Jump right in with teaching Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus to your Primary children with a melody map! It’s such a great method to help the children visually see how the notes move as they are learning the melody for the first time.
You’ll love this Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus Melody Map lesson plan as it has a crack the code element or a few other ways to use the melody chart in Singing Time.
*All Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus Singing Time Ideas here*
Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus Melody Map
Sing through Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus song once, before introducing this activity.
Post the melody map up on the board and invite the children to watch for patterns as you sing through the song again.
Ask the children what did they hear or see? Did you spot any patterns? Talk about 1-2 of the things they noticed. Some of the things might be:
- The notes rise and fall
- Some of the spaces are small and some are really big
- There’s a lot of different colors
- _____ color is whenever we sing about _______ (reference the color key)
- The last words rhyme – day/way, sing/king, earth/birth
Test out one of their observations by singing through the song again to see if it fits the melody map. Praise how smart they are for whatever they notice and decode.
If you’re struggling to get any responses and ideas, ask the children for guesses of what they think a certain color might represent. Take a few guesses.
Then sing through the song and sing those spots extra loud or point them out on the melody map to help the children make a connection to where you’re at and follow along.
Color Key:
| Red | Savior |
| Orange | Born / Birth |
| Yellow | Samuel |
| Green | Places |
| Blue | Other words |
| Purple | Night / Day |
| Pink | Sing |
Extension Activities:
- Accidentally drop the pages. Oh no! Can you help me get them back in the right order! Sing through the song and have the children help you rearrange and test out the order until it’s just right!
- Use the grey version and let the kids pick out themes they notice and color in the matching notes with whatever colors they think are the best fit.
- Cut out the melody map into 2 piece puzzles per page. Have the children find the match that finishes the notes. Use the set with out lyrics and have your pianist play the notes from the first half while you hum along, and see if you can find the correct second set of notes!
- Use the melody map with picture blanks and fill in where each picture would go!
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Tell Me Dear Lord Melody Map singing time activity!
Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus Printable Melody Map
This free in-post printable includes a colorful melody map printable for the 1st verse and chorus.
Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including the 2nd verse, no lyrics version, picture keyword version and black and white option. You’ll find these bonus files included when Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus song is the featured song of the month.
To access the free in-post printables for this post, you’ll just need to create a free account or login with the Grow.me tool. Then, confirm by email and refresh the page and ALL my free printables will automatically unlock in every post!
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For another engaging way to teach this song, continue over to this Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus Hear the Sounds activity where you’ll play different sound clips that connect with the song lyrics.
What other fun ways will you use this singing time activity in your Primary room?
