Page 2 - Level 1 Ukulele Lesson Plans

Level 1 Ukulele & Musicianship: Week 1 (60 mins)
Materials
Teacher’s ukulele, sparkly magic bag, a homework booklet for each child, G tuning fork, set of hand bells for each child, chair for each child (placed in a circle) and parachute
Lesson Plan Summary
Arrival/Tuning
Welcome Song: ‘Hello, Hello’ & ‘Hello Everyone’ Getting to Know Your Ukulele
Finger Dexterity: ‘Dinosaur Fingers’ Tuning: ‘The Tuning Song’ Song/Game: ‘Chop, Chop’
Plucking the Ukulele: ‘The Tuning Song’ Song/Game: ‘Bell Horses’ Strumming the Ukulele: ‘Bell Horses’
Let Off Steam!: ‘Here We Go Up and Down’ Singalong: Teacher’s Choice!
Important Reminders for Every Lesson!
“Ready”:
Sing “ready” before you sing a song or say “ready” before you say a rhyme, unless you are demonstrating a song or rhyme for the first time. This introduction should clearly indicate the pitch and/or tempo of the song or rhyme so the children know when to come in and at what note if it's a song. Singing or saying “ready” will also encourage children to join in. There is no need to use “ready” when you are demonstrating a song or rhyme for the first time because you want the children to listen, rather than join in. When volunteers perform as soloists or as duets, make sure to bring them in with “ready”.
Singing Instructions: Make sure to use singing instructions throughout all of your lessons (including singing ‘Let’s Make a Circle’ every time you need a circle and “stand up” when you want everyone to stand and “sit down” when you want everyone to sit down). See the last page of your seasonal Song Banks for further instructions.
We sing instructions for many reasons including to keep up the flow and energy of the lesson, to keep all aspects of the lesson musical and simply because children tend to respond better to sung instructions than spoken ones. In addition, singing “stand up/sit down” as indicated in the seasonal Song Banks develops pitch awareness. When you sing middle to high pitches the children stand and when you sing middle to low pitches the children sit (so they are physicalising the pitch).
Ukuleles Under Chairs: It’s important that the children keep their ukuleles under their chairs during activities where they are not required to hold or play them. We haven’t written in the plan every time the children need to take them out or put them away as have assumed that you will know to do this instinctively.
Turn Taking: There are lots of opportunities for volunteers to answer questions, come up with ideas, perform solo and perform as part of a duet throughout every lesson. Try to spread the opportunities for volunteers as evenly as you can.
Sparkly Magic Bag: Use your bag to conceal and reveal props in an exciting way throughout the lessons.
1. Tune the Children’s Ukuleles as they Arrive (5-10 mins MAX)
Option A (if you or the school are providing the ukuleles): have the ukuleles pre-tuned before class and place each one under a chair. The children should only touch/hold their ukuleles when it is time to play, the rest of the lesson they should remain untouched under the chairs. Skip this section
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