Teaching Method - Turns With Phrases

Turns With Phrases is a teaching method that forms groups of children to sing each phrase of the song. A child is chosen from each group to help you lead that group. Teach each group one phrase of the song. Alert the children that the groups will switch phrases later, so they should listen to all the phrases as they are taught. Sing the whole song, with each group singing their phrase. Then switch phrases and groups and sing the song again.

Our song for April is “Did Jesus Really Live Again?” and I’m planning to use Turns With Phrases to teach it. I'm planning to use three groups and teach each group the phrases that answer the question in each verse. Because the song tells a story, it seems incomplete without singing all three verses. I want to teach the three verses together as if they were one verse. So, I’ll teach the phrases of each verse to each group. For each verse, I’ll sing the questions and then I’ll teach the answers to each group. I’ll sing the questions again and they can sing the answers back to me. I’ve prepared pictures to give them visual clues for the phrases. A couple of children in each group can hold these up as their group sings about them. Then we’ll switch phrases and sing the song again.

This song bears a beautiful testimony of the real events of the Savior’s resurrection. It tells how the Savior spoke to Mary in the garden and to others. These became witnesses to the reality of his resurrection as they watched him eat and felt the physical wounds in his body. The final phrase testifies that because Jesus lives again, we will also be resurrected.

Song Review - “Know It By Heart”

Prepare a small heart for each phrase of the song. Draw a large heart on the chalkboard and post the small hearts around it. Challenge the children to sing each phrase of the song correctly. If they can, place a small heart within the larger heart. Repeat with the other phrases. If you wish, you could include a couple of additional hearts with the terms “tone” and “dynamics.” Explain how to sing with expression and a good tone. Sitting up straight and watching the conductor is important. Sing the song again, and when they achieve a good tone with proper expression, add those small hearts to the larger heart as well.

This week I will add a “way to sing” on the back of a couple of small hearts, such as boys or girls sing, stand to sing, etc. After we fill the large heart, we’ll choose one or two of the small hearts and sing the song again, following the directions on the heart.

Song Review - Who is Singing?

Thanks to Sofia at sofiasprimaryideas.blogspot.com, I have added great new song review activity to my master list. I'm not sure what Sofia would call it, but I've used the title "Who is Singing?" You can read Sofia's ideas in this post.

I had a little extra review time on a recent Sunday so I tried Sofia's idea of blindfolding a child and challenging them to identify singers. I didn't have a blindfold with me so I just turned a child to face the wall at the front of the room. I then tapped the shoulders of two children who stood up and sang the first verse of the song with me. Then I challenged the first child to identify the children who were singing. Even though we had already sung the song several times already, the children willingly sang again and again as each one in our small group had a chance to listen for who was singing. I think I'll make a cute blindfold and then I will have a music aid to use with this great new review activity. Thank you, thank you, Sofia!

Paint the Melody

These are dollar store paint brushes that I keep on hand for an activity called "Paint the Melody." With a brush in hand, the children can follow the melody line as they sing, "painting" the rise and fall of the music. This is another way for the children to explore how the melody moves in the song. The movements of the children can be less precise and more fluid than when they use the pitch sticks. It is a more free-form, interpretive kind of activity. "Paint the Melody" is also a good way to help the children see interesting rhythms and how the rhythm and melody combine in a beautiful way. It gives the children an opportunity to move.

Just take a paintbrush and demonstrate how to follow the melody in smooth, fluid motions. You can dab here and there on short notes and add large flourishes as the music rises to the climax. Then pass out the paintbrushes and invite the children to follow what they hear in the music. Really, it just adds fun and creates another opportunity to review the song.

P.S. - If your primary is extra large, buying even cheap paintbrushes would be prohibitive. In this case, you could ask the children to pretend they have a paintbrush. If you are dramatic enough, you could probably pull it off!

Teaching Method - “First Letter Wordstrips”

On a strip of paper or cardstock, write the first letter of each word in a phrase or line of the song. If the phrases are particularly long, or to make it easier, you may want to make two strips for a phrase. When you are ready to sing, randomly post the word strips on the board.

Explain to the children that the cards are clues to the words in the song. Challenge them to listen to the song and figure out the clues so they can help put the phrases in the correct order. Be prepared to sing the song several times. When the strips are in order have the children sing with you, using the strips as cues to the words. Remove the word strips as you review the song. This method really only works for the kids who can read well and those who are sophisticated in their thinking. The others will benefit from hearing the song sung, but the littlest ones will just stare at you! Be prepared with a few wiggle songs as well.

You can find references to this method in the June 2002 and August 2009 issues of the Friend magazine.

Teaching Method - Synonyms

Choose three or four keywords from each phrase of the song and write them on one side of separate word strips. Now choose a synonym for each keyword and write the synonym, in a different color, on the other side of the word strip.

When you are ready to teach, post one synonym from each phrase on the board. Tell the children that you will sing a song about these things but NOT these words. Challenge them to listen for the correct words. As they give the answers, turn the keywords over, singing that phrase again. Repeat, using the other word strips. Invite the children to sing with you as they are able.

You really don’t even need to divide the song into phrases, especially if it is a short song. Just choose several key words and write synonyms for them. Post them a few at a time so that you have a chance to sing the song several times.

This activity obviously works best with children who can read and who understand about substituting words, but if you use clear synonyms (not always easy) and explain the word, the little kids can also participate. I've used it in my combined primary and the kids like it. It works because the big kids don't always get it right away and I can remind all the children, including the younger ones, that "we are listening for a word that means the same thing as (blank)" So even those who cannot read can still listen.

This is also a great activity to use with a song that the children know, but which needs some review.

Teaching Method - Envelopes

Some teaching methods don't use discovery questions, but use other activities to involve the children in listening to the song. "Envelopes" is an example of such a method. This idea comes directly from the Sharing Time Ideas in the May 2004 issue of the Friend magazine (pg.16).

Divide the song into phrases and make a wordstrip for each word in the phrase. Put the wordstrips for each phrase into an envelope. When you are ready to teach the song, divide the group and give each group an envelope. Sing the song a few times and ask the children to put the words in the correct order. Invite each group to sing their line. Have them mix up the wordstrips and pass the envelope to a different group. Repeat the singing as often as necessary.

Teaching Method - Exploded Flipchart

An exploded flipchart is essentially a flipchart, just stop before you have it all put together.

Collect a blank sheet of paper for each phrase you want to illustrate. Find a picture or draw an illustration for each phrase. Make a word strip with a key word or word-group for each phrase also. Put thin magnets on the back of each piece. When you are ready teach, post the pieces randomly on the chalkboard. (You could explain that the flipchart exploded in your bag!) Ask the children for their help to put it together again.

Sing the song through once and then phrase by phrase as you put the pieces together and in the right order. Invite the children to sing with you as they are able.

You can use the pieces again for review or make a second flipchart with the pieces securely attached.

Teaching Method - Advancing Game

Prepare a game board with as many squares or steps as there are lines or phrases in the song, plus 2. Place some kind of marker at the "start" and a picture or keyword that describes the message of the song at the "finish."

Have the children listen to you sing the first phrase. Then invite them to sing it with you. Next they should sing it by themselves. If they can sing it well by themselves they can advance the marker one step. If they cannot, repeat the process. Do this with each phrase until you reach the final two squares. Ask the children to sing the entire song twice to advance to the finish.

The picture shows a simple game board that I drew on the chalkboard to use with the song "The Golden Plates." The pictures come from the Primary Visual Aid Cut-outs (Set 7: Pioneers and Restoration).

P.S. It occurs to me that I should mention something more about this game. You can see that it isn't competitive in any way. I don't much care for competition in primary (or anywhere else, for that matter) so, depending on how considerate your primary kids are, and how "trained" they are at loving competitive games, they may wonder what the point of this game is. The point is simply to get the marker to the finish line. That may not be enough competition for some kids. If that is the case, they will find the game boring. This is a simple game that even my younger kids can enjoy. I have a combined group and most of them are willing to play a game that is played just to reach an objective. Even the older ones in my group are considerate enough to not make comments about how something is boring or babyish, although sometimes I catch them looking at each other and rolling their eyes ;o) If this isn't the case with your group, I suggest that you try to retrain them so that you can enjoy something like this, or choose something different.

Simple Teaching Method - Choosing Pictures

Using pictures from the GAK, the manual picture kits or your own picture file, select several pictures for each phrase of the song. Find more than one picture for each phrase, as this gives the children more pictures to choose from. Post the pictures around the edges of the chalkboard, leaving a large space in the middle. Ask the children to listen to the song and to decide which picture helps remind them of each phrase. After singing the entire song, sing the first phrase again and have a child choose a picture and move it to the blank space. Or the child can hold it while all the children sing that phrase and then post it. Repeat for each phrase and then sing the entire song together. Use these pictures in upcoming weeks to review the song.

You can find variations of this method explained in the Sharing Time Ideas in the March 2002, June 2005, and March 2008 issues of the Friend magazine. Because this method is simple and straightforward, “Choosing Pictures” combines easily with another simple method to add variety and keep the kids engaged with the song.

Because choristers use so many pictures, I've kept up a picture file for many years now. I have pictures from the old, old manuals as well as the new ones. I have many pictures that I have simply cut out from discarded church magazines. I am always the first in line for discards from the library or someone's basement. I also very much appreciate the church giving us access to the digital issues that can be found online at lds.org. These digital issues are in a pdf format that I have downloaded onto my computer at home. When I need a picture to illustrate a certain principle or concept, I look through my picture file. If I don't find what I need there, I just page through the digital magazines until I see something that will work. Then I print that page and cut out the picture.

I laminate the pictures that I've printed and those that I've cut from the magazines so that they will hold up better. I keep the manual pictures in their original envelopes and GAK pictures in the original file box. I keep the cut pictures loose in a plastic box. When I want to find pictures, I simply scatter the loose ones on my bed and paw through them. ;o} It isn't a very organized method, but it works for me.

Simple Teaching Method - Rhythm First

Look at the rhythms of a song you want to teach. Are there interesting or memorable patterns? How do the rhythm patterns relate to one another. Do these rhythms help express or add to the mood of the music. Some playful rhythms skip and run and suggest cheerfulness. Some rhythms are like marches and suggest energy and commitment. Composers use rhythms and tempo as well as melody and words to convey the message of a song. Steadiness, playfulness, conviction and peace are moods that can be enhanced with the rhythms of a song. I can almost hear the hammers pounding the steady beat of “I Am A Builder.” I can imagine a little child skipping down the sidewalk open to the opportunities for service in the song “Kindness Begins With Me.” There is energy and excitement in the rhythms of “Family Night” and “Daddy’s Homecoming.”

Rhythm activities are a wonderful way to add movement to singing time. For songs with interesting rhythms, teach the rhythm first by having the children clap the rhythm of each phrase with you as you sing the song. Change the action and then repeat. Slapping thighs, tapping toes, snapping fingers, stepping from left to right, or nodding their head are other rhythmic actions that the children could do.

Once you’ve been through the song a couple of times with the rhythm, use another simple method to help the children learn the words.

Simple Teaching Method - "When You Hear..."

“When You Hear...” is another method which takes advantage of movement and actions. Challenge the children to listen carefully and do several actions when they hear certain things in the song. For instance, say “Put your hand around your ear when you hear me sing about listening.” “Raise your hand when you hear who we should obey.” “Stand up each time you hear me sing about the Savior.” Sing the song and then after the children have responded, sing that part of the song together. Repeat with other things to listen for. After several times through the song invite the children to sing the entire song with you.

You can increase the difficulty by linking the actions. You could say “Raise one finger when you hear a question in the song and another finger when you hear the answer.” Two or even three actions are doable and fun for the older kids, but don’t try to string too many together at one time.

I like this method and think it works best in teaching songs that are medium to short in length. Longer songs should be broken up into shorter sections. If the song goes on for too long, the kids will forget what they are listening for! To keep things interesting, I usually combine this method with another simple method like choosing pictures for the phrases. “When You Hear...” doesn’t require any preparation and can easily add a little variety and movement to whatever else you might plan.

Some teaching methods, like this one, are really simple and work best in combination with something else. Because I like discovery questions so much I always use these "directed listening" kinds of activities when I teach a new song. Using more than one method gives the children some variety, especially if they just don't seem to respond to your primary method of teaching. Watch for two more of these simple teaching methods coming up in this week's posts.

Teaching Method - Dramatization

You might think dramatization wouldn’t work as a method for teaching a song, but for some songs it works perfectly. Recently, I needed to teach the third verse to “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” Since I had to review two other songs that the children had just learned, I didn’t have much time to spend teaching. I needed something that would fix the images of the song in the minds of the children so that I wouldn’t need to keep going over it. After considering several other methods, I decided to dramatize it.

I invited two children to hold the ends of a length of blue fabric from the costume box and showed them how to move their arms to make a “rolling sea.” I found a small box for a boat to toss on the fabric during the tempest. I held up the picture of Jesus stilling the storm for the phrase about the “Master, ready and kind.” Then I used simple hand actions for the words “chided” and “hushed.” After we were set up, I simply sang the song and it worked great. We talked about the old-fashioned words and practiced the phrase with the hand actions and they were already singing with me after one more time through. I was thrilled to have it work so well with so little time spent teaching.

Last Christmas I used dramatization to teach “Once Within a Lowly Stable” and it worked just as well for this song. I took some simple props: a scarf for the loving mother, a doll for the baby, a shoe box lid and some yellow yarn for a manger, and two simple, hand drawn sheep and ox “masks”on sticks. I set up a simple tableau by inviting two children to stand and hold their arms in an arch to form a stable. Two other children knelt on either side of those children and held the sheep and ox masks in front of their faces. Mary knelt on the floor under the arch and placed the “baby” in the “manger” at the appropriate time during the song. Then I simply sang the song and pointed to the props as I sang. The children listened so well that they were singing with me the second time through. Dramatization is a really fun way to teach a song!

Teaching Method - Hidden Pictures

Hidden Pictures is a teaching method adapted from the second idea in the November 2006 issue of the Friend magazine (pg.16).

Collect 2 or more small pictures that illustrate each phrase of the song. I have a collection of pictures that I've printed from the illustrations in the Friend. Collect several more pictures, similar to the phrase pictures, to make a random background and post these on the chalkboard. Have the pictures for each phrase handy and in the right order. When you are ready to sing, ask the children to close their eyes and listen to the song. Tell them that when they hear the piano pause for a long time they should open their eyes for a moment to see a picture. The pianist should be prepared to pause at the end of each phrase. When the piano resumes they should close their eyes again until they hear the next long pause.

Sing the song, pausing after each phrase to show a phrase picture. While the children have their eyes closed, post each phrase picture among the others on the chalkboard. If your children are very clever, you may need to mix things up a little each time. After the final picture is posted, sing the song again, phrase by phrase and challenge the children to find the picture to match each phrase.

When they find the picture have them post the picture in the proper order. Invite the children to sing that phrase. Repeat, using the other pictures you chose to match the phrases, mixing the previous pictures into the rest of the background. Finally, invite the children to choose the pictures they think best represent the phrases and sing the whole song together. This method also works as a way to review a song you've already taught.

Teaching Method - Song Scramble

Song Scramble is a fun way to teach a song. This is adapted from the fourth idea in the Sharing Time Ideas in the March 2004 issue of the Friend magazine (pg. 16). The idea requires reading, so it really only works well with the older kids. With my combined group I assign the older children ahead of time to work with younger children who cannot read, but the involvement of these little ones is pretty much limited to manipulating the cards. It works for me because our group is small and the little ones are generally cooperative. You might want to be prepared with something else if yours are not. The bigger kids love it!

Write each word of the song on a wordstrip and put a thin magnet on the back. When you are ready to teach, post the wordstrips in an orderly way, but mixed up. Ask the children for their help in "fixing" the song. Begin singing and tag one of the children to come up and exchange any two wordstrips. Keep singing and tag another child. Repeat until the words are in the correct order. Invite the children to sing with you, removing two wordstrips at a time until they can sing the song well.

When I use this method, I explain to the children that we'll go down the rows and take turns so that the children will be ready to move. This keeps things going along more smoothly. You'll end up singing the song several (many) times so be prepared for that. But don't worry because the children will begin singing with you pretty quickly. I usually sing the song once, giving everyone a chance to look at the words and get "oriented." Then I call on the first child to come up. Sometimes it helps the kids to sing slowly or even to repeat the phrase you're working with, just to give them a little clue.

When I taught the song, "I Want to Live the Gospel," I began by teaching the chorus first with the echo method. Because the one phrase repeats it was easy for them to learn. Then they could sing with me on the chorus the first couple of times through the song. Then I taught the first verse with the wordstrips. You could also use this method for reviewing a song that you've taught and haven't sung in a while.

Teaching Method - Action Substitutes

If I put my finger to my lips, what word comes to your mind? “Action Substitutes” is another way to add movement as you teach a new song. For each phrase of the song choose one or two actions that will substitute for words in that phrase. For instance, pointing a finger to your head could replace the word “know.” Folding your arms could replace the words “pray” or “prayer.” Two steps in place could stand for the word “follow,” etc. Learn the song, substituting the action for the word. Practice singing it this way so that you can sing it without making too many mistakes. Believe me, this can be more difficult than you think!

When you’re ready to teach, sing the song and challenge the children to identify the missing words. Depending on the complexity of your actions, you may need to be ready with some clues! Teach each phrase, in turn, and invite the children to do the actions with you. Then challenge them to sing the phrases as well.

Teaching Method - Actions

It is a fact that movement helps children learn. While we know this fact, for some reason teachers seem to favor the methods which rely on visual aids. Learning music is naturally an auditory process and yet, when faced with a new song to teach, we choristers immediately write out the key words and almost automatically begin looking for pictures to match the phrases.

I was reminded recently in a comment on one of my posts, that actions are often a more effective way to teach a song. How true! Actions appear on my master list of teaching methods, but I am glad to reconsider whether I use them often enough as I teach. Movement activities during singing time are especially useful for the junior primary because it gives everyone a chance to participate and be involved. It gives the children a break from all the listening and keeps their wiggles “organized.” Even the littlest ones who won’t sing will often enjoy doing the actions. Children in senior primary still enjoy movement activities. “Hinges” is one of our favorite songs! Older children do seem to need actions that are a little more sophisticated.

If you are not already accustomed to adding actions to Primary songs, the nursery and Sunbeam manuals are great resources to learn how to do this. In fact, the Sunbeam children sometimes add actions spontaneously as they sing because they are used to doing this in class. I would suggest that you read these manuals to find out the basics and then just think about how you can increase the sophistication of the actions for songs that would require it. Often the words of the song will suggest actions that work and sometimes non-specific actions work well too. When I was considering actions for “I Know That My Savior Loves Me,” I could easily visualize the gathering action of my arms for the phrase “children were gathered round Jesus.” After some thinking, I came up with the opposite action for the phrase that comes before. I began the song by sweeping each arm outward as I sang the first phrase. My arms were then in place to slowly sweep back in for the “gathering” phrase.

You can also challenge the children to think of the actions for each of the phrases of the song you wish to teach. Sing the song phrase by phrase and come up with the actions as a group. Try different suggestions until the children are satisfied with an action for each line or phrase. Or, write the phrases on slips of paper and divide into groups. Teachers and other leaders can help the children develop an appropriate action for their assigned phrase. Then, as you sing the song, have each group teach their action to the rest of the children.

Suggestions for using actions are found in the Sharing Time Ideas in both the August 2002 and April 2004 issues of the Friend. An additional note in the August issue reminds us that hand actions are appropriate for Primary singing time but are NOT appropriate to use in the sacrament meeting presentation.

edit - My own thinking is that ASL signs would surely be considered as separate from creative "hand actions".

Teaching Method - Drawing the Phrases

I still need to teach the song “Faith” for our program. Some of our kids are kind of familiar with this song, but it sounds like I should teach it again. I’m going to use a teaching method on my master list called Drawing the Phrases. This idea is from the sharing time ideas in the May, 2003 issue of the Friend.

The suggestion is to help the children learn the song by using discovery questions about each phrase. For example, for the song "Faith," I could ask something like, “Faith is something that grows. Can you identify a word in the song that means something is growing larger?” When a child answers correctly, have them draw a picture on the chalkboard that helps illustrate something in that phrase. While they draw, have the rest of the children sing the phrase. Repeat the process of having a child draw each phrase while the children sing it.

I like this teaching method, but it doesn’t apply easily to all songs. The phrases for “Faith” (at least the first verse) can be easily illustrated by the children, so I think this method will be fun for this song. It certainly makes a change from the usual flipchart or pictures.

I do have some pictures that I made many years ago to help teach “Faith.” I can use these later as we continue to review the song.

Ideas for Using Discovery Questions

Because I like to use questions to teach a song, I’m always looking for creative ways to ask the questions. In some cases it works best to ask questions in a particular order. So, I just ask them without having the children choose them. Or, one or two questions may need to come first and then the rest can be random. These are some ideas I have used.

The easiest way (other than just asking, of course) is to write them on index cards or slips of papers and have the kids choose them from my hand or from a can or basket or the pockets of my apron. Sometimes I write them on the back of a seasonal shape or picture or even just on cut-out questions marks and post them on the chalkboard. Once I made little scrolls with toothpicks glued to the end of the paper strip and rolled them up. I can’t remember which song I was teaching, probably one about Jesus, but I remember making the scrolls.

When I taught “I Know That My Savior Loves Me” I used cutouts of children gathered around a picture of Jesus.

I often put the questions on the back of parts of a puzzle, building it up as we sing. This picture shows a puzzle of a sun which we built as I taught “Shine On.”

Sometimes I write the questions on the back of the letters of a related puzzle word, unscrambling the word as we sing. These letters spell “family.”

Its easy to put the questions in a little container of some kind like plastic Easter eggs or the Valentine heart boxes, or the glass snowman.

Maybe you all have some great choosing ideas. I’d love to hear them.

Teaching a Song - "Discovery Questions"

My favorite method for teaching a new song is to use questions. I call them “discovery” questions. These are questions that you ask before you sing. The children need to listen to the song to discover the answer. For instance, I would say “Listen to this song and see if you can discover one way the Holy Ghost will help us.” Then I will sing the song to them and let them answer the question. After asking two or three questions, and singing to them, I will invite them to join me in singing the answers. Soon they are ready to sing the whole song.

I like this method for a number of reasons. First, because children are naturally curious, this method works as a built-in attention getter. They want to find out the answer to the question and so will listen to the song. Also, the questions invite the participation of all the children at the same time. Everyone can listen, even the littlest ones. The question method allows the children to hear the song several times before they are expected to begin singing themselves. This is a very real help to the children. To have the pianist play the melody through once while saying the words, is a common introduction to singing a new song, but this is often not enough for the children to confidently join in. Finally, asking questions is easy and comfortable for me. There is very little preparation. As long as I know the song well, I can teach it at the drop of a hat. So I can take advantage of extra time here and there. And, because I am not juggling or timing a lot of visual aids, I can really interact with the children. I can look into their faces as I sing to them and smile and engage them in what I’m doing. This interaction seems to go a long way toward getting them to sing with me. I love visual aids and I use pictures and flipcharts often, but to introduce a song that is completely new, I usually use discovery questions.

If your primary children are trained to expect a poster or a flipchart to learn a new song, be patient while they get used to this method. It does take a little focused thinking on their part. But this focus is a good thing for everyone. One of the real benefits of asking these questions is that the children learn the process of pulling the principle out of what they hear us teach. This is an important skill. How many times do we read a scripture with the children and ask “What did that say?” This is simply the same method using the message of the songs.

This “discovery question” method is thoroughly taught in the old Primary training video “How to Teach a Song to Children” and in the shortened video clip online at lds.org. A number of examples of song presentations, using this method, are illustrated in the Sharing Time Ideas in many back issues of The Friend magazine.