Music in Primary Schools -Classical Music for Christmas
Listening to classical music in primary schools is a great way to introduce students to the world of classical music and the orchestra- an element of the Irish Primary School Music Curriculum. Christmas is a fantastic time to incorporate the listening strand of the music curriculum into your classroom. Listening to and analysing music in primary schools has many benefits for students, including improving their aural skills, sparking their imagination and relieving stress.
The following pieces can be used at primary school level and include cross-curricular and extension exercises.
- Troika – Prokofiev: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHB7Gw5poTY
Play this piece for your class and ask them to imagine a Christmas scene in their minds. Get them to describe this scene to you and then draw a picture of it. For older classes, play the piece a second time and ask them to identify any instruments they can hear. They can make a list of these in their copy.
- Somewhere in my Memory – John Williams – Home Alone Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kHH6LJpEbQ
Take a poll of how many students in the class have seen Home Alone. Ask them to describe the plot. Play this piece of music for them and ask them to write a short Christmas story to go with it, based on their favourite Christmas memory.
- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy – Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1qLYukTH8
Show the students the video of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Ask them to describe the music in terms of speed, loud and soft, and mood. Play the video again and invite the students to dance along to it.
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