Circle Time Music
John Oates
AST Primary Music
Westbrook Old Hall Primary
johnoates66@yahoo.co.uk
Resources
• Quality Circle Time – Jenny Mosley
• Music & Circle Time – Margaret Collins &
Claire Wilkinson
• Tam Tam Tambalay – Helen MacGregor
• The Little Book of Music for the Classroom –
Nina Jackson
• Sing Up – www.singup.org
• Westbrook Old Hall Primary VLE
Benefits of Circle Time
• Develops the notion of equal responsibility.
• Sense of belonging to a group they can trust.
• Develops a willingness to share thoughts and
feelings.
• Promotes self-esteem and positive behaviour.
• Enables children to help each other.
• Encourages self-discipline through
identification of behaviour or work problems.
Circle Time Structure
• Introductory phase – a fun warm up to help
the children relax, release tension and feel the
joy of being together. Vital for creating the
right supportive climate.
• Middle phase – an open forum related to the
needs of the class.
• Closing phase – winding down, activities to
lighten the mood and return to warm positive
experiences.
Key Stage 1 Music
Teachers should involve children in:
• Listening to music and sound
• Responding to a range of musical and non musical starting
points
• Performing
• Composing
• Appraising
• Developing skills and understanding through a range of
musical activities
• Working on their own, in groups of different sizes and as a
class
Music for the Mind
Listening to music:
• Helps the learners get into the right mental state for learning.
• Helps the teacher get into the right mental state for teaching.
• Acts as an anchor – it is a direct link to feelings and emotions.
• Baroque music has been shown to be effective in accelerated learning.
• It can bring a group of learners back down if they have come into the lesson over
excited.
• It can lift a group of learners.
• It helps with motivation, as a way of celebrating good work or behaviour.
• It expands horizons – diversity of recorded sound.
• It can tap into the likes and values of the learners.
• It improves memory.
• Music we like causes us to release dopamine – the ultimate feel-good learning
neurochemical.
How might this music help our mood
or activity?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wake me up before you go go
Schindler’s List
Moon River
Proud
Beethoven, Egmont Overture
Gladiator, Now we are free
Sound and Percussion Activities
Concentration, Listening, Fun
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clapping around the circle – each child makes a clap in turn. (Any child may make two quick claps to
change the direction of the clapping.)
One clap means sit, two claps means walk on the spot, three claps means walk in one direction around the
inside of the circle. Use different notes on a xylophone to control the actions.
Teacher sets pulse with clap and then adds a simple chanted phrase (‘I like orange and tea!) – the children
must copy.
Guess the sound – the children close their eyes whilst the teacher uses an object to make a sound (keys,
coins)
Pass the keys – a child stands with eyes closed in the centre, keys are passed around the circle quietly –
the child in the middle must identify where the keys are.
Musical daydream – the children close their eyes and listen to a piece of music – the children must
imagine a scene that changes as suggested by the music.
Musical feelings – The children listen to different pieces of music with their eyes closed and are asked to
imagine what feeling the music suggests.
Noises – teacher has noises hidden in a box, each noise is a different instruction – rattle: stand on head,
Scrunchy paper: kneel on all fours, Hooter: sit, fold arms
Music and movement – children stand in circle, fun music played, one child performs simple movement in
the centre keeping to the beat of the music. All copy before new child goes to centre.
1 2 3 – 1 = clap, 2 = click, 3 = stamp
Metre – with partner – hands touch on beat 1, clap on other beats. (Metre of 3 = hands, clap, clap)