Room on the Broom. Halloween activities in the music class for the younger ones.

If you are looking for fun Halloween activities in the music class for the younger ones, make sure you check the book

Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson

If you have the book at home, encourage the students to predict what the story is about 

from the cover. 

If not use use an online picture of the book and do the same. After the conversation read the book or use the suggested video link below and  watch the story together.

And here:

While reading  the story aloud to the children, emphasise the two refrains that begin ‘Down!’ cried

the witch and ‘Yes!’ cried the witch. Encourage the children to join in with these sections,

always using the same intonation and emphasising the rhythm, so that they become very

familiar with the repetition of the chorus through the story. 

Come up with a rhythm together and then clap out the rhythm with the children as you read.

Now agree some simple hand, face or body actions to accompany the refrains. These can

be done as part of a more physical drama/music/movement activity. Make small groups and assign  individual tasks to

 each one of them, Challenge the groups/children to think of simple ways of miming

the movement of the different animals as they climb on the broomstick. 

Read the story again, inviting the children to recite and act out the refrains as you come to

them.

Retell the story with your child/children, As a development, you can now ask the children to continue the actions without the words,

whilst you hum or clap out the rhythm. Focus will be on trying to keep the actions in time. 

Make a Soundtrack of the story.

• Ask the children if they can think of any sounds or noises from the story. Encourage them to think of sound effects for the wind blowing, rain, splattering, frog hopping etc.

•  Create a story map with pictures, together with your students to help them keeping the plot. Make some notes on when to include some sounds from the main characters, the weather etc to build tension or to show atmosphere (use the previous activity to help them). Encourage children to make the sounds using, voice, bodypercussion, tapping on the table or floor or even using some percussion instruments you have in the classroom.

• After you have finished together with the story map and all the notes of the sounds,  give them time to practice and then start a performance of the story while rereading the book to them, asking the children to signal every time they come across a sound in the narrative.

• Teach the story song and repeat it every time they come across in the story. Find the song here

You can also print out and laminate  some pictures to help you make a story map here  and here.

You can print out the paper figures of the characters here. 

More activities can be found here.

Extend:

Perform the story following the map and soundtrack as part of the  halloween party of the school. 

Watch the story on youtube and compare the sounds used at the video to the sounds the students came up alone. You can find the video here:

Recourses:

Study Guide ,Tall Stories Theatre Company www.tallstories.org.uk 

https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/early-years