Vocal Exploration Fun

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🎯 Lesson Overview

Lesson Title: Vocal Warm-Ups and Voice Types
Unit: Vocal Adventures Unleashed – Lesson 1 of 3
Year Level: Foundation (Prep)
Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 20 students
School: Bundarra Primary School

Teacher’s Focus:

• Creating early positive experiences with vocal expression
• Embracing hands-on musical exploration and play-based learning
• Incorporating music games and student-centred discovery

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🧭 Curriculum Alignment

Australian Curriculum - The Arts: Music (Foundation to Year 2)
Content Descriptions:

• ACAMUM080 – Explore and learn through singing, moving, and playing instruments.
• ACAMUM081 – Sing and play instruments to improvise, practise, and perform music.
• ACAMUM082 – Respond to music and show where and how music is used in their lives and communities.

General Capabilities:

• Literacy (listening, speaking clearly and expressively)
• Personal and Social Capability (self-awareness, respectful listening)
• Critical and Creative Thinking (exploring creative vocal sounds)

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🎶 Learning Intentions

By the end of the lesson, students will:
✅ Understand how to warm up their voices using breathing and posture
✅ Recognise different ways the voice can be used (whispering, talking, singing, shouting)
✅ Use their voices expressively and safely during vocal exploration games
✅ Practise listening skills by responding to musical instructions

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📚 Resources Required

• Music speaker
• Backing track – soft instrumental music for breathing exercises
• Visuals/Puppet prompts (e.g., Whispering Wizard, Singing Snake, Talking Turtle, Shouting Shark)
• Mirror (optional, for checking posture/facial expressions)
• Set of scarves or feathers for breathing activity
• Floor spots or small mats for group circles
• Mini whiteboard and marker
• "Vocal Traffic Lights" Game Cards (Red = Whisper, Orange = Talk, Green = Sing, Blue = Shout)

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⏰ Lesson Breakdown

1. Welcome & Settling In (5 mins)

• Students enter to quiet instrumental music
• Greet students in a whisper, then a talking voice, singing voice, and finally a cheerful shouting voice (demonstrate indoor shouting — loud but not yelling)
• Invite students to greet the class back trying different voice types
• Introduce the unit: "We’re going on a Vocal Adventure! Our voices are like musical instruments!"

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2. Breathing & Posture Warm-Up (10 mins)

• Discussion: “Why do singers warm up their voices?”
  → Link to sport warming up the body
• Activity: Feather Breathing
  • Each student sits or kneels with a feather or scarf
  • Slow breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth to move the scarf
  • Use soft music in the background
• Check-In: “How did that feel in your body?”
• Posture Check: Stand tall like a ‘Singing Soldier’ – shoulders relaxed, feet apart

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3. Exploring Voice Types (15 mins)

"Meet the Voice Friends" Puppet Show

• Introduce four puppet characters:
  • Whispering Wizard 🧙‍♂️
  • Talking Turtle 🐢
  • Singing Snake 🐍
  • Shouting Shark 🦈 (has an inside voice roar)
• Role-play examples for each character

Students Respond:

• Use a mini whiteboard to display emojis or symbols
• Teacher makes a sound – students guess: “Was that whisper, talk, sing, or shout?”
• Switch roles: students make sounds; class guesses

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4. Game Time: Vocal Traffic Lights (15 mins)

Instructions:

• Each "light" corresponds to a voice type:
  🟥 Red = Whisper
  🟧 Orange = Talk
  🟩 Green = Sing
  🟦 Blue = Shout
• Teacher calls a colour → students respond using that vocal type with a set word (e.g., “Hello!”, “I love music!”, “Bundarra rocks!”)
• Variation: Teacher says a mood (happy, sleepy, excited) and students match with voice and expression

Extensions:

• Add movement (e.g., tiptoe while whispering, march while singing)
• Use musical instruments as cues (triangle = whisper, drum = shout, etc.)

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5. Cool Down & Reflection (10 mins)

Activity: “Put Your Voice to Bed”

• Gentle humming → soft singing lullaby together (e.g. “Twinkle, Twinkle”)
• Stretch arms up high, then relax to floor
• Sit in a circle
  Reflection questions:
• “Which voice did you like using best today?”
• “Why is it important to warm up our voice before singing or shouting?”
• “When might we use a quiet voice? When can we use a loud one?”

Use puppets again to help prompt answers from quieter students

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📝 Assessment for Learning

Observational Checklist:

• ✅ Participates in vocal warm-ups with correct posture
• ✅ Demonstrates understanding of voice types through games
• ✅ Can categorise voice types when prompted
• ✅ Uses voice safely (no straining/shouting inappropriately)
• ✅ Listens and responds to group instructions

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🔁 Differentiation

• For Diverse Learners:
  • Use body movements alongside auditory cues
  • Visual aids and puppets included for clearer comprehension
  • Allow non-verbal participation (e.g., pointing to voice cards)
• Challenge Opportunities:
  • Mini performances (student-led puppetry with voice types)
  • Layering sounds (using whisper & singing at same time for effect)

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📌 Teacher Tips

• Use dramatic expression to keep engagement levels high
• Reuse puppets across all 3 lessons for consistency
• Keep the volume balance in check – foundation students tire quickly
• Build class vocabulary by assigning classroom zones (e.g., “Whisper Way” reading corner)

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🥁 Looking Ahead:

Next Lesson (2 of 3): "Musical Storytelling with Voices"
Students will explore how to tell tiny stories using their voice, change pitch, dynamics, and simple sound effects to enhance their storytelling abilities.

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Have fun unleashing your students’ vocal potential!