Using Music and Drama in Arts and Crafts

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Using Music and Drama in Arts and Crafts Musical Art

The relationship between Art, Music and Drama is extremely close in the primary classroom. It is often difficult to do one activity without involving the other. Read how to combine the three through creative lesson planning. ➜ Picture Lyrics and Illustrating Songs

Teach a song using only pictures! For this activity, choose a song which has lyrics that can be easily represented by pictures and divide the song into short sections. Then instruct different groups what to draw. For example, if the song is ‘Old MacDonald’ your pictures may be the following:

After that collect the pictures and display them randomly on the floor. Sit the students in a circle.

Listen to the song together. Play it again and stop the music after each section. Ask students to arrange the pictures in the same order as the lyrics. Then stick the pictures to the wall in the correct order and use them as visual guide for singing along to the song. Alternatively, make a ‘washing line display’.

Classroom management tips When you have built up a song collection, pupils can choose which song they’d like to sing by pointing to the display or washing line.

Lyrics (Verse 1)

Picture Instructions

Old Macdonald had a farm (E-I-E-I-O).

Group 1: draws a farm and an old farmer.

And on that farm he had a cow (E-I-E-I-O).

Group 2: draws a cow in a field.

With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo there a moo everywhere a moo moo.

Group 3: draws a cow making lots of noise.

Old Macdonald had a farm (E-I-E-I-O).

Group 4: draws farm and an old farmer.

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➜ Instruments and Imagination

1. Introduce your students to different instruments of the orchestra.

Bring a collection of music (on CD) to class so that students can listen and learn to identify which instrument is being played. It is best to choose music where the instrument is playing a solo (e.g. a violin, horn, guitar, drum solo or a concerto).

2. Ask your students to paint or make the instruments using junk.

Ensure there is a variety of objects and material to fire their imagination.

Suggested activity Tell your learners to combine their instruments and associations in a picture. For example, they could draw a bird dreaming about playing the flute and flying high above the clouds.

➜ Paint the Music

We naturally associate music with certain colours and forms. This activity is similar to the previous idea, but now we look at how music makes us react in general rather than concentrating on specific sounds and instruments.

3. Listen to the instruments again and play an association game.

Students write down words, or draw pictures they associate with the sound. Encourage students to use their imaginations. Ideas can be concrete or abstract. Doubtless you will have to help them with vocabulary. With luck, they will come up with something like this: • the tambourine sounds like …

Christmas, parades and surprises.

• the flute sounds like … birds, flying, clouds and dreaming.

shut their en list eyes and gine?

What colours do you ima you see? do ms for or What shapes r mind?

What pictures form in you

1 Tell your studentots atopiece of music.

2 Play the piece again, but this time invite students to paint a picture using the colours and forms they have thought about.

Encourage the use of mixed mediums.

• the drums sound like … traffic, the circus and hunting.

e is finished, share th

music 3 When thewi th the class.

paintings to describe what Ask your students Has anyone else . they have painted mething similar? so wn in the class dra by the results.

You’ll be surprised

For musical craft ideas visit: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/music/index.htm 108

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Using Music and Drama in Arts and Crafts

Dramatic Art ➜ What is this?

play the What is it?

r, 1 As a warmeden ts sit in a circle and

game: stu . a pencil, pass an object around (e.g a box, piece of paper).

2 Everyone tries to think of an

alternative use for the object and does a mime with it to demonstrate.

For example the pencil may become a lipstick or a chopstick. Other students observe and say the word in English, if they know it.

, such as ource to work with

res 3 Choose a ns stic bottles. , yoghurt pots, pla egg carto e the same object.

Everybody must us

4 Ask your students to work in pairs and transform the object into something different using other art materials. Give the students a strict time limit to do this.

5 When they have finished their creations, put all the pieces of art on a central display table. Play the same What is this? game again.

Suggested activity Students form pairs and use the two objects they have made. Tell them to create a role play or conversation that includes their works of art. For example, if they have made a boat and a flower vase from a plastic bottle they must find a connection between these two objects and invent a situation.

A: Hello Captain! How are you today?

B: I’m fine, but my wife’s got a bad cold.

A: Oh dear, give her these flowers.

➜ Visiting the Gallery

Convert a corner of the art room into a gallery by displaying students’ pictures, paintings and sculptures. Tell your students they are going to visit the gallery. In pairs, students invent a roleplay expressing their opinions about the work on display. Guide them with the expressions they need in the conversation. ➜ Puppet Shows

There are hundreds of ideas for making puppets and stages.

To discover just some of them, visit: www.makingfriends.com/puppet_making.htm www.dltk-kids.com/type/paper_bag.htm.

Making puppets useful, however, is quite another matter Here are some tips for you and your students when putting on a puppet show.

• Introduce your puppet to the audience.

• Interact with and involve the audience.

Ask questions.

• Make sure the audience can see the puppet’s face. It should be obvious which puppet is talking.

• Make your puppet move about and use all the space on the stage.

• The following movements are effective (depending on what type of puppet you have made): jumping up and down, shaking or nodding head, chasing, running, flying, side stepping, kissing, dancing in different ways.

• Handle the puppet slowly to make its movements and emotions clear.

• Puppeteers should speak slowly, loudly and clearly.

• Different puppets should have different voices or accents.

• Remember: a puppet show must be pleasing to the eye and make the audience laugh!

B: Thank you very much! She’ll like them.

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