Celebrating world music day together
World music day is coming up on the 21st of June and is perfect for children to partake in whilst celebrating the joy that music brings. World music day explores all genres and is free for everyone to enjoy. Many countries around the world organise free concerts in public spaces to celebrate the event.
Music is something that brings everyone together and creates bonds. We have created some activities you can do with your class. Join in the fun and make music together through sounds and instruments. We also explore the benefits of playing music together for children.
We have paired with @rascalsandrainbows to inspire what you can do for world music day. Showcasing the joy that playing musical instruments and involving music into learning can bring to children.
Fun world music day activities
There are many activities you can with your class to join in the fun. From as little as listening to music to throwing yourselves into it by playing instruments together. We have curated a list of activities to help you plan lessons around music day. Use them as inspiration and tweak them to your liking so that your class can have fun with music.
1) Create a class playlist
A simple way of partaking in world music day is by creating a class playlist. Get your pupils to choose one song each that they love. Add them to a playlist on Spotify or other streaming sites. Choose to play the playlist during lesson times to help with learning. This is best to do when lessons require independent working so that the room is quiet. Make sure you choose a lesson that’s more fun and doesn’t require much concentration, so your pupils won’t get distracted.
Listening to music in class can help boost pupils’ moods. Choose a fun lesson that’s near the beginning of the day or the end. This way, you can start the day off positively or pick the mood up of the class after a hard day.
Music can also increase creativity for children so pick a creative lesson to listen to the playlist in. Children will enjoy listening to their favourite songs whilst expressing themselves through creativity. The music will help to spur your pupils on to get involved with the class as creative juices flow.
2) Make up a group song
Encourage children in your classroom to participate in world music day by creating a group song. You can do this by getting each pupil in the class to choose an instrument they like then have everyone play the instrument together. You could even get everyone to choose a topic and a melody for the song of their choice. At the end of class, have everyone come up with a title for the song and write down any ideas for lyrics or beats. Then play choose those ideas through musical software before finally getting the whole class to sing together.
3) Show and tell – music edition
Make time in the day for a show and tell with the theme of music. This is a great opportunity for children to present to their classmates their favourite music, band, artist, or musical instrument. To get your pupils more involved, encourage them to perform for a small part of their show and tell. This can be anything from dancing and singing to playing an instrument.
Doing this lets children show off their passion for music and it is a perfect way to celebrate world music day. It also builds their confidence to present in front of an audience which is a vital skill for their future.
4) Dress up day
Arrange with your class a dress up day on world music day. Let the children come in dressed as their favourite artist or just a general popstar, rockstar, country singer etc. You could run a competition for the best dressed to encourage pupils to participate. To make the competition fair, take a class vote on the best outfit and include runner ups too. Prizes can be as simple as chocolates and sweets of their choice. This will make the day fun for the children, and they will be eager to involve themselves in the celebrations.
5) Have a concert
Organise a mini concert for your pupils to put on for each other. During school time let children group together to put on a show for each other and yourself. They can do whatever they want as long as music is involved. They could dance, sing, create a band or play music. To make it even more exciting for your pupils, you could make it into a competition letting them vote for who they think did best. This is a great way to celebrate world music day together as it involves active participation. Plus, it’s loads of fun for the children to do. Who doesn’t love a concert that they get to perform in?
To take this further, you could involve other classes and make it a school effort. This could be put on after school inviting parents and guardians to watch too.
6) Play musical chairs and other games
Another easy way to participate in world music day is by playing musical games. There is a plethora of engaging musical games that you could play with your class. Traditional games such as pass the parcel, musical chairs, and musical statues. These always go down a treat and you can use your classes personal playlist for the music.
If you want to switch musical games up a bit, go for something new that you can tweak and make your own.
This can be a twist on a classic music game such as musical clothes. The aim is for the children to pass a bag of dress up clothes around the circle. When the music stops whoever has the bag in their hands must choose an item to put on. At the end whoever has the craziest outfit on wins the game.
You can also play dance like an animal. This is where your pupils can dance along to their favourite tunes and then when an animal is shouted, they must dance like that animal. This is perfect for children to socialise with each other as well as releasing their creativity.
A great group activity that improves listening skills is the game describe what you hear. Let the pupils listen to a song and think about the rhythm, structure, and words. Make sure the playlist your class listens to has a wide range of genres. Get your pupils to write down words to describe the track on mini whiteboards. At the end of the track tell them to flip their whiteboards around so they can see everyone’s interpretations of the song.
7) Play instruments together
Let pupils freely play instruments together making their own tune up. Playing with instruments is a perfect way to get involved in world music day. This will be more fun for them, and they can work together to create rhythm and a tune.
Have some structure at the beginning by using songs or music sheets so the children can get used to the instrument. Then tell them to do what they like as a group and explore the power of music. Let their creativity go wild. Music doesn’t need structure as it is a form to express feelings and communication.
Playing instruments in this way helps build up children’s motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It can also help with social skills as they work together to play around with instruments. Plus, it can boost self-esteem, self-expression and problem-solving skills too.
For more involvement in playing around with instruments, encourage pupils to create sound and rhythm using their hands as well. This will add to the tune they are creating and make the activity more immersive for the children. Pairing instruments with using hands helps with children’s concentration and listening skills. They need to figure out the rhythm of what they are doing to clap at the right time. It also builds rhythm skills which is handy for lots of topics especially when it comes to rhythm and rhyme in English.
Have a range of musical instruments for the children to play with. Percussion instruments are the best for this such as our 25 note glockenspiel and 8 Note Diatonic Whacky Hand Bells. To add more elements, try our music stand with all sorts of instruments attached. Perfect for indoor and outdoor use to create the best musical instrument playing time.
8) Match up musical words to the instruments – Free downloadable worksheet
Use our worksheet as an activity to include world music day into your lessons. All pupils need to do is match the correct musical instrument to the word for it. This helps improve English skills and communication as children can say the words out loud. Perfect for building pronunciation skills. Plus, as it is a visual worksheet it engages the brain and helps with memory.
Download and print the worksheet off to hand around your class. Use it as a warmup activity to get pupils in the mood for celebrating world music day together.
World music day is a day to explore different genres of music and learn about different cultures through it. It’s an opportunity for children to get creative and have lots of fun along the way. Try some of our suggested activities to celebrate the day in the classroom whilst developing vital skills.
Whatever you choose to do for world music day, we hope that your class can enjoy the joy of music and celebrate it together.
Show us what you are getting up to for world music day on our Instagram.