@The Arts Unit Creative Classes
Shake the papaya tree
Learn about melody and rhythm while learning a fun song
Student music resource developed by The Arts Unit
Years 3 to 6 music
What will I learn?
You will:
learn the lyrics to a Jamaican children's song
sing a song, learning the lyrics and melody
explore the song's rhythm by playing a game with the lyrics
draw a papaya tree with some help
drum along to the rhythm in time to the music.
Welcome to the class
Duration: 00:20Before you begin
You'll need:
a clear space to move around safely
paper
pen, pencils, crayons, textas or paint.
Optional: a device to take photos.
- Learn
In this lesson, we will be exploring the Jamaican children's song 'Shake the Papaya Down'.
'Shake the Papaya Down' is a calypso song. Calypso music is folk music mainly from the Caribbean islands of Jamaica and Trinidad.
The lyrics of the song are:
Mama says no play, this is a work day.
Up with the bright sun, get all the work done.
If you will help me, climb up the tall tree
Shake the papaya down
Memorise the lyrics as we will be using these lyrics throughout this lesson.
Watch this video and sing along to the lyrics.
Shake the Papaya Down
Duration: 00:59What is a papaya tree?
Papaya is a type of tropical fruit. In Australia, we call them 'pawpaw'. The tree the fruit grows on is a papaya tree.
Papaya trees grow in hot climates like Central America, South America, Indonesia, India and Mexico.
The papaya tree can grow as high as 8 metres in height.
People climb the papaya tree to twist off the fruit. Sometimes children climb the papaya tree and shake the yellow fruit off the branches.
Papaya fruit are oval in shape. They are green on the trees and turn yellow or orange when ripe. Their centre is full of little black seeds. They are quite sweet to eat.
2. Sing and explore
Watch these 3 videos of Richard Gill helping some children practise the song 'Shake the Papaya Down' and join in.
Say the words in rhythm and then sing along. How do you sound when you say ‘down’?
Shake the Papaya Down – introducing the song
Duration: 03:35See if you can follow this tricky game with the words!
Shake the Papaya Down – a fun word game
Duration: 01:25Now try performing the song with the children in the video. Make sure you stand up!
Shake the Papaya Down – performing the song
Duration: 01:253. Draw
Let's see how you go drawing a papaya tree!
Watch this video for some great tips.
Draw along with the video using a pencil to create your papaya tree.
Colour in your papaya tree.
Draw the surroundings that you might find near your tree.
How to draw a papaya tree
Duration: 02:02
Check out these beautiful artworks created by students for Operation Art!
Bright Africa
Jacob McKinnon – Murringo Public School
The Colour Maker
Habib Hidayat – Hampden Park Public School
4. Drum along
Let's try the drumming rhythm for 'Shake the Papaya Down'
Re-watch the video 'Shake the Papaya Down' and take notice of the drumming hands in the corner of the video. The hands are playing the rhythm of the song.
Can you drum along in time to the rhythm?
Follow along with the video.
You could use a drum, a bucket or even tap on your knees, a table or desk to create the rhythm.
Keep practising until you can keep the rhythm.
Can you sing and play the rhythm at the same time? It is trickier than it looks!
Once you have mastered this you might like to teach the rhythm to someone else.
Shake the Papaya Down
Duration: 00:59Well done!
You have completed this
@The Arts Unit Creative Class.
Third-party content attributions
Bright Africa, © Jacob McKinnon, reproduced and communicated with permission.
The Colour Maker, © Habib Hidayat, reproduced and communicated with permission.