After the children are familiar with the words of a new song, you can review it with “Name That Word.” Simply have the pianist play the melody and ask the children to sing the song in their mind. This will take some concentration for some of the children. The younger ones will have a harder time, so I stand by them and mouth the words. When the pianist stops the music, ask the children to name the word. You may find that the children name the next word! It seems to be easier to do. ;o) You can repeat the process for as long as interest continues. This activity is easily combined with another review activity if or when the children become restless.
It is most effective to emphasize the keywords in the song. If you work with the pianist ahead of time, she can mark these in the music and stop on (or just before) these words. If you use colored chalk on a Q-Tip, you can easily erase the mark later from the music.
I play a game with the Jr Primary called "Zip Your Lips" that is basically the same as this. I sing the song, then stop and "zip my lips" at a chosen words. When someone can guess that word, I can unzip my lips and keep singing. It's amazing how much the kids like it and it's great for a quick review or to fill in time because it doesn't really take any preparation.
ReplyDeleteI also do a similar game with the senior primary, but I have a little whiteboard that I write the chosen word on, then choose someone to come hold it in front of them. They can't see the word, but the rest of the Primary can. They stop singing when we get to that word, and the one holding the whiteboard tries to guess it. Again, very simple, but they really can't get enough.
Wonderful ideas Emily! Thanks so much for sharing them. When you are using "Zip Your Lips", does the pianist stop playing and then go on again when the children guess? Do you work with the pianist ahead of time to choose words or does she just watch for when you zip your lips?
ReplyDeleteKathleen-
ReplyDeleteWe have an awesome pianist who can do just about anything, so I don't work with her ahead of time - she just watches me so she knows when to stop and then we pick up from where we left off.
Thanks for this idea. This is just what I needed!
ReplyDelete