Roars and Whispers — Sample Activity

This is one activity from a content bank of 600+ classroom-ready music activities. Explore it anytime and unlock them all with Kidstrument.

Kidstrument is made up of activities that are repeated and remixed to offer varied and flexible teaching. Each activity is part of a wider module with many versions.

Overview

In this expressive activity, children will explore the dynamics of music – how it gets louder and quieter. Through the video “Roars and Whispers”, they’ll learn about crescendo (getting louder) and diminuendo (getting quieter) by listening, moving, and using their bodies to play the drums at their table.

They’ll practise making sounds that grow like a lion’s roar (crescendo) and shrink into a soft whisper (diminuendo), helping them understand how music can tell a story with volume.

Music Tip: Crescendo means we grow the sound, and diminuendo means we gently shrink it – just like our voices in real life!

Teacher Tip: Use fun actions (like growing tall for loud, and crouching down for quiet) to help children feel the change in volume with their bodies as well as their voices.

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Contributes to Learning Outcomes

KS1 (Years 1–2)

experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music

KS2 (Years 3–6)

use and understand staff and other musical notations

Here’s what the full programme view looks like

This is the normal lesson view in Kidstrument — the full teacher layout you’ll use in class.

Kidstrument full programme view — Example programme view.