Page 333 - KSPK ENGLISH LANGUAGE

5. Songs, rhymes and chants

Song, rhymes and chants are important inclusions in the preschool English lesson.
 A song is sung to music, it may or may not contain rhyming lyrics.
 A chant does not need music to accompany it, but instead follows a strong rhythm or beat. It will
also be quite repetitive.
 A rhyme, or a nursery rhyme in most cases, can be spoken or sung, as many nursery rhymes are
now accompanied by music. A rhyme contains a strong rhythm and rhyming words and plays and
important role in developing children’s phonological awareness.

Singing, and saying rhymes and chants in the classroom contributes to a child’s whole development in a
variety of ways:
 Socio-emotional development
 Singing, chanting and rhyming together is a truly social act.
 It allows for non-verbal and verbal participation, so everyone can join in.
 Singing, chanting and rhyming in groups involves co-operation.
 Cognitive development
 It repeatedly supports automatised language use.
 It is an enjoyable way to develop memory.
 It reinforces basic skills in numeracy and literacy.
 Creative development
 It involves listening and responding, co-operating and self-expression.
 It can develop children's imaginations and their ability to express ideas in dance and gesture.
 Physical development
 It helps develop sequencing and co-ordination.
 Songs, chants and rhymes with actions develop gross and fine motor control.
 Linguistic development
 It stimulates auditory discrimination.
 It supports development of phonemic awareness.
 It reinforces the stress, intonation and rhythm of words and phrases.
 It provides good language models.
 It is a good way of learning to construct phrases and sentences.

Introducing a song, chant or rhyme

When introducing a song, chant or rhyme follow these steps:

1) Pre-song, chant or rhyme activity–Focuson making connections
Contextualise the song, chant or rhyme.
 What is it about? Why are we singing / saying it? Can we use visuals to support their
understanding?

Provide exposure
 Before sharing the song, chant or rhyme, ask children to listen for something, either a particular
word, or set of words – use flashcards for children to point to.
 Play or say the song, chant or rhyme lyrics. Give feedback about what they were listening for.
 Play or say the song, chant or rhyme and pause, so children can imitate the lyrics and copy the
mimes.
 Play the song, chant or rhyme again and encourage children to join in where they can and mime

2) Song, chant or rhyme activity– Focus on accuracy and understanding
Encourage production
 Play the song, chant or rhyme over a number of lessons, giving children lots of opportunity to pick
up the lyrics and join in successfully. Do this in different ways, e.g.
i) Sing louder and softer.
ii) Sing in groups, e.g. boys and girls, or verse groups.
iii) Prepare table activities to reinforce the sequence or concept within the song, chant or rhyme.

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