A useful guide for how to use Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite to teach music in Key Stage 1 (ages 4-7). Includes a simple explanation of terminology, a guide to questioning and a list of activities which are designed to meet the National Curriculum teaching objectives for music. Also included are ideas for creative outcomes that will capture children’s imagination. Youtube can be used to find performances of The Nutcracker and related pieces by a range of different orchestras and ballet companies for comparison. The Fantasia version can also be found on Youtube.

12 festive rhythm cards with picture cues, musical notation and words to help recognise simple rhythms and begin to read and understand musical notation using crotchets and quavers. These cards can be used in a group activity to practise reading and clapping rhythms. Links to the KS1 National Curriculum for music.