Learning Objectives: Students will use their inner hearing and practice doing actions to a familiar song.

Steps:

1. Read the following verse: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” - Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV).

2. Reflect on this verse. Isn’t it cool that God knew us even before we were made? He knew how we would look, what our voice would sound like, what our favourite movie is, and He put us together exactly how he wanted us! He made us all unique; we have different appearances, speak different languages, come from places all over the world, and represent many different cultures and backgrounds. Let’s celebrate this uniqueness! It’s so wonderful to learn about other people and their cultures.

3. Try the following activity:

   • Think about how cool our bodies are and how amazing it is that God made each part just right for you! Watch Video 1 to learn a little bit more about this.

   • Have you ever heard the song “Head and Shoulders"? Try singing it now if you remember it. If you don’t know it, you can sing along with Mrs. Kaefer in the beginning of Video 2.

   • Now let’s learn this song in another language called Michif! Did you know that Michif is a mix of the French, Salteaux, and Cree languages, and is spoken by the Métis people? Click on this link from the National Arts Centre and try singing along to the song sung in Michif (created by Sherryl Sewepagaham and Nicole Schutz): You can find this audio file and more resources at the National Arts Centre website.

   • If you need help with the sound of the words, here is the vocabulary guide to the Michif translation of “Head and Shoulders” as found on page 41 in the artalive.ca guide “Nitohta: Listen to Earthsounds - A Teacher Resource Guide on Listening and Creating” by Sherryl Sewepagaham (Cree-Dene) and Nicole Schutz (Métis):

Head = tet

Shoulder = l’ipool

Knee = aen zhnoo

Toes = lii zaartay

Eye = zyeu

Ear = zaray

Mouth = la boosh

Nose = li nii

You can also explore more words in Michif here! Type in the English word, then see what it is in Michif and listen to how it is pronounced.

• Would you like a challenge? Try singing the song with the actions, and leave out one of the parts of the body from the song, touching that body part only. For example, touch your shoulders but don’t sing it. You’ll have to sing the word in your head instead to keep the song going! First try it in English, then in Michif! If you need an example, continue watching the video of Mrs. Kaefer (Video 2) and follow along.

4. Pray a quick prayer thanking God that you were fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank Him for all the other children He created too who are different from you that you can play with and learn new things from.

Just for Fun! Do you want to try committing Psalm 139:14 to memory? Sing along to Video 3 and by the end of the song we are sure you will know it by heart!

Learning Objectives: Students will learn about keeping a steady beat while making changes in tempo. They will practice making tempo changes suddenly and gradually.

Steps:

1. Read the following verse: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;” (Psalm 136:1-26) (ESV)).

2. Reflect on the verse. Count how many times in the verse you see the word “steadfast.” What does the word “steadfast” mean? Why does the verse say that God is steadfast? Our lives are always changing, and some days can have so much change in them that we feel our lives are getting crazy! Sometimes the changes are good, and sometimes it feels like there are just too many changes for us to handle. Something cool that the Bible tells us is that God never changes, and that he will always be steadfast and a source of peace in our lives.

3. Try the following activity:

   1. Find an object in your house that can make a nice steady beat, or you can use your hands to clap the beat! Watch the video by Mrs. Kaefer and try to keep the beat on your instrument.

   2. Now, try and make your own tempo changes! First play a very slow beat on your instrument. Make it gradually faster and faster until the beat is going very quickly!

   3. Then, try and make a very slow beat, then suddenly switch to a very fast beat. Switch back and forth between fast and slow beats!

4. Answer the following question:

   1. When you changed from fast to slow and slow to fast did the rhythm you were playing change?

   2. Is the beat always steady even through tempo changes or do the notes change?

Say a quick prayer thanking God that he is always steady through the crazy changes in our lives - just like the beat in music!

Learning Objectives: Students will practice creating movements that match tempo, feelings, and volume in music.

Steps:

1. Flags are a wonderful example of a “visual.” A visual is an object that we look at to remind us of something, or to help us understand an idea. In the Bible, one of the names for God is Jehovah Nissi - The Lord Our Banner. God is compared to a Banner because just like a flag, we look to Him when we need hope, or to remember that He is taking care of us and representing us.
   Sometimes, Christians wave flags and dance to worship God because it reminds us that the Lord is our Banner. They are also used because they are beautiful to look at and it’s wonderful to worship God through many different ways such as singing, dancing, playing instruments, and waving flags!

2. Similarly, in music we can use flags as visuals to represent the music we are playing or listening to. Instead of “hearing” the music in this activity, we will try to “see” and “show” it. For this activity, you will need to find a scarf, light blanket, or ribbon. The item you choose should be safe to wave around freely without knocking over anything or touching anyone around you.

3. Make sure you have a lot of space to move your body and flag! In Video 1, you can follow along with Mrs. Kaefer to get some ideas of how to move your flag to this worship song. If you want to try it on your own, play Video 2 for the same song, “Praise Goes On” by Elevation Worship, posted by Sony Music Entertainment. Listen carefully to the music.

   • Listen for when the music is quiet and when it is loud. Listen for fast and slow tempos. Listen for more instruments joining the music, or less playing. Start to move your flag to these changes in the song. When should the flag go higher or lower? When should you move it faster or slower? There are lots of ways you can move your flag to the music. Try some different ways and see what you like best!

   • Here’s an example of how you can move your flag: When the music is quiet, try to keep your flag down lower to the ground. This will represent quieter sounds and show others that the music is quiet. When the music gets louder, keep it up above your head to show others that the music is louder. If the music is calm and there are not many instruments, keep your movements calm. If it is busier and if you can hear more rhythms, make your movements busier too!

**Video of Mrs. Kaefer or any portion of it may not be posted to any social media platforms or any electronic media outside of this Alternative Learning space.

Learning Objectives: Students will learn the difference between a pitched and unpitched instrument and create their own composition.

Steps:

1. Read the following verse: God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. – Genesis 1:31. In Genesis, it says that everything that God has made is beautiful and that God called it good. The flowers, trees, the seas and people were all good creations! It is also very cool that God has given people the ability to be creative and make things too. It’s even more cool that if we give the things we make to God, He can use them for great purposes!

2. In the last few lessons, we created instruments using household items like bowls, pots and pans, sticks, etc. However, all of these were unpitched instruments and cannot be used to make melodies to sing to. This week we are going to make pitched instruments that can make higher or lower sounds! Find some glasses that are the same size and fill them with different amounts of water. Gently tap the side of the glass with a kitchen utensil such as a spoon.

3. Questions: Did the glasses make different sounds or the same sounds? If they were different, which one made a higher sound? Was it the one filled with more or less water? Which one made the lower sound?

4. Now we are going to get creative! Follow Mrs. Kaefer (see Video 1) to make your own song on the glasses.
   **Video of Mrs. Kaefer or any portion of it may not be posted to any social media platforms or any electronic media outside of this Alternative Learning space.

5. Questions: What did it feel like to make your own song? Was it difficult or easy? Say a quick prayer and ask God to use your music to bless others. Imagine how happy your song can make people if they heard it!

6. Would you like a challenge? Try uses different sizes of glasses (instead of water in the glasses) to create a pitched instrument with different notes. Does the glass size matter? What about the material of the glass? Does plastic or wood sound different than glass?

Just for Fun! In Mrs. Kaefer’s video, she notes that you can use food coloring to make the glasses look like a xylophone! Watch Video 2 to learn how to make one yourself.

Learning Objective: Students will learn how the beat and the rhythm of a song are different.

Steps:

1. In Jeremiah 31:35, we learn that God has created the world with patterns that show us that He exists and has the world in the palm of His hand! “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name.” If He has planned the way the stars and the moon move, how much more do you think He plans and cares for your life!

2. In music, we can find God’s patterns too! Last week we kept a steady beat on our homemade instruments. This week, we will learn about rhythm! Find two objects that can be hit together to make sound (some examples are cups, sticks, kitchen utensils, drumsticks are best). Make sure you check with a parent or guardian first to make sure you have permission to use the "instrument" you have chosen. Follow with Mrs. Kaefer in the first video and play the beat and rhythm on your instrument.
   **Video of Mrs. Kaefer or any portion of it may not be posted to any social media platforms or any electronic media outside of this Alternative Learning space.

   1. • The music used in Mrs. Kaefer's video can be found here.

3. Review with a family member: What was the difference between the rhythm and the beat? Which one followed the words and which one kept the “heartbeat” of the song? How can playing beat or rhythm along to a song make it sound nicer? Why does God put patterns in music? How can patterns remind us that God exists and that He loves us very much?

4. Would you like a challenge? Play the second video, "One Way." See if you can play the beat of the song and then the rhythm (play along with the words of the song) all by yourself!

Learning Objectives: Students will understand that instruments have different timbres because of the materials they are made of. Students will practice keeping a steady beat to a song.

Steps:

1. God loves when we worship Him. King David in the Bible talks about using different instruments to worship God. (Psalm 98:5-7 “make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”)

2. Make your own instrument! Find a few different items in your house that are hollow (they have empty space inside of them). They will be the best instruments because of the hollow space inside. You can use pots and pans, plastic bowls, cardboard boxes, plastic cups, and more. Tap on each instrument with the palm or fingers of your hand.

3. Answer the following questions by yourself or with your family: How does the instrument sound? (High, low, deep, woody, sharp, soft, makes short or long sounds?) What is the instrument made of? Do you think the material of the instrument changes how it sounds? Why or why not?

4. Now it’s time to play your instrument! Use it to keep beat to a favourite worship song. If you can’t think of one today, try “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" (video link provided in this lesson). Remember that musical beat is like your heart beat—It’s steady and does not go too fast or too slow. It might help to tap the beat on your heart first, then try putting the beat on your new instrument.

• If you are in Grade 3, you might like this extra challenge. An ostinato is a short repeated rhythm pattern. Try making a short ostinato using ta’s and ti-ti’s and play it to the song. Remember that the pattern needs to be repeated. If you need a little help, check here for examples of ostinati.

Learning Objective: Explore movement to music in a variety of different ways.

Steps:

1. Did you know that God knows everything about you? He made you in His image and that is something to celebrate! He loves every part of you.

2. Sing and dance along to "Every Move I Make" by Hillsong Kids (see Video 1).

3. Brainstorm with your family other body part songs you might know. I bet you know "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Did you know there are many different versions of this song? Mr. Chris has created a fun hip-hop version for kids to dance to (see Video 2). Can you sing and do the actions to this song in another language? Are there any other body part songs that you can think of?

4. How else can we move our bodies and explore different body parts? Start by picking a favourite upbeat worship song; if you can't think of one, try "Alive" by Hillsong (see Video 3). Have a parent, guardian, or sibling play and pause the song for you. At every pause, they can name a new body part for you to touch to the floor (knee, elbow, wrist, bottom, belly button, thumb, etc.). Get creative with the different shapes you make when you freeze!

5. Still needing to get some energy out? Explore how you can keep the beat to the music using different body parts. Can you clap the beat with your hands? Stomp the beat with your feet? Crawl the beat on your knees? Tap the beat with your elbows? Poke the beat with your fingers? What about your hips? Head? Shoulders? Be creative! Grade 3 students, you can extend this by creating a 4 beat rhythm pattern that you can perform to the music (for example, ti-ti / ti-ti / ti-ti / ta). Use the song "You Are Good" by Bethel Music Kids (see Video 4). Remember that in all circumstances, God is GOOD!