Introduce the song 

Have a weather-related discussion.

• Do the students have a favourite kind of weather?
• What is their least favourite kind of weather?
• Do they ever grumble about the weather?
• Does grumbling and complaining improve the weather conditions?

Listen to the song or read the lyrics.

• What is the message of this song? Don’t be grumpy or blue about the weather, and don’t “sass” Mother Nature!
• Is this good advice?

Expressive singing

Sing expressively to create a different presentation style for each of the types of weather about which you are singing.

Emphasize the lyrics by using:

• dynamics
• clear diction
• facial movement
• simple gestures

Improvisation

There are instrumental breaks between each verse (bars 29-40).

Have students use these instrumental bars to improvise using their own musical ideas.

Students may sing specific words e.g., rain, sun, wind, etc. or sing scat syllables.

There is also the option to skip these bars (tracks are provided to accommodate both options).

Be a composer

Create your own verses for this song.

As a composer you will make musical decisions about the content of your song lyrics.

You may decide to sing about your favourite kind of weather, or you may want to take the opportunity to complain a bit about your least favourite kind of weather.

Will you still decide to present the message that it won’t help to be grumpy, or will you create a different message for your weather song?

Use the instrumental accompaniment tracks and sing your new lyrics.

Have fun composing!

Make a connection with the song topic

Initiate a discussion by asking students to share information about their pets. This creates a connection between the students and the subject matter of the song. Pets are important members of the family in many homes. Opening a discussion about pets will result in a variety of stories and multiple students who want to share.

“Time management” tip: In a classroom with a large number of students, find ways to include all the students without spending an entire class on pet stories! It is important to find ways to give students the opportunity to share without using up all the teaching time with stories.

Some options to “streamline” multiple answers include:

- Put up one hand if you have a dog/cat/hamster, etc.

- If you have more than one dog/cat, etc., hold up fingers to show how many

- If you have more than one kind of pet hold up two hands

- Hands up if your family had this pet before you were born

- Put up your hand if you have a pet (any number, any kind). Put your hand down when the teacher says the animal that is your pet. When there are only two or three hands still up, ask those students to share what pet they have.

Introduce the song

This song is about a specific kind of dog.

Ask students if they know anything about chihuahuas.

Find pictures or images to share to familiarize them with this breed of dog.

What are some characteristics of chihuahuas?

Expressive singing

Find the repeated words and phrases that will need to be sung with clear, crisp consonants so the lyrics can be understood. The expressive presentation of these repeated lyrics also add a humorous feeling to the song.

The singer’s task is to present the song authentically so the audience is convinced that the singer truly thinks a chihuahua is the best dog ever!

Accidentals

My Chihuahua is written in a major key. However accidentals are used to briefly change the tonal feeling of the song.

Using the vocal score, locate the bars where accidentals are added (bar 20 in each of the first two verses, and also in bars 38, 42 and 46).

Sing this melodic figure several times to internalize the altered notes before singing the song in its entirety.

Sing the altered notes with confidence so they sound like they belong in the melody (which they do!) and enjoy the interesting melodic colour they add to the song.

Introducing the song

Pre-singing discussion connects students’ interest to the song content. Questions may include:

Have you ever seen a robin pulling worms out of the lawn?

How do you think they know where the worms are? Do they hear the worms? Do they feel the vibration with their feet? (Both would be amazing skills!)

What facts do you know about robins?

Do you have a favourite bird?

Score Study

Dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

The melody of A Robin’s Tale is written with dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

While the teacher sings the song, have the students listen and follow the score.

Find all the bars where there are dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

Have students tap or clap the rhythm of the song as the teacher sings one more time.

Have half the students sing the song and the other half tap the rhythm. Switch.

Phrases

Listen for phrases that are the same or almost the same. Finding these similar phrases helps when learning the melody of the song.

Major/minor tonality

The B section of A Robin’s Tale is written in a minor key for a few short bars. Find the bars that are written in the minor key. Where does the melody return to the major tonality?

Expressive Singing

Use good breath energy to sing the long, legato phrases.

Breath marks show where the singer will take a breath even thought the notes look like there is no spot to breathe. Take as much time as needed to take a comfortable breath.

How will you sing differently to create a contrast in the B section when the melody is written in the minor key?

Use clear diction so the story can be understood.

Add dynamics to create musical interest and highlight the lyrics as part of your expressive performance.

Teaching tips are provided with each individual song. See the teaching tips when you visit each penguin song webpage.

• I Wonder
• Penguin Parade
• Pondering Penguins
• The Penguin Ball

Save 25% when you purchase all Four Penguin Songs together.

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring these Penguins as you listen to the Four Penguin Songs. Enjoy!

Introductory discussion

• Discuss penguin facts that the students know.
• Research additional information about penguins.

Expressive singing

• Emphasize key words by using clear, crisp consonants.
• For dramatic contrast, speak the line “I’m wearing red tonight.” Choose the       emotion you wish to convey: excitement, rebellion, decisiveness, musing, etc.

 Add actions

• Listen to the performance track and do the following actions for the words listed.
     I wonder    -   index finger to side of head (thinking)
     never         -   shake head or finger side to side, like saying no
     suit coat     -   show where a fancy lapel would be
     eater          -   pretend to eat
     shirtfront    -   put hand flat on chest
     won’t see   -  shake head no and point to eyes
     apron         -   move flat hand down the front of your chest
     chest          -   flat hand on chest
     best            -   thumbs up sign
     tired           -    droop the shoulders and drop the head a bit
     “I’m wearing red tonight”    -   hands on hips and nod head
     choice         -   hands out to the sides, shrug your shoulders
     white and black     -    right hand first, then left hand out to each side
     black and white     -    left hand first, then right hand out to each side
     again                   -     fold arms across chest
• The actions listed above are included in the PDF download.

Vocal exploration

There are many kinds of voices: talking, singing, whispering, shouting, etc.

In I Wonder, the line “I’m wearing red tonight,” may be spoken.     

How well do you know the voices of the people in your class?

Use a recording device.

• Have all the students say their names.
• Record their voices.
• Listen to the recording.

Change the order of the students.

• Have each student say, “Hello, how are you?” and record it.
• Play the recording for the class and see if the speaker can be identified.

Have each child say something with a disguised voice.

• Can the person still be identified?

Have each child sing something (something simple like Rain, rain go away).

• Students should use their best singing voice.
• The voice should not be disguised.
• Can the person be identified from his or her singing voice?

Explore Cross Curricular Activities

A package of 13 cross-curricular activities has been created for use with the song, I Wonder. Additional activities are included with each of Donna’s other penguin songs: Penguin Parade, Pondering Penguins  and The Penguin Ball. 

Share the cross-curricular activities with classroom teachers so they can tie into the music their students have learned in the music room.

Pre-Song Activity - Create a sound composition

Close your eyes and listen.

• What sounds can you hear that are created by the things that are around you?
• Are any of the sounds created by you?
• Do any of the sounds sound like music to you?

Use sounds to make musical patterns. Use the sounds you heard when you were listening or create your own (e.g. tapping a pencil, clicking of computer keys, jingling earrings, etc.). Organizing sounds into patterns is making music!

Create a sound composition.

How will you write down the sounds you use in your composition? Pictures, words, symbols, etc. help you remember the sounds you are using so you can re-create your composition on another day, or give it to someone else to play.

Pre-song Discussion

Discuss sounds you might hear if you were outdoors.

• Are those sounds music?
• Do you have a favourite sound that you like to listen for when you are outdoors?

What are some things you might see if you were outdoors?            

• Are those things a symphony for the eyes?
• Do you have a favourite flower, or something you enjoy seeing when you are outdoors?
  

Music Vocabulary

Read the lyrics of Garden Symphony to discover what the composer was hearing and seeing. Do you know what all those things sound like and look like?

Sing the song together.

A symphony is a large piece of music for an orchestra.

The word symphony can also mean a beautiful blend of sights or sounds.

What other words are used to label music? (e.g. melody, tune, song, concerto, duet, solo, concert, performance, recital, etc.)

What other words are used to label art? (e.g. painting, collage, drawing, mural, sculpture, etc.)

Create a poster, a word wall or a dictionary of music words and/or art words.

Expressive Singing

There are many descriptive words in Garden Symphony.

• Use clear diction and expressive singing to make the story more interesting for your audience.

There are long phrases in Garden Symphony.

• Decide where you are going to take a breath to create the best long and lyrical phrases possible.

Score Study

Garden Symphony is created using simple rhythmic elements. Because of this simplicity, it makes a great rhythm sight-reading exercise.

How many different rhythm elements are there in the song?

      (Quarter note, eighth note, half note, dotted half note, quarter rest)

Clap or say the rhythm duration syllables that create the melody of this song.

• Clap the rhythm in canon with another student or the teacher.
• Create a simple ostinato using only 2 rhythm elements and divide the class with one group tapping the ostinato and one group clapping the rhythm.
• Use instruments to play the rhythm and ostinato patterns.  
  • Is it better to have the ostinato louder or the rhythm of the lyrics louder? Try it both ways and make musical decisions about what you think works best.

Have fun singing the song

Sometimes a song is just “cute”. No big teaching points., no need to work on the rhythm or the melody, no dissecting the elements that have been meshed together to create the song. The Giraffe is like that! Just sweet and fun. Simple, with a bit of humour. The lyrics include a few “plays on words” such as when the giraffe is “short on complaining” even while being a tall giraffe. And isn’t it amusing to think about the giraffe, being such a quiet animal, not complaining about anything? I think so!

The Giraffe is a great choice for a young solo singer who needs a song to perform that enables them to gain confidence and performing experience. It also works well with elementary classroom singers. It is simple and well within the skill set of grade 2-3 students and it makes a sweet spring concert number (or an early fall performance as well).

There ARE always musical elements to examine and extract. There are also ways to introduce a song and a few hints and tips might help get the creative ideas flowing. If you want to include other elements in addition to singing just for fun, read on….

Introduce the song

Initiate a discussion with the students asking them to share some facts about their favourite animals.

• Ask the students to name some large animals.
• What small animals can they name?
• What animals are loud?
• What animals are quiet?
• What do they know about giraffes?

Expressive Singing

• Some phrases in The Giraffe are smooth and legato and some have short, staccato words to sing. Use the difference between the legato and staccato phrases to create an expressive performance.
• Read the lyrics aloud.
• Highlight words that have similar sounds and/or that rhyme. How can these words be emphasized to create an expressive performance when speaking and singing? (“spotty, dotty body in between” and “chooses what to chew with care”).
• Use clear diction to be sure the audience can understand what you are singing.

Score Study

• Many passages in The Giraffe are written using step-wise patterns. Find the patterns that are ascending. Find the patterns that are descending.
• Use your hand to show the ascending and descending patterns of the melody as you sing.