Year 7-8 Singing

Singing for wellbeing

• Some students can be resistant to singing in Year 7-8. Focusing on the wellbeing aspects of singing and keeping sessions short and physical can help, for example, as part of a daily routine. Starting the day with waiata as part of your whanaungatanga can help the students bond, along with ending the day with a waiata or singing activity.

• Singing can help students with anxiety to relax: using deep, controlled breathing in singing has been proven to decrease cortisol, a stress hormone.

• At other times of the day, singing can be a quick way to energise students, or to change between activities.

• "Brain Breaks" during the course of the day, with a focus on having fun in an inclusive and spontaneous way using a mixture of teacher-chosen and student-chosen song in a class playlist (checking that the songs have appropriate lyrics.)

• Have a "class song," or "Friday afternoon karaoke," is a fun way to end the week - consider creating a shared class song-list (teacher moderated).

Keep it fun

• Find opportunities for your class to perform their songs.

• They respond well to moving with music - choreography and actions - or using instruments when they sing

• Use singing games that keep students challenged. 

Remind students that the classroom is a safe zone, and that you appreciate them taking part

The physical and emotional changes in these year groups can be huge, which will impact on the physiology of the singing voice and also the social act of singing.

Both boys and girls will experience changes in their vocal production, brought about by puberty. Girls' voices can often become quite breathy and lose vocal range. Voice changes are often even more pronounced for boys and can leave them feeling very vulnerable when singing. Boys with unchanged voices may feel self-conscious about still having treble voices, and those with changed voices may feel that their new voice doesn’t fit with the other singers in the class.

Remind students that if their voices are being unpredictable, they don't need to be stressed - it will be there another day. Students will be more inclined to take risks and try new things if there is a well established culture of feeling safe in the classroom and when singing.

Songs for literacy and learning

Students in Year 7 and 8 want more ‘substance’ in what they sing so it's great to keep the songs relatable!

• Enquiry learning - students can research waiata that connect to their kura or rohe.

• See here for the Awareness Days calendar of NZ events like NZ Sign Language Week, or Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week.)

• Ask students to write a story based on a song, adding an extra verse, changing the lyrics, or write their own song.

• Use songs as a way to learn about the world, diversity and multiculturalism.

• Use songs to reinforce learning and memorising - like times tables, or planets, or how to pronounce the vowels in te reo Māori. There are lots of these videos on YouTube, or you can use an existing tune and add your own words.