Page 15 - Level 1 Ukulele Lesson Plans

Teach the children ‘The Finger Game’ as outlined below. This game is great for developing finger dexterity, memory and processing speed.
1. Place your hands in front of you with palms facing. Fingers should be pointing to the ceiling. Keeping the heel of your hands and finger tips together, relax hands slightly to create space between palms (“creating a cave”) so you can see through them.
2. Tuck thumbs in slightly so they are out of the way (and so the children don’t confuse their thumbs with fingers).
3. Each finger is given a number (index = 1, middle = 2, ring = 3, pinkie = 4). This corresponds with the fingers used on the ukulele on the left hand in the fret spaces.
4. The idea of the game is to open and close each numbered finger pair as quickly as you can. So starting with finger pair 1, the teacher shouts out “one” and the students must open and close their index fingers (without opening and closing any others) as quickly as possible. Repeat with finger pairs 2, 3 and 4. Watch the video to see what we mean.
5. Vary the order of the numbers and speed. You might start slowly and get a bit faster.
6. You can also choose a volunteer to shout out numbers for the teacher to do.
7. Ask the children which they found the most difficult to open and close (usually the ring
finger).
5. Tuning (5 mins): ‘The Tuning Song’ written by Lucy Milan Davis
Remind the children how to hold their ukuleles. See activity 5 ‘Tuning’ from lesson plan 1 for instructions.
“Now let’s all find the G string. It’s string number 4 and it is closest to the ceiling.” Ask everyone to pluck the G string with their thumb.
“Now I’m going to play a G on my tuning fork and I want you to listen.” You play a G and then hum a G. The children will probably copy your hum as they did last week. If they don’t, then please encourage them to do so. “Now pluck the G string with your thumb. Does it sound the same? If it sounds the same then we know it’s in tune. Which number string did you just play (4)? And which note does it sound (G)?”
Remind the children how to use their thumb to pluck the strings. Tell them to start with the 4th string which is highest to the ceiling and move down to the first string which is closest to the floor. Encourage everyone to sing “GCEA Green Children Eat Ants” as they pluck the corresponding strings. Sing the motif slowly several times in a row without stopping until most of the children are joining in.
Sing the whole of ‘Time to Tune the Ukulele’ two or three times from the beginning, encouraging the children to sing the whole song and pluck “GCEA Green Children Eat Ants.”
Time to tune the ukulele, time to tune the uke.
GCEA Green Children Eat Ants.
Listen to the strings you’re playing, listen to the strings you’re playing. GCEA Green Children Eat Ants.
Are the notes too high, are they too low?
GCEA Green Children Eat Ants.
Time to tune the ukulele, time to tune the uke.
GCEA Green Children Eat Ants. Yum!
“Your second piece of homework for this week is to practice singing and plucking “GCEA Green Children Eat Ants”.
6. Song/Game (5 mins): ‘See Saw Up and Down’ (traditional)
© 2019 Lucy Sparkles LTD