Choose an instrument you can play

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1. Choose an instrument you can play

Learning Outcomes

• play cooperatively, take turns and share resources
• express preferences appropriately
• become aware of and respect the needs and feelings of others

We will know we have been successful if we

• give everyone in the group a turn.
• all have different favourite instruments and that makes it all the more fun to play together.

Purposes of the curriculum 3-18

To enable all young people to become:

• effective contributors able to work in partnership and in teams
• responsible citizens with respect for others

Resources required

• a range of percussion instruments - one per child and adult in the group.
• blank chart as shown.
• glue, sellotape or blu tac
• pencils
• an object to be passed around the circle.
• pictures of each instrument - several of each, e.g.

Time required
Anything from 10 - 15 minutes.

Method
All children and adults participating in the game sit in a circle with the instruments in the centre. Assure the children that everyone will get a turn, and until it's your turn gently pass the object around the circle.

Sing to the tune of 'London Bridge is Falling Down' as we pass round an item in the manner of pass the parcel.

Choose an instrument you can play,

You can play, you can play,

Choose an instrument you can play,

What's your favourite?

The person who is holding the object when the song finishes chooses their favourite instrument. Name the instrument and the child - 'Yasmin has chosen the castanets.' Sing to the same tune:-

Yasmin plays the castanets,

castanets, castanets

Yasmin plays the castanets,

That's her favourite.

Each child should be given a turn. If the object lands on someone who has already had a turn it should be passed on to the next person who has not yet had a turn - giving the adult an opportunity to praise turn-taking. As each child returns their instrument to the centre of the circle there is time to comment on who chose the same instrument and who chose a different instrument - 'even though you chose different instruments they both sounded really beautiful.'

Let each child select the picture of the instrument they had played. Support attempts to write their names on the pictures and find the appropriate place to put it on the graph.

Look at the graph that has been produced counting how many people chose each instrument. Suggest that 'if we all chose the same instrument the game would be really boring, wouldn't it? Lets all play together!'

Allow every child to choose an instrument. (Encourage the children to choose a different instrument this time because they all sound so good - everyone is so good at playing the different instruments!) This time sing 'We all play the instruments…', praising how great it sounds when everyone plays together.

Links to Free-Play Activities
Have the musical instruments available with the appropriate matching pictures and blank table. It is useful for discussion to display a completed graph to allow children to talk about changed favourites.