Primary Music Listening Activities SET 1

This structured resource pack is an excellent introduction to analysing music and is perfect for youngsters aged approximately between 5 and 8 years. Students use their knowledge of colours to help them understand musical features relating to the musical elements. Five whole 1-hour lessons are included in the pack with fun, themed colouring worksheets for the students, Detailed PowerPoint with audio links (tested and working as of April 2020) and full teaching guidance so that you feel completely supported whether you are a music specialist, or not. It is easy to deliver.

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How this works is as beautiful as it is simple. There are 5 themed lessons, each with its own colouring-in worksheet: In the Woods; Beneath the Sea; Out on Safari; On the Farm; Up In Space. A specific piece of famous classical music is the focus of each lesson, and the music has some kind of link to the theme. For instance: In the Woods is Vivaldi’s Autumn from the Four Seasons; Copland’s Hoe-down is the one for On the Farm.

Each student worksheet has 8 pairs of statements. Two of the eight are opinion-based (such as ‘I like/ do not like this music’). The other 6 are related to musical elements and specific features of the piece of music used for the lesson. For example: The music is fast/ slow. Each statement has a colour pattern to use, and where statements are a little more complex (such as ‘I can hear only stringed instruments’ or ‘I can hear wind and stringed instruments’) they can link their knowledge of colour to reach the right answer. For instance: a child of 5 or 6 years old probably doesn’t know what a string orchestra sounds like, but they know that a bee should be black and yellow, not blue and pink. So, to colour a bee, they know the statement for the black and yellow colour pattern is correct. Accordingly, they know they can only hear stringed instruments. As they colour, and listen to the music (which they must be encouraged to do) they begin to subconsciously learn ‘what a string orchestra sounds like’.

This system allows young students to develop musical analysis skills by building on prior knowledge of colour - not to mention becoming acquainted with composers and music from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras. Furthermore, the opinion-based questions (like/ dislike; mood changes; interpretation, etc) offer excellent opportunities for the teacher to lead group discussions. All of this comes with full resource support for teaching and learning. I thoroughly recommend it.

I really hope that you will enjoy my resources and find them useful. I pride myself on the quality of the resources that I publish, and I welcome feedback and enquiries from all of my colleague-customers across the world. I can be contacted directly at rainynightmusic@hotmail.com and I would be delighted to hear from you. Thank you for considering this resource for your classroom.