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Lesson 5

We sing the Morning Mood melody

1
talk about music
whole class
2
vocal warm up
whole class
3
sing
whole class
4
radio game
whole class
5
lapbook
independently

Preparation

Print materials (for the entire series):

Activity 1

Talk about music
Whole class
5 min.

Teacher:

"During the last lesson, you played 'Who is Figaro?' on the Fortissimo app. What did you learn? What can you remember?"

Talk about some of the games with the pupils.

App questions
General questions
  1. What did you learn?
  2. What can you remember?
Specific questions
  1. Who are Tivoli and Figaro?
    Answer: Tivoli is a triangle and Figaro is a flute.
  2. How many parts is a flute made of?
    Answer: 3 parts: headjoint, body and footjoint.
  3. What is the name of the piece of music Figaro played?
    Answer: Morning Mood.
  4. What story does morning mood tell?
    Answer: The story of a sunrise in Africa.
  5. What words can you use to describe volume in music?
    Answer: Loud (forte) and quiet (piano).
  6. What instruments belong to the woodwind family?
    Answer: Flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon.

Activity 2

Vocal warm up
Whole class
5 min.

Read the vocal warm up story inspired by 'Morning Mood' and ask children to join in with the actions and the vocalisations.

The vocal warm up story can be repeated.

Vocal warm up components
Content of the story
Actions
Posture
The sun is slowly rising and you are reaching out for the first rays of sunshine.
Stretch up and up
Relaxing facial muscles
Can you feel the warmth of the sun on your face?
Gently rub your hands over your face.
Breathing
A bee is flying around in search of a flower to settle on.
Exhale on ‘zzzz’ and follow the bee with your finger. Sing high or low according to where the bee goes (e.g. looping, etc.).
Breathing
The bee has found a fragrant flower. You can smell it too!
Inhale deeply and then exhale very slowly on ‘ffff’ or ‘shhh’
Resonance
The flower smells so good!
Vocalisation on ‘mmmm’ using different pitches (low and high)
Vowels
There are butterflies flying around too. You admire their beautiful colours.
Amazed, vocalising on ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ using different pitches (low and high)
Singing voice
The birds have also just woken up and are chirping happily. Can you recognise some of their singing?
Cuckoo (cu-ckoo), Owl (ooh-ooh), other bright sounds (e.g. chip-chip, tiri-tiri, etc.

Activity 3

Sing
Whole class
10 min.

Children learn the 'Morning Mood' melody by singing it over and over again. It can be hummed or sung on a single syllable (e.g. la).

Tip

The piano accompaniment can be used as an aid.

A2: Sing along to Morning Mood - slow (play)

Sing along to Morning Mood - slowA2

A3: Sing along to Morning Mood - fast (play)

Sing along to Morning Mood - fastA3

Activity 4

Radio game
Whole class
20 min.

Once the pupils have learned to sing the 'Morning Mood' melody, explain the radio game.

Teacher:

"In this game, imagine there’s a radio. You can turn the volume up or down. You can also turn the radio on and off. We’ll choose a volunteer to be our conductor and operate the radio. Everyone else will sing the 'Morning Mood' melody on a syllable chosen by the conductor (e.g. la, mm, so, doo, etc.). Think of what gesture you might use to show ‘loud’ (e.g. hands wide apart), ‘quiet’ (e.g. hands close together), ‘on’ (e.g. thumbs up), and ‘off’ (e.g. thumbs down). Wait until the conductor turns on the radio before you start singing. If the conductor shows ‘loud’, then sing loudly but without shouting. If the conductor shows ‘quiet’, sing very softly. As soon as the conductor turns off the radio, stop singing." 

One child at a time operates the radio while the others follow. 

Activity 5

Lapbook
Independently
5 min.
Lapbook
M5 printout

M4: Volume picture cards for the lapbook (handout to each pupil)

Teacher:

"You can decorate and cut the volume picture cards (M5) and stick them above your drawing in the centre part of your lapbook."

A1: 'Morning Mood' (play as background music)

E. Grieg: Morning Mood from Peer Gynt Suite Nr. 1A1

If there's still time...

… ask children what they remember about Edvard Grieg’s life.

… children can take a physical break (e.g. 15 jumping jacks, 10 squats, etc.)

Skills learned in this lesson:

Students…

… explore their voice and do vocal warm up exercises.
… sing simple melodic and rhythmic sequences together, including the 'Morning Mood' melody.
… experiment with volume (piano, forte, crescendo, decrescendo) and try to conduct while singing.