Musical Fun with Fuzzy
Musical Fun With Fuzzy introduces younger children to the joys of active music-making through singing, speaking, moving, dancing, playing and creating.
Make your own Fuzzy the Clown pop-up puppet and learn the basic elements of music.
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Teacher Pack
The Teacher Pack below contains all the lesson plans associated with this course as a single downloadable document.
All other activity sheets and course materials can be downloaded through the Lessons Tab.
The Curriculum Alignment document below maps this course against the Australian Curriculum.
The Curriculum Alignment document below maps this course against the Australian Early Years Learning Framework
Driving inquiry
What is the correlation between music and movement?
Maximising outcomes
Introducing music and movement from an early age
Students begin to learn at a very young age. The foundations for a successful lifetime are built during the formative years (between birth and eight years); therefore, the earlier students can be involved in music activities, the better. During this time, the brain grows at its fastest rate. By beginning music education at a young age, individuals have more of a chance of being meaningfully involved with music later in life as listeners, performers and creators.
The benefits of music education and singing
Music is for everyone. Individuals can contribute to the experience regardless of age or ability.
Music and singing are unique as they can develop a person holistically. Involvement in a music program helps to educate the individual intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally, aesthetically and creatively.
Music is an important part of the curriculum because it can develop all areas of learning. It promotes language, develops musical concepts, listening skills, social and physical development, self-confidence, relaxation, and enriches our intercultural understanding.
Music crosses language barriers and is an alternative form of communication and expression. We can dance to music and play instruments without words.
Discussions around the music and sounds created develop oral language and increased vocabulary skills.
If we hear, feel, think and do, we will remember and understand.
Creating a safe space in the classroom
The song, My Friend Fuzzy, has been written to provide each student with an opportunity to engage with a musical composition, and participate with peers by leading movement or playing an instrument. The song provides students with a safe, repetitive and predictable structure.
Participating in music and movement-based activities can be very intimidating for some students, and it is important to ensure that these activities are undertaken in a safe space, such as a classroom, a gymnasium, or a hall. This can be addressed in a number of ways:
Creating a safe space means creating a safe emotional and physical space.
A safe emotional space enables students to explore their creativity and take risks without being subject to ridicule.
It is important for you to be willing to get involved in these activities. Students are much more relaxed and willing to participate when staff members are also involved.
A safe physical space enables students to be free to move around, so it's best to run all music-and-movement sessions in an open space.
Guide students when they are using safety scissors to make their Fuzzy the Clown Pop-up Puppet.
Warming up
Warming up is very important in any music and movement session. Not only does it prepare the body for any physical or vocal work you may be doing, but it also helps to focus students and build a positive group dynamic. Some examples of warm-up activities are included in this resource.
Fostering creativity and expression
Music and movement are great ways to foster creativity and expression in students and can be a wonderful way of extending this creativity across other subjects. Students should feel that the music-and-movement space is one where they can express themselves freely and explore their creative potential.
All contributions are to be validated and celebrated. Students should feel acknowledged as creative leaders and as part of the classroom community. Group awareness, turn-taking, self-expression, initiation of ideas, engagement, fun, and developing positive self-esteem are all integral components of these activities.
It is hoped that students feel that they are successful in a school setting and that what they have to offer is valued and respected.
Tips
You do not have to be a good singer, have a musical background, play an instrument or have a special musical skill or ability to impart a love of music or to participate and enjoy these musical activities. All you need is motivation and enthusiasm to have fun and enjoy.
Try music-and-movement sessions in different places, such as outdoors.
Rituals and repetition are very important for young students. Use the same sequence of activities for the music-and-movement classes and start and end the same way. Use a puppet that sings "Hello" and "Goodbye" to the students each week. Begin and end by sitting in a circle.
Sing a lot of instructions, for example:
Who would like a turn this time?
Everyone sit down (or stand up).
Who's sitting quietly?
Minimise spoken instructions and use your singing voice and various actions and body percussion as signals.
Transition songs are useful to help the class move seamlessly from one activity or subject to another. Improvised lyrics can be used to accompany familiar tunes such as Hot Cross Buns, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or London Bridge is Falling Down.
Enjoy the process and have fun!
Beat: the steady and constant pulse in a piece of music, eg shown by tapping feet or clapping hands.
Body percussion: using parts of the body to create sounds to accompany singing, eg patting knees, clapping, clicking fingers or stamping.
Canon: a piece of music where all voices have the same melody and imitate each other, beginning at different times.
Chorus: the common repeated part of a song, dance or rhyme where everyone joins in.
Claves: (pron. 'clarvays') two wooden sticks to tap together.
Dynamics: the volume of music, eg loud or soft.
Echo: imitating rhythmic and melodic patterns through playing, singing, moving and body percussion.
Echo-sing: a word or line of a song sung by the leader and copied exactly by the group.
Improvisation: music which is created spontaneously and is appropriate to a context.
Non-tuned percussion instruments: non-melodic instruments which are struck or shaken, including tambours, tambourines, woodblocks, claves, bells, castanets and triangles.
Ostinato: (plural 'ostinati') in music, a short phrase repeated throughout the song, sometimes slightly varied, or changed in pitch.
Pitch: high and low sounds.
Rhyme: a spoken verse.
Rhythm: a recurring beat or pulse.
Rhythmic pattern: a recurring rhythmic phrase.
Round: a repeated Canon in which all voices are musically identical (same rhythm and pitch).
Speech echo: a word or line of a rhyme which is spoken by the leader and then copied exactly by the group.
Tempo: the speed of the music, eg fast or slow.
Unison: singing or playing the same melody line together at the same time.
Verse: a section of a song or rhyme which tells part of its story and is often linked by a chorus.
This is a valuable resource for the Dance and Music curriculums for the lower primary years. It is particularly relevant to content descriptions in both the Making and Responding strands. It emphasises improvising, exploring and experimenting, communicating ideas through artworks, and performing and presenting, as well as reflecting on artworks. The videos, audio tracks and activities provide the tools to create music, and the page that links to the ARTS:LIVE interactive virtual classroom also includes questions for response to the music creations and improvisations.
This resource also has relevance to the general capability Critical and creative thinking, particularly in relation to the organising element Inquiring - identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas. It includes identifying and practising the musical elements of rhythm, pitch and dynamics and their relationship to movement, and developing an understanding of the relationship between sound and movement through practising repetition and movement to accompanying music.
This resource also maps directly to outcomes outlined in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Specifically, this resource supports children 0-5 to become more effective communicators through engaging and making meaning via a range of new texts and mediums including songs.
More broadly, this resource supports very young children to meet the outcome of becoming more confident and involved learners by encouraging positive learning dispositions including creativity, imagination, cooperation and curiosity.
Produced by The Song Room with thanks to Susie Davies-Splitter, with support from Education Services Australia on behalf of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Video created by X:MACHINE Productions
Additional talent: Zoë Barry and Georgia Frey, with special thanks to the students from The Song Room holiday program
Additional audio: Susie Davies-Splitter
Learning Focus
Students are introduced to pitch, tempo, and dynamics through movement and voice activities.
Learning Focus
Students create an interactive puppet to use as a prop to explore pitch and rhythm.
Learning Focus
Suggestions for extension activities in Dance, Drama, Physical Education, English and Maths.