Music & Movement Activities in Pre-school
Guidelines for music and movement activities in pre-school
- Be knowledgeable with contents and teaching techniques
- Pay attention to festivals and annual fests that related closely to your community
- Choose topic and try to link it with other activities that are being carried out
- Prepare materials before teaching
- Understand the abilities and needs of the children. Do not compare the abilities of one child to another
- Each child are individual with different abilities and needs
- Get information of the experience of the child so that he/she can develop further
- Plan lessons based on child’s experience and expanding it from thereon
- Use simple to understand language
- Plan many types of activities so that they can learn in many ways
- Understand the child fully by observing and analysing the behaviou and performance of the child
- Plan activities which needs the use of different senses such as smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch
- Have positive attitude towards music and be interested and willing to learn and improve oneself
Principals of teaching singing in pre-school:
- Conduct singing activities informally so that it’s enjoyable and effective
- Plan activities which include movements, imaginations and creativities as children are naturaly very active
- Teacher should adapt to the language development level of the children so that they can understand
- Pre-schoolers’ attetion span is very short. They are unable to focus more than 10 to 15 minutes
- Give attention to quiet and shy children and don’t force them do the activities
- Should encourage the children to sing solo or in groups and appreciate their performance
- Group children according to gender will create opportunity to talk about boys and girls and their roles in community
- Feeling of harmony must be developed
- Teacher must assist in developing self-confidence
- Provide opportunities for children to choose songs, rhythm and musical instruments
- Start with simple songs then progress to difficult songs
- Provide opportunities to explore fantasy world through singing, drama, pantomime, movement and so on
- Help children improve their voices by guiding them to sing according to appropriate tune, rhythm and pitch
How to choose songs?
- Short and simple repeated lyrics
- Words and sentence structure are simple and relevant to their age level and understanding
- Should reflect their world, experience, feelings and interest
- Choose songs that give training in good health practices and cleanliness, socialization, manners and develop postitive attitude towards their own self and others
- Song should be a joy to sing and help in language development
- Theme song should be attractive and increase their knowledge
- Rhythm should be simple with clear beats and encourage children too move or do actions spontaneously
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Elements and concepts in music and drama in a preschool curriculum program:
- Acting:
- Expressive use of body and voice
- Movement is important to free the child’s energy and emotions and aware of the workings of the body and to control them.
- Increase ability to communicate
- Enhance child’s imagination
- Sensory awareness activities to sharpen perception and appreciation of how sense help us enjoy and know the world
- Sensory recall activities to remember feel, look, sound, smell and taste that enable to recreate the sensations even it’s just in their imagination
Playmaking(informal)/Playwriting(formal):
- Collaborative improvisation
- Playmaking, chidlren will will decided on who the character and what the character will be doing, there is no need to write down.
- Playwriting, a formalized script is prepare and it’s it’s already pre-planned on who do what.
- Collaborative improvisation
- Playmaking, chidlren will will decided on who the character and what the character will be doing, there is no need to write down.
- Playwriting, a formalized script is prepare and it’s it’s already pre-planned on who do what.
Responding & Constructing Meaning:
- Development of aesthetic sensibility
- They must know the theater convention such as curtain up, curtain down, curtain call etc.
- They should also know the audience etiquette where they should keep quite when the play is going on, laugh at appropriate time, clap at appropriate time and so on
- Development of aesthetic sensibility
- They must know the theater convention such as curtain up, curtain down, curtain call etc.
- They should also know the audience etiquette where they should keep quite when the play is going on, laugh at appropriate time, clap at appropriate time and so on
Designing:
- Envisioning and arranging the environment
- Arrange furniture to suggest a a particular setting or use fabric or accessories for costumes
- Envisioning and arranging the environment
- Arrange furniture to suggest a a particular setting or use fabric or accessories for costumes
Directing:
- Planning classroom improvisation
- Develop social, group, and concensus skills as they plan and rehearse to improvised on the scripted scenes to be presented to the audience
- Planning classroom improvisation
- Develop social, group, and concensus skills as they plan and rehearse to improvised on the scripted scenes to be presented to the audience
Researching
- Finding information to support classroom dramatizations
- Use books, posters or any visual material
- Finding information to support classroom dramatizations
- Use books, posters or any visual material
How theater arts work in the classroom?
- 1. Introduce
Give idea, story or poem to engage attention by related them to their own experiences or ask them questions.
2. Present poem or story
Tell the children the story and have them relate it to their personal experiences
Tell the children the story and have them relate it to their personal experiences
3. Plan
Teacher will plan for the play by being a side coach (give suggestions to the children, let the children pantomime) or play a role(teacher act it out) or appreciative audience(just sit/stand and watch).
Teacher will plan for the play by being a side coach (give suggestions to the children, let the children pantomime) or play a role(teacher act it out) or appreciative audience(just sit/stand and watch).
4. Act
Start acting and children should keep stay in their intended place and quiet and wait for “curtain” signal.
Start acting and children should keep stay in their intended place and quiet and wait for “curtain” signal.
5. Reflect/Evaluate
Make connection between the play and real life with the children and help them recognize, appreciate the aesthetics of the play. This will let the teacher know how well the children understand the art form.
Make connection between the play and real life with the children and help them recognize, appreciate the aesthetics of the play. This will let the teacher know how well the children understand the art form.
6. Plan & Replay
Repeat the 5 steps above either replay the same character or scene or move on to a new scene.
Repeat the 5 steps above either replay the same character or scene or move on to a new scene.
Music and drama help children develop an awareness of of themselves as:
Physical beings: Body and voice as an instrument to create and communicate
Creative beings: Enhance creativity
Organizers of experience: Learn to solve problems, shape and control what is happening by using their minds and bodies to give form to the art
Reflective beings: Responding thoughtfully to their surroundings
Social beings: Enhance and cultivate moral values among their peers and their surroundings
Physical beings: Body and voice as an instrument to create and communicate
Creative beings: Enhance creativity
Organizers of experience: Learn to solve problems, shape and control what is happening by using their minds and bodies to give form to the art
Reflective beings: Responding thoughtfully to their surroundings
Social beings: Enhance and cultivate moral values among their peers and their surroundings
Key issues in selecting materials for music and drama lessons:
1. Must be safe and sturdy.
2. Must be suitable for their age.
3. Can be used as teaching materials for other lessons as well.
1. Must be safe and sturdy.
2. Must be suitable for their age.
3. Can be used as teaching materials for other lessons as well.
