Merry Melodies
Age Range: 5 to 11
Level: beginner / elementary
Aim: practicing listening skills, practicing vocabulary
Time: 15 – 20 minutes
Language skills:
Types of learners: auditory, kinesthetic, visual, musical
Materials for the students: none
Materials for the teacher: none
Classroom management: whole class (in variation: groups)
Steps of the game:
1. Take some well-known tunes which children already know, e.g. 'London Bridge',
'Old McDonald', 'Jingle Bells' or a tune from their course book (if the course
is supported by a cassette).
2. The lyrics of the song will be the vocabulary which was recently introduced,
e.g. clothes or food. The lyrics are chosen by students – they suggest,
and the teacher chooses suitable words according to the tune.
3. Activities which are to be performed during the song are also chosen by
the students, e. g. socks are presented as putting them on one's feet.
4. The teacher sings along with the students and performs all the activities.
The point of the game is not only in vocabulary, but in varying the speed of
the song. This gets quite amusing with younger children!
Variation 1: groups of 3 or 4 students are formed. They take the same tune,
but change the lyrics. They perform this for the class.
Variation 2: Young children like to draw. After the activity, they can draw
the words form the song in the order they appear in the song (this can be done
before singing with the children who do not read or write yet).
Some possible lyrics:
E.g. 'Jingle Bells': trousers, socks, jacket, jeans, we wear them every day,
sweater, shoes, t-shirt, cap, I'm wearing those today.
OR: 'London Bridge': a piece of pie, a glass of milk, sugar cane, chocolate
bar,
a cup of coffee, lemon juice, one big pizza.
Comments powered by Disqus
