Although predominantly aimed at Key Stage 2, the Friday Afternoons Songbank has a selection of repertoire that has been tried and tested with upper Key Stage 1. Britten-Pears Arts Community Ambassador Emily Barden has made a playlist of the songs from our Songbank that she knows offer an alternative style of song for this age group, offering many opportunities to extend learning across other areas of the curriculum using song as the starting point. Us - Michael Rosen and Russell Hepplewhite This positive song with lots of repetition and catchy melodies really celebrates each and everyone of us! With links to PSHE and exploring what it is to be a human and all that we can do, this proud, joyful song is a great place to start KS1’s journey with Friday Afternoons. Lyrics are by Michael Rosen, so opportunities here to link to his existing children’s poetry and stories. This song also has a Learn to Sing lyric video available on the website. Twinkle, Twinkle - Trad nursery rhyme reimagined by The Unthanks We all know Twinkle ,twinkle, little star. It is a traditional nursery rhyme that most of your young singers will have sung or had sung to them at one point. Folk duo The Unthanks have taken this theme and rewritten it as an extended story, using a haunting, mysterious melody which really captures the sense of wonder looking up into the night sky. This song would sit well in a Space topic with themes of the sky, the stars and space exploration. This song has an optional second part of sustained ‘oohs’ which could be played on classroom percussion like glockenspiels to create an atmospheric accompaniment. Language - Michael Rosen and Russell Hepplewhite Another great song for young singers from the Rosen/Hepplewhite team! With sparse but repetitive and memorable melodic phrases, this song explores the brilliance and necessity of Language in all its facets. A great way to make literacy come to life, this is a song that could be used in English sessions as well as music. This song also has a Learn to Sing lyric video available on the website and a great set of composition/improvisation games which could be fun to try with your class. The Little Girl of Rain - Jonathan Dove This atmospheric ‘story’ song has one simple scalic melody that repeats with each new verse, so once the initial tune is learnt, the rest is all about the words. The song describes the rain as a person, trying to get into a house in varying states of determination! This personification of the weather as a character could be a great start for some creative writing or drawing. A great song to explore dynamics with the voice, especially seeing how quietly and mysteriously you can sing the first couple of verses. This song is part of Project One Dot –a comprehensive and freely available composing resource on the website. Check it out! Us Us by Russell Hepplewhite Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by The Unthanks Language Language by Russell Hepplewhite The Little Girl of Rain The Little Girl of Rain by Jonathan Dove