

Creative games and skills
 Playing rhythm patterns and simple polyrhythms in 2, 3 or 4 time on percussion instruments
 Rhythm games: listening skills, recall contrasting rhythm patterns, keep a steady beat, use different
timbres
 Body percussion and/or percussion instruments to accompany South African music (recorded or live),
focusing on cyclic (circular) rhythm patterns

Improvise and interpret

 Rhythm games: listening skills, recall contrasting rhythm patterns, keep a steady beat, use different
timbres
 Compose cyclic rhythm patterns based on South African music
 Listening to South African music: focus on how tempo, dynamics, timbre contribute to unique sound

9
 Additional Resources

VOCABULARY
Here are some important words to use when playing musical instruments:
 move  rhythm  soft
 balance  fast  high
 dance  slow  low
 play  quick
 beat  loud

ADDITIONAL VIDEOS TO WATCH

 How to make a cereal box guitar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3KGrxmic6k&t=10s

 Ten Little Fingers | finger family songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIMWiTW5OgQ

 How to make shakers | musical instruments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Gkf_HFrMM

10
 Additional Resources

SOUTH AFRICAN SONGS

Here are songs from Mama Lisa’s world: songs and rhymes from South Africa for you to choose from:

1. Vusi Drives the Kombi

Vusi drives the kombi that takes us all to school.
We open all the windows so the air blows nice and cool.
He hoots when he fetches us, he hoots when he goes,
He hoots at the cows that are standing in the road.
Vusi drives the kombi that we all love to ride.
If you want to travel with us, there's lots of room inside!

2. Walking Through Africa

Walking through Africa, what do I see?
I can see inyoka looking at me.
Walking through Africa, what do I see?
I can see ufudu looking at me.
Walking through Africa, what do I see?
I can see indlovu looking at me.
Walking through Africa, what do I see?
I can see ikhozi looking at me.

Note: This is a Zulu chant the children can "sing".

These are the animal translations.
inyoka (een-yoh'-gkah): a snake
ufudu (oo-foo'-doo – the /oo/ is pronounced as in fool): a tortoise
indlovu (een-dloh'-voo): an elephant
ikhozi (ee-koh'zee): an eagle

3. Rain Song
Imvula, Imvula (eem-voo'-lah)
Chapha, chapha, chapha, (c=click sound with tongue in back of front teeth, like the sound of exasperation)
(cah'-pah)
Chapha, chapha, chapha.
Imanz'impahla yam',
Imanz'impahla yam'. (ee-mahn'zeem pah'hla yahm)
Gqum, Gqum, (q=click made when pulling tongue down Gqum, gqum, liyaduduma from roof of mouth)
(gqoom lee-yah doo'-mah)
Liyaduduma!
Imanz'impahla yam'!
Imanz'impahla yam'!

Note: This is a very old and traditional rain song. The translation goes like this:
It's raining, it's raining,

11
 Additional Resources

Chapha, chapha, chapha

Chapha, chapha, chapha. (sound of the rain falling)
My clothes are getting wet,
My clothes are getting wet.
Gqum, gqum. (sound of the thunder)
There's the thunder!
Gqum, gqum,
There's the thunder!
My clothes are getting wet,
My clothes are getting wet!

5. The Xhosa version of "London's Burning”

Umzi watsha,
Umzi watsha,
Umzi watsha.
Khangela phaya,
Khangela phaya.
Umlilo, umlilo.
Galel amanzi,
Galel amanzi.

Source: Mama Lisa’s world: Songs and rhymes from South Africa
http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=4876

12