Sing Me In: Working in a school environment

1You might also want to check the handbook “Sing Me In: Including young people with migrant background in existing choirs” available as free download on www.SingMeIn.eu

2Idem 1.

3We are dealing here mostly with singing activities during the official school time, although some ideas will apply to after school activities. You can also refer to the handbook “Sing Me In: Including young people with migrant background in existing choirs”

OK, let’s do it!

Now, since you’re still reading this handbook, we assume you are convinced about the importance and usefulness of collective singing for your pupils. You are convinced, but are you ready? Let’s do it!

Define your own activity

Understand the expectations of the group

Before you start, it is important that you and your pupils develop a common goal. Make sure you avoid a global misunderstanding about singing. Although music is universal, your approach to music needs to be inclusive . What is music, singing, collective singing for the pupils? What does it mean to them? Are there differences and similarities between cultures? For some, music may be a competition of individuals on TV. Others may have musicians in their family, or have seen live music in concerts. Some may already be singing or playing an instrument, etc.

How can you achieve this understanding? Try to size up your pupils: What music do they listen to? Do they have experience in music making? What other factors may come into play? Based on this, you can choose the best approach for them, either directed towards active singing or active listening. An active group discussion about music might be an option with somewhat older children. For example, by showing them pictures of various types of musicians , different group settings, and asking them how they relate to what they see. The aim here is to foster a collective activity, so that the group discovers that all musical activities need the cooperation of several individuals (singers, musicians, composers, audiences, technicians, organisers, producers, engineers, etc.).

Be aware that not all pupils may want to sing in the beginning. Some may just be a bit shy, others may want to stand out. They can be included in the group in other ways, for example, by playing a simple percussion instrument. In this way, you create a safe environment in which everybody feels included.

Plan ahead, but be flexible

What are your aims? What are the stages of your activity? What are the changes and evolutions you are expecting from the project?

Your activity, like any project involving others, will likely evolve a bit differently from what you planned. Formalising it for yourself, and keeping in mind your final aims, can help you adapt to any changes that may present themselves. Know where you want to go, but be ready to take shortcuts, or use a different path! That means that you need to prepare a lot of different activities and prepare a variety of didactic tools before you start singing with the children. Keep the activities simple, but be very dynamic, so that the children are busy learning and exploring all the time.

Specific challenges to be considered for pupils with migration backgrounds

Regardless of their background, all children and young people are essentially the same. They all have the same abilities and potential, even if some of them might carry other skills, habits and views of the world. In most cases, any differences will be transparent to the collective singing activities. But sometimes, specific issues may arise, like in all pedagogical processes.

Below, we have listed a few examples of possible challenges, and indications on how to overcome them. This is not a limited or exhaustive list. As a group leader, you will have to be sensitive to subtle signs and indications. Try to clarify and find solutions that work for the group.

Challenges related to communicating with the group

Make sure your instructions are clear.

Speak slowly and clearly. Emphasise important words. Use simple phrases, avoid complex ones or passive constructions. Avoid metaphors, unless you’ve taught them to the children beforehand. Use transparent words, words that sound familiar in other languages. Use synonyms. Use examples. Be as concrete as possible, link what you say to what they can see. Use pictures, objects, gestures, sounds and music: Show, don’t tell.

Encourage exchange within the group.

Open up to the children, make eye contact, smile, greet them in their own language. Don’t speak too long, leave time for questions. Encourage dialogue. Let children make mistakes, but make sure that you, as a teacher, use correct and full phrases. Don’t repeat the mistake, but use the right word in your answer.

Challenges related to musical cultures

Be aware: Some cultures use other scales and temperaments (Turkey, Arab countries, India, Indonesia) or rhythms. Be aware of the fact that it might be difficult for children to sing in different tonel systems and keys, or to shift from reciting to singing and even to using head voice. Languages accentuate different consonants and vowels, and this may impact singing.	Differences should not be a handicap. Why don’t you try to sing a simple song in another language, from another musical culture, so that everybody can experience the challenge in a playful way. Appoint native speakers among your pupils as experts.
Make children familiar with collective singing. In some cultures there are hardly any live music performances, neither in organised contexts, nor in private homes. Voices are not used for singing.	Attending a concert during school time would be perfect. But you can also dedicate a few minutes to watch videos of collective singing: it provides an idea of what this art form is about.
Be aware: Some cultures are reluctant to involve the body in group activities (body percussion, touching each other, personal space). Others are more prone to involve dancing and direct contact. Pupils may have internalised these ideas.	Discuss it with the pupils and their caretakers. Make sure you always emphasize body percussion is about music making.

Challenges related to well-being

Many refugee children suffer from the consequences of chronic stress.

Children should feel safe, so that they are able to focus on learning again. Take the following aspects into consideration when you are dealing with refugee children. Try to: Increase a sense of safety Stimulate relationships Manage emotions Manage behaviour Involve parents Find help for the children and yourself Music activities can increase the sense of safety and belonging of refugee children and enhance their resilience. Do you want to learn more? This free online course can help: https://www.augeo.nl/en/theme/refugee-children/free-online-course/ (available in English, German and Dutch).

Blocked body: People who have encountered trauma often exhibit disrupted breathing and physical stress. Strong emotions might get triggered by music.

Music can evoke the entire range of human emotions. When you work with children who may have migration trauma, try working on attitudes such as respect, listening to each other, encouragement and appreciation instead of trying to deal with possible trauma.. Dealing with conflict-induced trauma is over and beyond the scope of this guide, and likely beyond the power of collective singing itself. If you detect behaviours that seem to point to such situations, such as extreme introversion or extroversion, apathy or aggressivity, lack of social bonding, etc., music may be a tool in a strategy that can only be developed with the help of psychologists or specialised pedagogues.

Challenges related to cultural or religious norms

Some pupils may think that their culture or religion prohibits some aspects of the collective singing activities: mixed gender, harmonised voices, public performance, non-religious repertoire, etc. Some pupils may ask themselves if they are allowed to fully participate.

Research the question. Get the basic facts on the relation between specific cultures and singing. Ask the pupils to find examples of famous songs and singers in their cultures of origins, or ask their families. Discuss the issue directly with the pupils to understand where the real problem lies: is it singing in a group, are public concerts possible, is it a specific song, is it the time of the rehearsal, is it something else? Address this problem, not the one you assume it may be. If need be, talk with colleagues, preferably those with the same background as the children’s parents. There should be open discussion with the school’s administration. They often know more about the background of the children and know how to assess them. Of course, a dialogue with parents or caretakers is a key to solving these issues. Finally, you can talk with a local religious authority. Pupils are often overzealous, to be on the safe side, whereas most cultures and religions are very open to letting youngsters sing and learn. Showing respect for cultural/religious norms is a way for some pupils to define their identity in a group. It can be contagious in both ways: if one child starts singing, others will follow. If one child stops, others maybe feel obliged to stop too. If you know the leader in the group, give him a positive role in the process. You can also let that child conduct the group for a song or let her/him do a solo.

To perform or not to perform? That is the question.

Working on musical content is exciting and inspiring for pupils. Sharing the results of the efforts can be a bonus! A public performance may be organised, but should not be an obligation. Both options have advantages. Remember that all parents are proud of their children, whether they perform or not. And the process is always more important than the result.

Project with a performance The performance provides high motivation, a clear aim, timeline and outcome. The pupils can be proud to show their accomplishments. It shares the integration project with the school and the local community. A performance involves the local community, including families with migration background. A performance is a promotion tool for the school and the project (local media, politicians, sponsors, etc.).

Project without a performance Energy and time is invested in and focused on the work with the pupils. There’s no stress related to a deadline, to exposure to the other pupils, colleagues, parents and community. The focus is on participation and integration. Silly songs can be used to help with the socialisation of pupils. Children love to change the lyrics of songs. It is easier for children to participate because their performance will not be seen in public and no pictures or videos will be taken and/or posted. It can be a first step, leading to a concert the following year or semester, once the teacher feels more comfortable and has acquired some experience.

You can also plan a more private performance for a select group of parents, other pupils, etc.

Create a favourable context

You may have a wonderful project design, brilliant ideas and the perfect repertoire, but in order to actually set up the activity, you will have to adapt to your local context: Are you authorised to undertake your project? Can you use a room in the school? Who can help you set-up a concert? How will the local community be involved and benefit from the singing activity? Can you finance costs related to the activity?

It may be wise to take the local context into consideration and be prepared to make it as favourable as possible by involving the whole school and other parts of the local community. You will need to talk to many people and this part of the preparation will take some time. But if it allows you to gather helping hands and local energies, you may also save a lot of time later in the process. And if it multiplies the impact of your effort in terms of integration, each minute invested may be doubly rewarded.

Take a look at your own project from the perspective of those you have to convince and involve. Every project can be described from different angles and has several possibilities for positive impact. Integration, participation and inclusion are generally in line with music making and pedagogical goals.

Invest resources

Collective singing projects can take many forms, but they don’t have to be expensive or complicated. You already have access to many ingredients for a positive singing session, such as:

You need:	You already have:
A space to gather and sing	Access to classrooms, or another shared space.
Time	10 minutes a day, which suffices. Collective singing does not have to be time consuming. It can be integrated in class rituals or related to the curriculum.
Musical skills	This guide to help you further. We believe that every teacher can lead a singing activity in the classroom. Even without previous experience or training in singing, even if the teacher believes s/he can’t sing, singing activities are possible.
Songs to sing	Access to our “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide”, as a free download on www.singmein.eu
Musical accompaniment	Either an available CD player, speakers to connect to a smartphone, or similar options. Maybe there are some instruments in the school, maybe even a piano somewhere?
An occasion to perform [optional]	Other classes or groups of parents for whom you can sign. Alternately, you can sing within the frame of a school event. Once again, singing is a flexible activity that does not have to involve complicated or expensive logistics.

Involve the pupils

Your activity is intended for the entire class or group of pupils, not just for those with a migrant background. The aim is likely to cultivate a positive collective feeling of belonging and to provide the children with a chance to be proud of their differences, like language, hobbies or music style. These differences create opportunities to interact with peers in and outside school and in subgroups.

A collective singing activity or project helps to forget about differences for a little while and gathers the group around a shared goal. As Anne Haugland Balsnes¹ writes: “In a choir everyone contributes to creating a collective sound. You learn new songs and develop skills. Choir singing gives experience of mastery, which furthermore contributes to increased self-confidence and the sense of being someone of importance and a resource for others”. Both the group and each individual pupil will benefit. The project’s title and the way you present it to the pupils make a big difference here.

Involve your school’s administration

In most situations, you can’t do anything in a school without, at least, the approval of the school administration. Even more so, if it implies extra hours, use of classrooms outside of school hours, financial support, etc. The school’s administration has to be involved at the relevant level. Every school and each national educational system has different priorities. If your school has a pedagogical project or concept, read it carefully to see how your project fits in, and how you can articulate your arguments with it. You can for example highlight that:

• integration projects benefit the whole school, not only pupils with a migrant background.

• collective singing has positive impact on the learning abilities and results of pupils.

• collective singing improves the cooperation between teachers and between classes.

• collective singing covers many areas of the official curriculum.

• collective singing has a low to moderate cost.

• collective singing may bring positive coverage from the local press.

Don’t forget to invite the administration to rehearsals. Share the joy and exposure with them. For example, organise an interview if you have press coverage.

Involve the school community

The aim of your project is to make sure that pupils find their place in the classroom. In the school, you may want to consider talking to the parent representatives, the other teachers, as well as the maintenance personnel, since they may be of great help if you have to set up a small event.

Involve parents and families

Parents and relatives (or caretakers) can be a wonderful asset for your singing activity, especially in an intercultural context. Some projects even start singing with the parents so they can experience the power of collective singing. Have you ever asked your pupils who sings at home? Or who has musicians in their family? Or if parents can bring in ideas of simple songs they used to sing as a child? With the additional help of the internet, you might find useful resources linked to these songs (like videos, or even scores and text).

If you notice that parents are reluctant about singing and music making, why don’t you introduce a singing activity for the parents? Show them what you do with the children and which songs you sing with the children. This will help them to understand that singing and music making can be great fun. And it may also help enhance the language skills of the parents with a migrant background.

Involve the local community

The aim of your project is to make sure that the pupils find their place in the greater community as well. In that case, you may find it useful to contact: existing local (children’s) choirs, local cultural associations, neighbourhood community centre’s, the library and any local organisations related to the cultures of origins of the young migrants. Let them know about what you are doing and find ways to collaborate with each other.

Involve professionals

Everybody can sing. Everybody can make pupils sing. This is true and proven. However, if you don’t dare set up a singing activity by yourself, you can always ask for help from professionals. There are many people who dedicate their life to perfecting musical and pedagogical skills: choir conductors, music teachers, instrumentalists, as well as music therapists and other experts on music.

Then, there is a whole range of people trained and experienced in social integration matters. In a lot of cases your project will gain tremendously by relying on qualified professional help. These professionals might even be able to dedicate some of their own resources to help you further. The key to success is to clarify the expectations and methods on both sides. You can use this handbook to share and discuss your idea and project, and from there develop a shared project with clear aims.

If you have the financial resources to hire a choir conductor or a music pedagogue, consider contacting your national or local choral organisation or the local music school. Local choirs or schools running singing activities might also provide you with other useful contacts. When discussing with a potential helper, you need to be as clear as possible on what your aims are in terms of integration, community building and coherence with your pedagogical programme. Providing your contact with a copy of this handbook may prove a good starting point for the discussion, to avoid misunderstanding and bring about a fruitful cooperation.

Of course, if you want to a hire professional, this will have a cost. It is not possible to provide a price estimation in this pan-European handbook. Your best option would be to ask your national or local choral organisations for an idea oft the standard fee for a choir conductor in your area. However, keep in mind that you might not only have to pay the actual working time, but also preparation time, travel costs, taxes and social security.

Find and involve ambassadors

The best ambassadors for singing are the children themselves. You can also use the support of famous local or national figures to promote and boost your activity.

Involve the media

For outsiders to any project, success is often measured in terms of media coverage. If you can trigger the interest of a local newspaper or radio station, the project might get support from the administration, local authorities or sponsors more easily.

In the specific case of projects involving pupils, recognition and publication of their work can also bring a real feeling of achievement and pride to the participants. Be sure to ask for explicit authorisation form the parents or legal guardians before sharing images of the pupils in the media.

Find and decide what to sing

 

Download the “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide”! A free guide to help you find relevant repertoire, musical games and activities to set-up your project. www.singmein.eu

 

You now have the motivation and the support you need, wonderful. But one question remains in your mind: what shall we sing? And how? Choosing the songs to sing and musical games to play may be easier than you think. In this section you will find some general ideas and inspiration.

But to help you go even further, we have also developed a “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide”, which you can download from our project website. It contains a curated list of songs and exercises that you can explore and use. They cover many cultural areas and are organised by age range. There are also links to video recordings, so that you can set up activities without having to read scores. Check it out! The organisation Musicians Without Borders also offers an online guide that is motivating and very practical:

https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/manual/

Just remember that the process is the main aim. The musical result is second, although quality is a motivation factor for kids too. Play it safe: go step by step and start with easy things to gain confidence in your ability and build the trust of your young singers. One aspect of singing with children is helping them find their own voice, the voice they speak with and the voice they sing with. This can be scary, so singing should be a fun and attractive activity.

Singing by heart – repeat and imitate

Music is sound, so the most natural way to share music is by listening and imitating. There are many different ways to let children learn songs just by ear. Here are some suggestions:

Imitate sounds

Imitating a sound in the right pitch can be quite difficult. It becomes a group activity when you pass the sound to another person in the group, who passes it on, and so forth.

Breathing is an important element in producing sound. A proper sound is produced by taking a deep breath using the diaphragm. Since children have a higher singing voice than adults, it’s important to choose high pitch sounds as well.

Know the song yourself

Make sure that you, as the teacher, know the song well enough. It does not mean that you have to have perfect pitch or rhythm. However, make sure you know the structure of the song. Practice it with a sound file or a video. Inform yourself about the correct pronunciation of the text. And listen carefully.

Once you start teaching the song, you can just sing the song and let the children repeat it. That’s easy, but not always the most fun or effective way, whereas listening first without singing will probably smoothen things out.

Listen to the song

You can sing it yourself or use a recording. A recording will often sound better. However, when children listen to the voice of their teacher, they have a bigger incentive. Pupils will listen carefully and may be surprised to hear that you sing too. And if they see you do it, they’ll be more likely to join in.

Ask questions about the song

For example:

• How often do the children hear a certain word?

• Which instruments do they recognize?

• Which language is the song in?

• What emotion do they hear or feel?

• Can they invent movements that fit with it?

• Would (body)percussion fit the song?

• Do the children have music instruments at home that would fit the music? Can they bring them?

Help them understand the structure.

• Does the song have a refrain or verses?

• Do you hear passages that are similar?

• Is there a clear formal structure?

For teachers who read scores, or those who can’t but have a good ear, it might be a nice idea to make a graphic score for the different phrases in the song. Let children guess which part of the graphic score fits each phrase. You can print or draw the graphic score on different pages and let the children put them in the right order.

All of these exercises are just a few examples to show that listening to music is the first step and therefore, very important. Depending on the song and your own background as a teacher, you can invent musical games without actually singing, thus allowing the children to get acquainted with the music in a seemingly passive way.

After having done some listening exercises, teaching the song will go much easier once you start singing.

And now you can:

• Sing and have the children repeat.

• Start singing and let children finish off the phrase in a group.

• Start singing, walk around and let just one person finish off the phrase.

Icebreakers

Icebreaker activities are great for introducing individuals in a group to each other for the first time and for setting the tone. In class situations, they are ideal tools in the beginning of the year or when new children have joined the class. It’s always fun to use them and by adding a musical link and singing, the children will sing without fear.

Easy icebreakers can be found on the internet, Partners for Youth Empowerment (http://pyeglobal.org/workshop-activities-icebreakers/), for instance, collect workshop activities.

Warm up

Start with a physical warming up: shake your body, clap your hands, make all kinds of noises. Singing is not a static activity, so don’t have the children sit down, rather let them move about in different ways.

Share names

This is an easy example to work with. Try calling out children’s names in combination with actions or rhythms, e.g. a basic pattern that can be used with a number of variations. The repetition paired with body movement or personal detail is a sure technique for remembering names.

• The leader (person #1) says his or her name.

• The group repeats it.

• The person to the leader’s left (person #2) then says his or her name.

• The group repeats it then goes back to the beginning of the circle repeating person #1’s name, then person #2’s name.

• Then it passes on to the next person to the left (person #3).

• Person #3 says his or her name; the group repeats.

• The group then goes back to the beginning of the circle repeating all the names of person #1, #2, #3 and then it passes on to #4. The pattern continues on around the circle.

The following icebreaker highlights group diversity in many ways:

• Play or sing a song. It can be one you would like to teach later. And ask the children to move around.

• Stop the music and let the children form pairs.

• The teacher asks a question, such as ‘What’s your favourite food?’ (or ‘Are you an early bird or a nighthawk?’, ‘What’s your hobby?’…)

• The children answer the question with their partner.

• Play the music again and have the children move again.

• Stop the music.

• The children choose a new partner.

• The teacher asks another question.

• Repeat for 4 or 5 times with a different question each time.

Here are some alternatives:

• Slap, clap, snap, snap: Begin a rhythm of slapping knees, clapping hands, snap right hand, snap left hand. Continue with a four-beat rhythm of slap, clap, snap, snap. The leader begins by saying his name during the snap, snap part of the rhythm. The group repeats the name. Person #2, says their name, and this continues around the circle to the left. You can either let everyone just say their name one after another or you can always add the last name to the list of other names, which are repeated .

• Name and action: The leader says his name while making a gesture, the group repeats, etc.

• Names and adjectives: Have each person say their name preceded by an adjective starting with the same first letter as their name,e.g. laughing Lucy.

Activities that show we belong to different groups

Everyone is different. Every individual belongs to different subgroups, depending on the definition of the subgroup. The country you come from or your cultural background are just a couple of the characteristics that define one’s personality. Some exercises can help the group understand that everyone can be different.

You can, for example, use grouping activities: ask the pupils to position themselves in the room according to different criteria, either in groups or on a line, in case you want numbered results, like “‘How many brothers and sisters do you have?’.

Here are some examples:

• How many languages do you speak?

• How many languages do you understand?

• Do you have long or short hair?

• Do you prefer pizza or French fries?

• Which language do you speak at home?

• What is your favourite food?

• Who has a cat at home?

• Who can play an instrument?

• How many brothers and sisters do you have?

• Etc.

Musical games

Clapping

Rhythm, dance and body percussion are very important and stimulating tools when working with children. Use them as much as you can. Easy clapping games help children to focus and develop their concentration. Start with clapping a rhythm and having the children clap it too. First the goal is to clap the same rhythm. But as you work on it, the goal should move to actually clapping together, really all together. Everyone should watch the others to make sure there’s only one sound being produced. A great exercise to work on as a group. You can also do this with cups or percussion instruments. You start with a short pattern but elaborate it the longer you work on it. Video examples of this are provided in the “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide” as well as on the www.SingMeIn.eu website.

Circle songs

In circle songs, a sound, a melody or a rhythm is passed on from one person to the next in a circle. Another variation of this is to pass a coin around while singing and one participant, whose in the middle, must find the coin.

A video example of this is in the “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide” and on the www.SingMeIn.eu website.

Sounds and nonsense texts

There are many songs that do not use specific language, but rather play with sounds. Thus, any language differences disappear and the challenge and fun are shared equally. Please bear in mind that some children don’t dare to improvise while they are singing. It might be easier for them to use rhythms and movements.

There’s a video example where sticks are used to dance together to demonstrate this in the “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide” and on our website: www.SingMeIn.eu

Simple songs

Singing can be used alongside routine activities, like starting the school day, cleaning up the room, grabbing jackets and bags, etc.

Just use simple songs that you like, search for children’s songs from your country, or use the “Sing Me In: Repertoire Guide” on the website: www.SingMeIn.eu