Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 2
Call and response singing in songs of the sea
I can sing my part in a call and response song and know that this structure is used in sea shanties and other songs of the sea.
- Year 2
Call and response singing in songs of the sea
I can sing my part in a call and response song and know that this structure is used in sea shanties and other songs of the sea.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- It is important to warm up before every music lesson to make sure that our minds, bodies and voices are ready.
- Many sea shanties have a call and response structure that features a call and then a response sung in unison.
- Working songs of the sea are sung on different types of boats.
- An echo song is a special type of call and response song where the call and the response are exactly the same.
Keywords
Sea shanty - a traditional folk song sung by sailors to help them work together in time
Call and response - a question and answer musical structure
Structure - the way music is organised
Echo - an exact copy of a musical phrase
Common misconception
Sea shanties were only sung on-board ships.
This unit features working songs of the sea that were sung on different types of boats, not just ships. For example, Tongo is a canoe song. It was sung to keep fisherfolk in time as they rowed in their canoes along rivers.
To help you plan your year 2 music lesson on: Call and response singing in songs of the sea, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 2 music lesson on: Call and response singing in songs of the sea, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 1 music lessons from the Singing together: how singing helps us work together unit, dive into the full primary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Licence
Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Why do we warm up our voice before singing?
Q2.The is the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock.

Q3.__________ is the way the music organised.

Q4.Match the singing structures.
question
answer
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Sea shanties often have a call and response .
Q2.True or false? Sea shanties were only sung on ships.
Q3.An echo song is a special type of call and response song where ...
Q4.Match the musical elements to their definition.
playing or showing the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock
the regular, steady heartbeat of the music
the pattern of sounds that we play and sing
the way the music is organised