Page 31 - Level 1 Ukulele Lesson Plans

See saw up and down,
In the air and on the ground.
“Can you remember how many pulse beats there are in ‘See Saw’ (8)?”
“Let’s check to see if you’re right!” As the children sing the song and tap the pulse on their thighs, you draw 8 dots (in two rows of four) on the whiteboard in time with the pulse. Then, use those dots to draw 8 hearts on the whiteboard. You sing the song and tap the hearts with your marker (lid on) in time with the pulse to demonstrate the correct answer.
Next, choose a confident volunteer to sing the song on their own and tap the hearts in time with the pulse.
“Now watch carefully. I’m going to sing and tap the hearts in time with the pulse again, but I’m going to stop before I get to the end of the song.” Stop on the fourth heartbeat. Ask the children which word fits into the heartbeat you have stopped on (down). Write ‘down’ inside the first heartbeat.
Repeat twice, first stopping on the second heartbeat (saw) and then on the first (see). Make sure to write the words in the heartbeats. “How many words fit in this heartbeat (1)?”
“Which words fit in the third heartbeat (up and)? How many words fit in this heartbeat?”
Repeat with the second row of heartbeats (filling in the 8th then 5th then 6th then 7th hearts) until you have filled in all of the words.
NB: The children may not pick up on two words in some of the hearts. If this is the case, carry on filling in the other hearts and then when finished, ask the children which words are missing (the children may well notice what’s missing before you even ask!). E.g. They might only say ‘air’ for the 6th heart but then realise ‘and’ is missing once ‘on’ has been inserted.
“Now I can sing the song and tap the rhythm in the heartbeats. Sometimes one word fits in a beat and sometimes two.” Sing the song and tap the rhythm on the heartbeats, keeping the lid on your marker. Next, choose volunteers to do the same.
7. Plucking the Ukulele (5 mins): ‘See Saw Up and Down’ (traditional)
Remind the children how to hold their ukuleles. See activity 5 ‘Tuning’ from lesson plan 1 for instructions.
“Today I’m going to show you how to pluck the rhythm of ‘See Saw’.” You demonstrate singing the whole of ‘See Saw Up and Down’ as you pluck the 4th string (G) in time with the rhythm.
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