Music and song

Unit 7 is about music and song. You will read an interview with a folk singer and a song about Robin Hood, learn how to talk about the future with will, going to and the present simple, find out how a song is built, give a talk about a song you like, and read a short play about a problem on a forest path.

7.1Reading: a music magazine interview

Lesson 1 starts with four talking questions: how many types of music can you think of, what is your favourite and why, when do you usually listen to music, and how do you listen to it? Then you read an article in Songboard magazine with two kinds of text in it: an interview with the singer Martin Stark and a song.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.82.

Word list: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.82. The meanings are our own; the book sends you to the dictionary on p. 140.

What Martin Stark says (pp. 82-83)

• Favourite music: he likes all kinds, including pop music, rap and classical music, but his "real love" is folk music.
• Why folk music? It is traditional music that is not usually popular with young people, but he thinks it is "the most interesting kind of music". The songs "tell great stories about people's lives, and about our history and culture", and every country has its own folk music.
• His new song: it is about the English legend of Robin Hood. A good story needs drama, action and humour.
• How he writes a song: the story is the most important part (all folk songs have a narrative, which means a story). He thinks about where he is, who he is with and what they are doing. Then he thinks about the tune and rhythm: is it happy and fast, or sad and slow?
• Instruments: he plays the guitar and the piano, and he is going to learn the accordion next year.
• Plans: he is going to promote his music through social media and continue to tour and perform.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.82-83 (summary).

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.83.

The song in short: the singer walks with his daughter on a sunny spring day and they hear children sing about a local man. The chorus says Robin Hood was "the man who helped the poor" and "a hero in folklore". The verses say he lived in Sherwood Forest, wore a big green hood and was noble and honest.

7.2Reading comprehension and prefixes

Lesson 2 asks you to read both texts again and answer questions about them: why Martin loves folk music, why Robin Hood is his favourite folk story, which three things he says are important when writing a song, how he will promote his music, where Robin Hood lived and whether he was a good person. Give a reason from the text each time.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.84.

Interview or song? Features of the two text types

Based on Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.84 (Reading skill: identify the features of different text types).

Working with words: prefixes im- and dis-

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.84. The column "Our examples" is original.

7.3Grammar: will and going to

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.85.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.85.

More examples from the unit's own texts:

• Plans: "I'm going to learn the accordion next year." "I'm going to promote my music through social media." "I'm going to look for help." (pp. 83 and 93)
• Predictions with will: "Everyone says it will be difficult." "We won't be late for market!" "We'll be here until midnight!" (pp. 83, 93 and 94)
• Predictions from evidence: "The branches aren't going to catch fire, they're too wet." (p. 93)
• A question: "What are we going to do now?" (p. 93)

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.83, 93 and 94 (quotations).

7.4Language in use: the present simple for future events

In Lesson 4 a man and a boy with a violin talk about the boy's coming concert. They use the present simple to talk about times that are fixed on a calendar or timetable.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.86 (quotations). The dialogue also gives the rehearsal start (1.30), the end of the concert (9.30) and the time they get back (midnight).

Rules based on Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.86; the "Rule" wording is our own.

7.5Listening: describing songs

There is no audio on this site, so here is what Lesson 5 asks you to do. You look at photos that show a musical, traditional music and pop music, listen to three people talk about songs and complete notes, then say which speakers (Paul, Clare and Anna) talk about a song that is happy, uses a traditional instrument, is not in English and so on. The three songs in the notes are Happy by Pharrell Williams, Bambo by Ba Cissoko and Consider Yourself from the musical Oliver!.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.87 (task described; no audio).

Word lists: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.87 and 90. The meanings are our own.

7.6Writing: rhythm, verses and a chorus

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.88.

The sample verse (four lines about being bored, from "It's such a bore!" to "a whole soundtrack") is for you to clap. Clap the stressed words and count the syllables. Our count: each line has 8 syllables and 4 stressed beats, so the verse has an even rhythm.

Lesson 6 then plays a song about a girl who is ill at home. She is missing school, her friends will be online again later, and being inside makes her feel down. You write a title, find the rhyming words, find how many verses there are and which part is the chorus.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.88-89 (summary).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.88-89 (verse and chorus matching task, our wording).

Writing a new verse (p. 89)

1. Use the plan with four questions, one for each line: how long has she been ill, what is she doing now, what else is she doing, what is she waiting for?
2. Choose words from the box (ages, go, pages, pictures, radio; the book has already used days) or your own ideas.
3. Decide which line-end words must rhyme.
4. Check the number of syllables in each line so the rhythm matches the first verse.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.89 (steps summarised).

7.7Speaking: a talk about a song

In Lesson 7 you choose a song you like, make notes, connect your ideas and give a short talk. The six note questions are: what sort of song is it (rap, a pop song and so on), why have you chosen it, why do you like it, how does it make you feel, what does it remind you of, and what is it about?

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.90.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.90. The talk opens: "I'm going to talk about a song called ... I've chosen it because my grandma used to sing it to me ..."

7.8Think about it! Create the right atmosphere

Lesson 8 shows four film scripts, each beginning with the same line, "Give me your hand". You match every script to a type of film (a romantic film, an action film, a comedy or a horror film) and underline the words that helped you decide. Then you listen to four pieces of music, write two adjectives for each, and match each piece to a script.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.91 (task summarised; the music is audio).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.91 (clues quoted; our own sorting of the scripts into film types).

7.9Reading time 3: A stranger to the rescue

This is a play in two scenes. Before you read, decide where the characters are, what the problem is and how many ideas they try. The characters are Roger (a villager), Joan (his wife), Ava (their daughter), Henry (a farmer) and a man.

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.92.

What happens (pp. 92-94)

1. The problem. In a leafy forest in England, a fallen tree blocks the path. Roger, Joan and Ava need to get to the market to sell their vegetables and have been there since 7 o'clock. Henry, a farmer on his way to the market, meets them.
2. Idea 1: the horse. Henry suggests tying leather straps round the tree and letting the horse pull while the others push. It fails because the tree is too heavy for the horse, and Roger hurts his back.
3. Idea 2: the axe. Joan finds an axe in the cart. An hour later it has not worked because the axe is too small and not sharp enough, and Roger says they will be there until midnight.
4. Idea 3: fire. Joan wants to burn the tree. Henry says it is too dangerous because they are in the middle of a forest. They try a very small fire, but the branches are too wet to catch fire. Henry runs off to look for help: he has heard of a community of people in the forest who help people in trouble.
5. Scene 2: the solution. Henry returns with a strange man. He asks whether they have tried going over the tree. They take the vegetables out of the cart, each person stands by a wheel, and all lift the cart over together.
6. The ending. The man says, "there's always a way to solve a problem, especially when you work together!" He gives his name as "Hood, Robin Hood", and everyone gasps.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.92-94 (summary with key sentences quoted).

Grammar in the play

• going to: "What are we going to do now?", "This isn't going to work", "I'm going to look for help".
• will: "It will cut the tree in half in no time!", "We'll be here until midnight!", "We won't be late for market!"

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.93-94.

Activities (p. 95)

You finish sentences with because (for example "They can't continue along the path because ..."), write a diary entry as Roger about your favourite part of the play, tick what the play teaches about solving problems, think of a different solution to the problem, and watch a video of a different ending. The best lessons to choose are: if you cannot work out a problem, ask for help; if it does not work the first time, try again; and every problem has a solution, but you may need to try different ideas.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.95 (tasks described; video not available here).

Summary