Sue Trainor: Home

Thanks so much for joining me in this workshop "Making Music with Children Who Have Special Needs." Here is the workshop repertoire - hope you find it useful. Stay in touch - let me know how it goes for you!

 

Hello My Friends

By Sue Trainor

Procedure:

1. Sing the song:

C    G    F    E

Hello, my friends     (Echo)

C        G     F    E

How do you do?      (Echo)

C        E         F           G

I’m happy, happy, happy  (Echo)

 E    D    E      C

To be with you!   (Echo)

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual: Use a greeting icon, take turns singing and have icons for girls/boys/teachers/children/wearing red….

Aural: Song

Movement: create movements for each line

Tactile: (I haven’t added anything to this)

Imagination: Could be sung to greet props (if you’re using a puppet for example), or it could be part of a storytelling role play as characters are introduced.

 

Give Me the Beat

Chant by Yvette Holt

1.     Set up: Leader taps knees in steady beat.  Everyone taps knees in steady beat.

1. Leader chants: 

Give me the beat, beat, beat

Give me the beat, beat, beat

Give me the beat, give me the beat

Give me the beat, beat, beat

 

1. Repeat; everyone joins the chant
2. Change motion to clapping hands. Everyone chants.

Clap your hands, hands, hands

Clap your hands, hands, hands

Clap your hands, clap your hands

Clap your hands, hands, hands

 

1. Change motion to tapping the head. Everyone chants.

Touch your head, head, head

Touch your head, head, head

Touch your head, touch your head

Touch your head, head, head

 

6. Use other parts of the body.

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual: Leader’s model, icons of possible choices, leader chair icon, photos of students to choose from in picking next leader

Aural: Chant, leader’s cues and spoken choices (use children’s devices as appropriate)

Movement: Beat movement, change from sitting to standing position, change to bigger movements (jump, twist, punch, stomp), move through space (walk, tiptoe, gallop)

Tactile: Feeling of the beat, teddy bear (to designate the leader), everyone has a doll or a stuffed animal to keep the beat on

Imagination: Pat the baby, rock the baby, bounce the baby, jump the baby

 

Slide Whistle

Sequence by Sue Trainor

 

Procedure:

1.  Leader demonstrates the slide whistle. 

2. Everyone pretends to play a slide whistle. Pretend to hold the whistle and imitate the sound of the slide whistle vocally. (Discuss why the slide whistle is an instrument we can’t share.)

3. Everyone imitates the sound of the slide whistle and shows the high and low movement with their hands  Play low to high pitch, until everyone makes the connection between the vocal and physical representations.

4.  Play high to low; everyone imitates the sound vocally and shows the movement of the sound with their hands.

5. Play a sound; ask children if it is low or high. Ask them to show you with their hands and sing the answer in their voices. Repeat, alternating high and low.

6. Follow the sound with other parts of the body (not vocally). Elbows, head, feet, whole body, etc. Stop moving when the sound stops. Move quickly when the pitch changes quickly and slowly when the pitch changes slowly.

 

How can we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual: We see the manipulation of the whistle, we see how others move.  Other visuals. Leader should model the movements at first, but then stop so children have to move from listening and not from watching. Take a video of children so they can see themselves moving. Move in front of a mirror. Play with mirror movement: children face each other and move together to the whistle sound.

Aural: The sound of the slide whistle (or our voices) is the focus. NOTE: if children have sound sensitivity, this strategy should be used with a mellower, metal whistle rather than a plastic one.

Movement: Move to the sound of the whistle. Use a variety of body parts: hand, elbow, head, shoulder, knee, foot, whole body. Use the whistle to walk through general space: toot the whistle in steady beat as children take one step for each toot. If the pitch changes, children crouch as they walk or walk taller.

Tactile: Move an object to the sound of the whistle.

Imagination: Use slide whistle as accompaniment to movement in a role play.

 

Hand-Hand Chant

By Sue Trainor

As the leader chants, voice pitch should climb higher and higher, then slide slowly from high to low on “down.”

Hand, hand

Reach, reach

Up, up, up, up

Down!

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Because this is a simple strategy, designed for developmentally young children, I recommend keeping it just this simple. Use hand over hand support as needed.

 

Have You Got Your Spot

By Sue Trainor

1.  Everyone is sitting on a designated spot. Leader calls; children respond.

Call: Can you sit on your spot ?   Response: Yes I can!

Call: Can you sit on your spot ?   Response: Yes I can!

Call: What are you doing?          Response: Sitting on the spot

Call: What are you doing?          Response: Sitting on the spot

 

Call: Can you clap on your spot ?   Response: Yes I can!  (clap in steady beat)

Call: Can you clap on your spot ?   Response: Yes I can!  (clap in steady beat)

Call: What are you doing?          Response: Clapping on the spot

Call: What are you doing?          Response: Clapping on the spot

 

2. Try another sitting motion or two. If everyone is holding their spot, try standing.

Call: Can you stand on your spot ?   Response: Yes I can!  (etc.)

 

3.  Call: Can you jump on your spot?   Response: Yes I can!  (etc.)

4. Ask for children’s suggestions for movement and substitute those actions into the chant.

5. End with:  Call: “Can You Sit on Your Spot”   Response: Yes I can!  (etc.)

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual: Leader’s model, could use picture icons as appropriate for leader to choose the next movement. Another visual component of this is judging one’s own self-space. Can I see that I am in my place?

Aural: Chant.

Movement: Movement in self-space as described. Movement also can be extended to other positional concepts – stand in front, beside, behind, next to, under… Spots could be self-space in the context of a larger game  – like musical chairs

Tactile: Can use spots with a prop or stuffed animal. Is the monkey on the spot? Clean-up – I often ask children to put the spot on some part of their body (head, shoulder, elbow…) and pick up the spots from there.

Imagination: Spots could be self-space in a storytelling sequence; for example, as the character’s “house” or safe space.

 

Here’s What I Learned Chant

By Sue Trainor

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned in our lesson today

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned in our lesson today

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Aural: Chant

Visual: Leader motions, icons for lesson concepts or segments

Movement: Create movements to go with it. I roll my arms and tap my knees

Tactile: Feel of the beat

Imagination: Recall of what we’ve done

 

Shake Those Eggs

By Val Carroll

1. Transition: Hand one egg to each child, singing a transition song  such as (to “Skip to My Lou”) – “Here’s an egg for you and you, here’s an egg for you and you….”

1. Slowly sing the song and model the motions described. Give children time to imitate.  Note the “C*” means C above middle C.

 

G          G          E     E      G       G         C*

Shake those eggs and shake them high

 F          F         F         F     A       G        D

Shake those eggs and shake them low

G          G          E     E      G       G        C*

Shake those eggs and shake them high

D            F     E            D    C        E   C   

Round and round and round we go

 

(same melody)

Shake and shake and shake and stop (3x)

Then we’ll shake and shake some more

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual: We see the leader’s model, we could use a song icon

Aural: The song, the sound of the shakers

Movement: Moving with the shakers. We could add other movements and spatial directions. (also, see tactile)

Tactile: The feeling of the shaker and the sensation of the movement inside the shaker. Could substitute other instruments (tap that drum and tap it fast, tap that drum and tap it slow….) or things like scarves.

Imagination: Could be adapted into storytelling. We could be retelling “Giraffes Can’t Dance,” for example:

Giraffes in the circle now, dance up high

Giraffes in the circle now, dance down low

Giraffes in the circle now, dance up high

Now round and round and round you go

Dance and dance and dance and stop (3x)

Then the giraffes go sit back down.

 

Walking Through the Forest 

 C     C     C    D    E  G   D   G   E   C

Walking through the forest, forest, forest

C    C     C      D   E  G

Walking through the forest

D      D  G  C

What do I see?

(chant) Sh sh sh, I think I see a ____  (Make sound effect and/or motion)

D     G  G   C

Come follow me!

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual: Show a picture of a forest, show pictures of things we see in the forest, animal props

Aural:  song, animal sounds, recorded forest sounds

Movement: walk around the room

Tactile: Use animal props, costumes, toy cameras or binoculars

Imagination:  Imagine that we have on hiking outfits; imagine we have cameras or binoculars; imagine that some children are (in the role of) animals

 

Adaptation: This song can be adapted for any purpose involving moving through general space.

-Walking through the park, the hallway, to the bathroom, etc.

-Swimming through the ocean

-Walking to the market / walking to our seats

 

Funky Duck Chant

By Sue Trainor

 

I’m Funky Duck, hey hey

I’m Funky Duck, hey hey

I want to know

Can you find my ___ today

 

How could we adapt this to use senses more?

Visual:  Puppet duck (or other animal) to which Velcro will stick. The puppet is the visual to draw children’s attention to learning content, such as colors, shapes, letters. numbers, etc.

Aural:  the chant

Movement: Because children are being asked to focus on an object, movement is not part of this strategy, aside from the puppet moving from child to child.

Tactile: the child is asked to take a picture or shape from the duck and replace it.

Imagination: when children have learned the strategy, they can take the role of Funky Duck and take leadership with the puppet.

Great to work with you all this morning!! Here are the words to the songs we used. Please be in touch if you have any questions. Best wishes for your wonderful song strategies!

 

Song :                       AGOO AME

Source:                     Traditional, from Ghana.  Collected from Kofi Dennis.

A few suggested objectives:        Steady beat, Call and response  - Taking turns, following routines

Large/small muscle movement and coordination, Auditory/Visual attention

 

1.  Set-up:  Say, in beat:  I sing "Agoo" -- You sing "Amee"

               G   E                                   G   E

2.  Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "a-me"

3. Repeat

4. Say: I go first, then you go

  Clap clap clap clap (children echo)

  Clap clap clap clap (children echo)

  Clap clap clap clap (children echo)

  hoo hoo woo hoo (children echo)

  hooo-ey! (Children echo)

 

Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "ame"

Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "ame"

Say: I go first, then you go:

  Shoulder shoulder shoulder shoulder (children echo)

  Shoulder shoulder shoulder shoulder (children echo)

  Shoulder shoulder shoulder shoulder (children echo)

  hoo hoo woo hoo (children echo)

  hooo-ey! (Children echo)

 

Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "amee"

Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "amee”

Say: I go first, then you go:

  Side side side side (children echo)

  Side side side side (children echo)

  Side side side side (children echo)

    hoo hoo woo hoo (children echo)

  hooo-ey! (Children echo)

 

Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "amee"

Sing "Agoo" -- children respond "amee”

Say: I go first, then you go:

  Clap clap clap clap (children echo)

  Shoulder shoulder shoulder shoulder (children echo)

  Side side side side (children echo)

  hoo hoo woo hoo (children echo)

  hooo-ey! (Children echo)

 

 

Extensions:

·       Try other motions, such as stretch up (climbing motions), stretch down,

fly, hop, jump, twist, etc. Always include the “hoo hoo hoo” and “Hoooey!”

·       Invite children to choose motions, from a list (visual or written) or from their imaginations.

·       Invite children to lead motions, either selected by the teacher or motions they’ve chosen.

 

 

Song :                       GIVE ME THE BEAT

Source:                                     By Yvette Holt

A few suggested objectives:        Steady beat, Body part identification, Action words

 

 

1.     Set up: Leader taps knees in steady beat.  Everyone taps knees in steady beat.

2.     Leader chants:

Give me the beat, beat, beat

Give me the beat, beat, beat

Give me the beat, give me the beat

Give me the beat, beat, beat

 

3.     Repeat; everyone joins the chant

4.     Change motion to clapping hands. Everyone chants.

Clap your hands, hands, hands

Clap your hands, hands, hands

Clap your hands, clap your hands

Clap your hands, hands, hands

 

5.     Change motion to tapping the head. Everyone chants.

Touch your head, head, head

Touch your head, head, head

Touch your head, touch your head

Touch your head, head, head

 

 

Extensions:

Use other parts of the body.
Invite children to choose the next body part (from a set of pictures or from imagination).
Invite children to lead verses, either teacher selected body part or choosing the body part themselves.
Focus on action words: Clap, touch, tap, twist, jump, etc.

 

Song :                         Slide Whistle Warm-Up

Source:                                                       Sue Trainor

 

 

Objectives:                            Aural discrimination (high and low)

                                                      Following directions

                                                      Awareness of one’s body in space

                                                      Large Motor coordination

 

                   

Procedure:

1.  Leader demonstrates the slide whistle.

 

2. Everyone pretends to play a slide whistle. Pretend to hold the whistle and imitate the sound of the slide whistle vocally. (Discuss why the slide whistle is an instrument we can’t share.)

 

3. Everyone imitates the sound of the slide whistle and shows the high and low movement with their hands  Play low to high pitch, until everyone makes the connection between the vocal and physical representations.

 

4.  Play high to low; everyone imitates the sound vocally and shows the movement of the sound with their hands.

 

5. Play a sound; ask children if it is low or high. Ask them to show you with their hands and sing the answer in their voices. Repeat, alternating high and low.

 

6. Follow the sound with other parts of the body (not vocally). Elbows, head, feet, whole body, etc. Stop moving when the sound stops. Move quickly when the pitch changes quickly and slowly when the pitch changes slowly.

 

 

 

 


Song :                        Hello Toes  

Source:                                     Collected from Mary Gresock

 

 

A few suggested objectives:

                                    Singing Voice

                                    Matching Pitch

                                    Creative movement

                                    Identify Body parts, clothing, other things

 

                   

 

1. Set up the starting pitch and beat with a cue phrase like “Let’s all sing”

 

2. Sing the song. Children will join as they learn it.

 

G  G   E       G   G    G    E

Hello toes, how do you do?  (tap toes)

 

G   G     E     A    A   G     E    C

I’m just fine and I’m dancing, too  (wiggle toes and sing in a character voice)

 

G    G     G    E

Ah doo doo doo  (make the toes dance and keep singing in character voice through the rest of the song)

 

G     G     E

Doo doo doo

 

G      G    E    A   A   G   E    C

Doo doo doo do-do doo doo doo

 

Model the first few times, then invite children to choose.

Hello knees…

Hello tummy….

Hello hands….

Hello tummy…..

Hello head….

 

Extension:

·       Substitute clothing (Hello shoes, socks, pants, etc.)

·       Greet puppets or animal props. How do they move?

·       Substitute people’s names (Hello Lee… and Lee gets to answer and lead a dance motion.)

 

 

 

Song :                       The Cows Are Lost

Source:                                     Traditional

A few suggested objectives:        Singing voice, Matching Pitch, Loud/Quiet, Fast/Slow, identifying animals

 

Sung slowly and quietly:

 

G    G        G     C     G    G    G   C   G   G   G   C      G   G     G        C

The cows are lost, the sun is low, I think I'll rest, 'til they come home

 

Sung fast and more loudly:

 

G        G     G    E   C   E        G    G   F      D     G   G-F-D

Wake up you sleepy head, and go and hunt the cows,

G        G     G    E  C    E          G   G   F     D      D     C

wake up you sleepy heads, and go and hunt the cows

 

Extension:

- Repeat with other animals, for example, from "I Went Walking"

- Ask children to find the cow among other animals

- Ask children to go on a treasure hunt to find the cows in the room.


 

 

Song :                       Charlie Over the Ocean

Source:                                     Traditional

A few suggested objectives:        Singing voice, Matching Pitch, Taking turns , Identifying color,    Matching color, Awareness of one’s body in space

                   

1.  Begin with everyone sitting in a circle, facing the center.

2.  Each player has a colored fish – red, blue, yellow, green, orange, etc. Colors may repeat. The fish are on the floor where everyone can see them.

3. Decide which color fish will be sung about first.  (Depending on the age/stage of the children, this information can be a secret from Charlie until the song is sung. Silently show a color to the children in the circle while Charlie hides her eyes.)

4. One person is “Charlie” (Charlie might wear a hat or be designated in some other way) and walks around the outside of the circle while everyone sings:

F       F    F   F   F    G   A

Charlie over the ocean

F       F    F   F   F    C

Charlie over the sea

F        F    F           F   G     A

Charlie caught a red fish

F            F          F

Can’t catch me

 

5. When Charlie hears the color of the fish, she taps a person in the circle who has that color fish, and begins to walk quickly around the circle. The person tapped gets up and follows Charlie quickly.  The objective is to tap Charlie before she gets back to and sits in the empty seat.

 

6.  The chaser either taps Charlie or not. In either case, the chaser becomes Charlie in the next repetition.

 


Song :                       Bears Eat Fish

Source:                                     Sue Trainor, original

A few suggested objectives:        Singing voice, Matching Pitch, healthy eating, cognitive development, self-regulation, dramatic play, locomotor movement

 Role Play: The leader says: "Let's pretend to be bears!Will our bears be big or small? Big? Ok, let me see your big bear arms. (Comment on what individual children are doing.) Show me your big bear legs. (Comment on what children are doing.). My bear is hungry! How about yours?"

Melody: Within a few repetitions, children will join the singing of this song, so it’s important to sing in “head voice.”

Steady Beat: Because we’re pretending to be big bears, the speed of the song is moderate to slow, with heavy emphasis on each word: “Bears    eat     fish.”  (Note that there is a rest in the lyrics – there are 4 beats in each line, but only three words – tap the 4th beat in order to keep steady beat.)

 

Sing:

E         D     C
Bears eat fish
E         D     C
Bears eat fish
      F       F   G   A  G
    When I am hungry
     E          E       F  G
     That's what I wish
E          D   C
Bears eat fish

Still pretending to be bears, children go out around the room to find fish-shaped props and bring them back.to the meeting area, while we sing:  “Bears catch fish….”

Children place their fish on a cookie sheet, which we pretend to put in the oven. Sing:  “Bears cook fish….”
 
 Make a "ding" sound like a kitchen timer and take the fish out of the "oven."  Each child takes a fish and pretends to eat. Sing:   “Bears eat fish….”
 Take off our pretend bear costumes and collect the fish props.

Recall details about our experience, such as Where did you catch the fish? What color fish did you catch? Did your bear like to eat the fish?

 

 

 

That’s a Mighty Pretty Motion

 Adapted from the traditional

 

E          D  C C         C    C      C    C

That’s a mighty pretty (motion)

C     C      E

Dee di dee

E          D  C C         C    C      C    C

That’s a mighty pretty (motion)

C     C      E

Dee di dee

E          D  C C         C    C      C    C

That’s a mighty pretty (motion)

C     C      E

Dee di dee

G      F     D   C

Sing children sing

 

(or “next motion please”

Or “whose turn is next?”)


 

Here’s What I Learned, Oh Yeah

/Sue Trainor

 

 

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned in our lesson today

 

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned, oh yeah

Here’s what I learned in our lesson today

 

Here's the Dropbox Link to the Power Point:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dc1zd1dc0slss2z/AADZTz_z7xYLU6ucY_s7aErva?dl=0