Our older kids know this song and they just need a review. But, I also have three little Sunbeams in our combined group that don’t know the song at all. I have a couple of special children as well, and they really need to be involved somehow during singing time. This can be a particular challenge and I’m always trying to think how to include everyone.
Because of the narrative nature of the song, my plan is to start with the 5 W's this week to help the older children focus their attention as we sing through the song a couple of times. Then I will use the older children in a dramatization along with actions to help me teach the song to the little ones. I happen to have some quick costumes that the children can use and these make dramatizing the song even more fun. Using even simple headbands, belts or props provokes just enough imagination to help the children get into character. The narrative aspect of “Nephi’s Courage” makes it perfect for dramatization.
I also have some puppets that would be fun to use to teach “Nephi’s Courage.” Have you ever seen simple puppets made from wooden spoons? If I can manage it, I’m planning to make wooden spoon puppets to represent Nephi, Laman and Lemuel and the wicked Laban. (Mainly because I'm reluctant to turn over my other puppets to the children!) Then we’ll have a simple singing puppet show to dramatize the second verse to the song. Because my group is sooooo small right now, taking turns with the puppets will allow me to sing the verse several times. Using this younger scripture figure and this older scripture figure puppet template at lds.org (or these puppets or these illustrations) would allow one to create several puppets for each character so that each child would have a puppet to use during the song. Switching puppets would allow further opportunities to repeat the singing.
Because of the narrative nature of the song, my plan is to start with the 5 W's this week to help the older children focus their attention as we sing through the song a couple of times. Then I will use the older children in a dramatization along with actions to help me teach the song to the little ones. I happen to have some quick costumes that the children can use and these make dramatizing the song even more fun. Using even simple headbands, belts or props provokes just enough imagination to help the children get into character. The narrative aspect of “Nephi’s Courage” makes it perfect for dramatization.
I also have some puppets that would be fun to use to teach “Nephi’s Courage.” Have you ever seen simple puppets made from wooden spoons? If I can manage it, I’m planning to make wooden spoon puppets to represent Nephi, Laman and Lemuel and the wicked Laban. (Mainly because I'm reluctant to turn over my other puppets to the children!) Then we’ll have a simple singing puppet show to dramatize the second verse to the song. Because my group is sooooo small right now, taking turns with the puppets will allow me to sing the verse several times. Using this younger scripture figure and this older scripture figure puppet template at lds.org (or these puppets or these illustrations) would allow one to create several puppets for each character so that each child would have a puppet to use during the song. Switching puppets would allow further opportunities to repeat the singing.
7 comments:
What are the five W's? I click on the link but I can't view anything...
Joo Lin, the link takes you to a old post explaining the 5 W's - who, what, where, when, why. These are simply cards that I use to help the children listen for who the song is talking about, etc. There is a picture of the cards that I use. I can use these cards, particularly when the song tells kind of a story. It is a directed listening activity.
I can't access it either :(
Sorry for the incovenience -I've redone the link and republished. If you still can't view it, try searching for 5 W's in the search box, or look in the March, 2010 archives. Hope that helps.
Thanks Kathleen!
Thanks for this post! The Friend magazine published some puppets for the Nephi-Laban story and Nephi and the boat earlier this year. I think they're too small to use for a large group, but I'm planning to print them in a larger size and use them next week.
This song has been a staple and a favorite at every Primary I've been in. Kids love it, especially the last verse which I think should always be taught with that song.
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