This big list of vocal exploration activities for elementary students includes vocal activities, print activities, games, videos, exercises, lesson planning, crafts, and other engaging ways for children to explore pitch and their voice.
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What Is Vocal Exploration?
Vocal exploration is a fun way for children to discover what their voice can do! It’s very much like creating sound effects with vocal swoops and sirens as well as understanding the difference between their speaking voice and singing voice.
Vocal exploration leads to a child’s confidence using their singing voice and better pitch matching.
Videos for Vocal Exploration
I Make the Face, You Make the Sound
Kids will love making sound effects for animals. Cats meowing, lions yawning, coyotes howling! FUN!
More silent action ideas: Have students echo the sounds or silently show the action and students provide the sound.
Laughing → bouncing “ha-ha-ha” (vary high/low)
Yawning → slow pitch rise and fall “yaaawn”
Rollercoaster arms → pitch rise and fall
Cat stretch → long meow (sliding pitch)
Owl head tilt → “hoo” on low–high–low pattern
Bird flapping wings → chirps or short glissandi
Monkey arms → “oo-oo-ah-ah” in two pitches
Chrome Song Maker & Vocal Exploration
The best of both worlds-digital and live voices!
Vocal Exploration Accessories
Hands-on learning is so effective and vocal exploration manipulatives and accessories are perfect. These include pipe cleaners, phones (or make them yourself out of PVC, slide whistles, tubes, puppets, and puppet stages.
Books for Vocal Exploration
Storytelling is never more engaging than when the reader can use “voices” or listeners can help tell the story with special effects.
Here are books with refrains for easy responses or written with exploratory language using high, low, fast, slow, and so much more.
The Splendid Things My Voice Can Do
A delight from Wonderbly Books! Take a look inside!
Vocal Exploration Activities
Let’s look at a variety of vocal exploration activities that are quick and easy to implement in the elementary music classroom.
Storytelling With Feierabend Story Posters
I had Feierabend’s Vocal Exploration Stories posters and one of my favorites was Dark and Stormy Night. (top row, middle)
If you don’t yet have these posters, check out my version below.
We were not allowed to “do” Halloween activities at my school but this poster has no jack-o-lanterns or other Halloween imagery and it was always a favorite of mine and my kindergarten and first-grade students. Here’s how I used it.
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Kindergarten Lesson Plans
🌀 Lesson 1
I’d gather the kindergarten students around me and tell them there was a story that went with the picture but before I read it, “Tell me what you see and what you think is going on.” The colors and imagery on the poster invoked all kinds of ideas.
We spent 5-10 minutes discussing the poster. I said, “Let’s see if your story matches anything in the story that goes with the picture.” Then I would read the story and they would supply the sound effects.
(Because the word “scream” is in the story, I always told them to pretend to scream because we didn’t want the other classrooms to think we were in danger. How awful to think about that idea as I write this in the summer of 2022, right after the Robb Elementary tragedy.)
🌀 Lesson 2
I asked them what other things might be happening on a “dark and stormy night” and the below image has examples of some of their ideas. After every suggestion, I’d ask them to tell me the sound their idea would make.
For example, they might say zombies and I’d ask them to let me hear the sound of a zombie.
Then I’d read the story and add on their ideas at the END of the main story, always in a slow, mysterious voice. Vocal exploration and storytelling at its finest.
🌀 Lesson 3
I would add some of the Post-it ideas from other classes to enhance the story. They LOVED hearing other class ideas.
Grade 1 Lesson Plans
Because they had done the activity the prior year, I skipped day 1 and 2 ideas and just revisited their Post-its from kindergarten. They would giggle and giggle recreating what they had done as kindergarteners.
One of my favorite ideas from a student was an evil queen and when I asked what sound she would make, without pause, in the haughtiest voice ever, the little girl said, “Off with their heads.” So, as I read the story, I’d get to “an evil queen” and the classroom, in perfect unison said, “Off with their heads.” Using “said” is inadequate. They intoned, imbued, channeled, BECAME the queen and their vocal inflection was Oscar-worthy and spot-on.
October Story, Picture, & Lesson Plans FREE Resource
If you don’t have the Feierabend posters, this FREE resource, perfect for K-2, sets up a visual and story, just like the one I outlined above, that is meant for fun vocal exploration.
It could also be used for 3-5 using vocal and instrument exploration FX.
Drop your email and I’ll send you to the download as well as weekly free resources and tips.
Spunky the Spider Make & Take Craft
For swoops, glissandos, trills, and giggles, Spunky the Spider does it all! I especially love using this finger puppet in the fall. If you don’t have your very own lifelike, fuzzy, glistening-eyed spider finger puppet, you can easily make one out of paper and achieve the same effect!
Cute Spiders-Puppets & Stuffed
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Four Voices Vocal Exploration
Zakster & the Four Voices
This interactive story resource is about Zakster who begins school and learns about the four voices. The script lets you personalize the story and fill in the names of the classroom teacher, music teacher, and several students. The minute you say the first personalized name, you will have grins, smiles, and total engagement!
In addition to the presentation, there is a month-long lesson plan suggestion, printable Zakster cards to play 4-Corners, and other game suggestions.
Do you have lesson plans for middle schoolers (6-8)
Are these non-instrument plans? I actually have a lot of them but haven’t put them on the blog yet. I taught K-8 for many years and while a lot of my ms teaching was instrumental with ukulele and modern band (guitar, keyboard, drum, vocals, etc) I did do a lot of others as well. These include Soundtrap, creating Line Riders, creating Public Service Announcements, Reaction videos, and lots more. Anything in particular you’d want me to put up?