The Sandcastle Song (vocal version)

VIDEO DESCRIPTION:

Play, download and edit the free video The Sandcastle Song (vocal version).

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

Mary McCammon, the composer, says: "I wanted the song to work on two levels – the idea of a real sandcastle on the beach and of a place where people co-operate to build something together."

Talk to your class about the difference between castles in the sand (real) and castles in the air (metaphor). This could lead on to a discussion about making things as a team, using co-operation rather than competition and will link well with the key competencies. It is another excellent example of verse / chorus form and to reinforce the concept of this form, there could be one group that sings the chorus every time and then use soloists or small groups for the verses.

This song is easy to sing and would be ideal for music-making in your classroom at the beginning of the year, when children still remember the beach and holiday play. It’s a catchy song with a slowish beat that children can easily play along to with body percussion and untuned percussion. Buckets make great percussion instruments too and would be very appropriate to use with this song. The children could hunt for natural environmental sounds that they could add to the song as well e,g, harakeke stems, sand in a container, swishing water etc.

The following link will take you to a unit based around this song artsonline.tki.org.nz/Teaching-and-Learning/Secondary-teaching-resources/Music-Sound-Arts/Units-and-sequences/Into-Music-1-Classroom-Music-in-Years-1-3/The-Sandcastle-Song-by-Mary-McCammon

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