Once Upon A Sound Story Beginning Composing Through Nursery Rhymes

This is a set of ELEVEN nursery rhymes with key words highlighted slide-by-slide to guide students through beginning level music composing. Students enjoy the familiarity and brevity of the nursery rhymes and LOVE getting to choose the instrument sounds to correspond with elements of the story.

Here's how I have used it in my own classroom:

• I pull out as many instruments as I would like to allow my students to explore. Often these are instruments we have already introduced, but sometimes I use sound stories as a way to introduce new instrument sounds as well.

• I introduce the concept of sound stories to my students by first using the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill."

• I first read the nursery rhyme in its entirety. Then I begin adding instruments to the story, but only one word at a time. "Jack" (two shakes of a maraca). Pass 1-3 of these to students who are on task and have them sit together as a section. Say it again. Have the student play the instrument when the word "Jack" is spoken again. "Jill" (three shakes of an egg shaker). "Jack" (pause for student to play) and "Jill" (I demonstrate the egg shaker again, then pass 3-4 of these to different students and have them sit together as a section). "Went up" (ascending glissando on bells). "Jack" (pause for instrument) "and Jill" (pause for instrument) "went up" (demonstrate ascending glissando again, then pass to a student). This repetition and addition of instrument continues until all parts of the nursery rhyme are covered and all students have an instrument, depending on your inventory. You could also have students take turns and trade off parts.

• After I demonstrate Jack and Jill, students are given three choices to vote on for their own nursery rhyme and tasked with choosing sounds for their compositions. As with the demonstration, this is done word by word.

Ways you can use this:

• Whole-class activity

• Small-group activity

• Small-group activity with final presentation to peers

• Stations/centers activity

Nursery Rhymes included are:

• Little Miss Muffet

• Jack Be Nimble

• Humpty Dumpty

• Jack and Jill

• Hey, Diddle Diddle

• Itsy Bitsy Spider

• Little Bo Peep

• Hickory Dickory Dock

• Pat-a-Cake

• Old Mother Hubbard

• Mary Had a Little Lamb

The best part? Students LOVE performing these for their homeroom teachers when they show up to pick them up from music! I hope you and your students ENJOY!