Bernie Bee – Singing Game for First Grade Music TEKS: Objective: To teach a song with two tones by rote. Materials: Bernie Bee - Singing Game folk song. Procedures/Process: - Formation: a seated circle. - Teacher creates a setting for the song: working in the garden, running away from a bee. Class names types of bees [honey, killer, bumble]. - Teacher sings the song while students keep a quiet steady beat on their laps. - Teacher repeats song asking students to listen for "What is happening to Bernie?" - Students give answer. - Teacher repeats song asking students to follow along with her while placing hands on shoulders for the higher of the two tones. Then place hands on lap for the lower of the two tones. - By this time students are singing the song silently (inner hearing) in their heads while teacher repeats the song with the hand motions (students join in again - still listening to lyrics and not singing). - Teacher "tests" the students by asking them to do the hand motions by themselves as she sings.[This is a visual evaluation. Make corrections if needed.] - Teacher asks students echo her - sing by phrase. - Teacher asks students to join her in tapping the words (rhythm) on their hands. - Children sing Bernie Bee by themselves. Evaluation: Aural. Could the students sing Bernie Bee with at least 90% accuracy as a group? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lesson Extension #1: The game. Game formation: Circle sitting with ‘”it” on the outside. Children in the circle sing while “it” walks around the outside of the circle with a bee puppet. At the end of the song “it” drops the bee puppet and runs around the outside of the circle buzzing while the children imitate the buzzing via patsching (slapping/patting thighs). On “fly away” the bee puppet is dropped behind a student who picks up the bee and the chase begins while the bass xylophone starts a glissando. You could add more instruments and create a level glissando from low to high range instruments. Note: Have the two students sitting next to the hole created by the new “it”, point to the hole to help the chased student find his resting place. The arrangement below can be played without mallets – using index fingers – to practice a rebound sound. If the student keeps his/her fingers on the bar and not rebound they will not get a tone but a thud. Caution: make sure the students are playing the beat and not the rhythm of the lyrics. If this happens get behind them and gently tap the pattern on their shoulders till they join in on the beat. Extension #2: Pass the bee around the circle and have each person add on to a story about Bernie Bee that you start.
