Sing with Mike!

 

Whole School Programme

♦ This collection of songs for primary school children helps to establish a whole school repertoire. Schools can sing these songs at school assemblies and performances, enhancing the children's experience of belonging to a community. Teachers of older classes can refer to songs the children have previously learned to further explore musical elements and develop skills.
♦ Songs that younger children will enjoy singing are at the beginning of the book, which progresses through to songs with lyrics and melodies more suitable for older children.

Activity Record

♦ Through singing, children unconsciously absorb a world of musical experiences, which provide opportunities for active learning where:
  ► Musical elements are explored and
  ► Musical skills are developed.
♦ Teachers follow a logical sequence in teaching - aural language skills precede reading and writing, number precedes telling the time. Sing with Mike! contains an Activity Record which suggests a sequence for developing musical elements and skills. The teacher can use this record to plan a step-by-step approach to choosing songs and activities. Within each set of activities the teacher chooses his/her current area of focus, building on what the children know and can do.
  ► E.g. Hob Shoe Hob, p15. Children in an Infants Class sing the song with actions. In a further activity, First Class children learn to describe and show the difference between beat and rhythm, p14.
  ► E.g. My Paddle, p54. Children in Third Class perform the song with both a second vocal part and a percussion accompaniment. In Sixth Class the rhythms, singing names and structure (plan) of the song are explored and used as a springboard for the children to write and notate a melody, p71.
♦ Pages marked 'These Drawings May Be Photocopied' have resources that the teacher can photocopy for use with the children.
♦ Each child, each teacher and each classroom setting is different. The activities suggested in Sing with Mike! are neither exhaustive nor prescriptive. They serve to illustrate that all areas of the Music Curriculum can be accessed through singing, movement and the use of simple classroom percussion. Sing with Mike! hopes to inspire both teacher and children to come up with their own ideas and their own ways of bringing songs to life.