Page 35 - Level 1 Ukulele Lesson Plans

heard. “Did they sound the same?” The answer should be yes as you will have pre-tuned their ukuleles.
Next, play the G string on your ukulele and ask the children to hum the note they heard. “Does my G string sound the same (no)? That’s right it doesn’t, because it is out of tune. There is a mischievous pixie who just loves turning the pegs on my ukulele when I’m not looking and so it keeps going out of tune! Does it sound too high or too low?” Play the tuning fork and then your G string again if they aren’t sure. “Which part of the ukulele do we need to turn to help the string to make the right note (a peg)?” Show the children how to find the peg that’s connected to the G string. Show them how to turn it to go higher and lower. Then ask the children to remind you if it needs to be higher or lower to be the same as the tuning fork. Next, tune the string by ear.
Sing the whole of ‘Time to Tune the Ukulele’ twice, encouraging the children to join in singing the whole song and plucking “GCEA Green Children Eat Ants.” Remember to pluck a C as you say ‘Yum!’ at the end.
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!
NB: The mischievous pixie returns throughout the rest of the course. If you feel like being creative, you can introduce a finger puppet to be the pixie and have funny arguments about keeping your ukulele in tune!
6. Song/Game (7 mins): ‘See Saw Up and Down’ (traditional)
Have 8 hearts drawn on the whiteboard (in two rows of four). Everyone sings the song as you tap the hearts in time with the pulse. “What was I tapping in time with (the pulse)?”
“Let’s fill in the words!” Sing the song as you tap the hearts in time with the pulse, stopping 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. Everyone sings the song as you tap the words in time with the rhythm. “What was I tapping in time with (the rhythm)?”
© 2019 Lucy Sparkles LTD