Chantons Ensemble! Songs and singing games for French

Session J5 - OMLTA March 31, 2012
Presenter: Christina Schilling
[email protected]
Chantons Ensemble!
Songs and singing games for French Immersion and Core French students JK – 4
Bonjour (Burmese Welcome Song)
Questions de Couleur
Vent Frais (Hey ho nobody home)
Princesse Rosa
Vieux Roger
Notre Fanfare
Autour du Village
Montez sur un éléphant
Au Revoir
Questions de Couleur
Paroles et musique de Lynne Travers
Bleu, bleu , bleu
Qui porte bleu aujourd’hui
Si c’est toi, lève-toi et dis,
« moi je porte bleu »
« moi je porte bleu »
Formation : Sit in a large circle. Children can also sit at their desks, or be gathered on the
carpet. The children stand if they are wearing the colour that is said. You could also pass out
pieces of paper, colour swatches or even little objects to the children so they would find their
colour in that rather than in what they are wearing.
Change the colours and sing the song through a few times.
Vent Frais
(Old English song – Hey, Ho, Nobody Home)
Vent frais, vent du matin
Vent qui souffle au sommet des grands pins
Joie du vent qui va dans le grand pré
Song this in a « canon ». Divide your group in two. Sing the song once together, then group A
starts. Group B starts the song as soon as Group A has finished the first line.
La Princesse Rosa
1. Princesse Rosa était jolie, était jolie, était jolie, était jolie.
Princesse Rosa était jolie, il était une fois.
2. Elle habitait un grand château …
3. Une sorcière lui a fait un tour …
4. Princesse Rosa dormit cent ans …
5. Les buissons ont grandi si haut , oh si haut, oh si haut…
6. Un Prince est venu à cheval…
7. Princesse Rosa s’est réveillée…
8. Le Prince et Princesse sont partis ….
Formation : Children can sit in a large circle and the actors can be in the centre, or they can
gather on the carpet with the actors at the front of the group. Assign these roles:
- Princesse Rosa
- Un château (two children)
- Une sorcière (or un sorcier)
- Les buissons (this can be two children, or the entire group can be les buissons)
- Le prince
For each verse there are dramatic actions:
1. La Princesse Rosa combs her hair or looks in an imaginary mirror.
2. The children for le château hold their arms above Rosa (like making a bridge).
3. La sorcière arrives and casts a spell on Rosa.
4. Rosa yawns and falls asleep on the floor or in a chair.
5. Les buissons go on their knees and then rise up bit by bit to get as tall as they can.
6. Le Prince gets on his imaginary horse and gallops around the circle before arriving at
Rosa.
7. Le Prince looks at Rosa and she wakes up.
8. Le Prince and Rosa leave together on the horse. They can gallop around the circle back
to their places.
Vieux Roger
(English Folk Song – Old Roger)
From: Children’s Singing Games – collected and edited by Alice B. Gomme, Dover Publications,
New York, 1967
1. Vieux Roger est mort, il est enterré
Mm, ah! Il est enterré
2. On y a planté un beau pommier …
3. Les pommes ont grandies, et elles sont tombées …
4. Une vieille femme est venue les chercher …
5. Le vieux Roger, il s’est réveillé …
6. Ceci a fait la vieille femme sauter …
Formation : Single circle. Assign roles so that you have:
- Old Roger
- Le pommier
- Les pommes
- Une vieille femme
For each verse there are actions to play:
1. Roger stretches out in the middle of the circle. The other children wait until their role is
sung.
2. Le pommier stands at the head of Old Roger and stretches out the arms for branches.
3. The apples “attach” themselves to the branches and then drop at the end of the verse.
4. La vieille femme hobbles in to check on Roger. She can peer into his face or poke his toe.
5. Roger is startled and jumps up.
6. La vieille femme gets startled herself and runs away, back into her place in the circle.
The children often want to switch roles and play this game again.
Notre Fanfare
Paroles et musique de Dolores Rice
A/ Ra- ta-ta-ta boom clang
Ra- ta-ta-ta boom clang
Ra- ta-ta-ta boom clang
Écoutez notre fanfare!
B/ Nous chantons, nous dansons
Tous ensemble, tous à la fois
Nous chantons, nous dansons,
Écoutez notre fanfare!
Formation : single circle
Actions : ra-ta-ta-ta – point toe and tap, jump on boom and swish hands as if they were a set of
cymbals on the word clang.
You can start with the left foot, then the right and back to the left, but it doesn’t really matter.
On écoutez notre fanfare, stand still and sing the line.
For verse B, start with this simple method. Simply join hands in the circle and swing them back
and forth. That’s easy! Then you are ready to repeat verse A.
When you are ready try this formation:
Group the children in groups of three and have them form a little circle together. Everyone
sings through verse A. Select one child in each group of three to be on the “point magique.”
Position the children so that the “point magique” children are all facing the same direction.
Now you are ready to sing verse B. The children join hands in their group of three and sing nous
chantons, nous dansons, tous ensemble, tous à fois. Nous chantons, nous dansons - - - Here,
two children in the group of three join hands to form a bridge so the “point magique” can pass
underneath and move on to the next group in the circle. Everybody now has a new “point
magique” and the game starts over.
The children will like to exchange roles so that they can all be the point magique.
Autour du Village
Sing a Song, Dance with Me (Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council, 1983)
1. Marchez autour du village, marchez autour du village
Marchez autour du village comme on a déjà fait
2. Allez choisir un partenaire …
3. Passez par les fenêtres …
Formation : Children stand in a large circle.
Verse 1 : “Marchez autour du village” : Select one child to walk or skip around inside the circle.
Verse 2: “ Allez choisir un partenaire” : The child in the circle selects a partner from the outside
circle and brings the partner into the middle. They skip or walk around inside the circle
together.
Verse 3: “ Passez par les fenêtres”: The children in the circle join hands and raise them up high
to make windows (this is similar to the idea of making a bridge). The children in the middle of
the circle weave in and out of these windows.
Now you have two children in the middle to “marchez autour du village”. They will each choose
a new partner and then all four will “passez par les fenêtres.” Continue until everyone has been
chosen or restart the game with new players.
This (above) is a simplified version.
There are other verses in the original that you can add to lengthen the actions involved. It
would then go something like this:
1. Marchez autour du village…
2. Saluez un partenaire… (choose a partner and shake hands)
3. Suivez moi à Londres… (partner follows child into circle)
4. Passez par les fenêtres… (children go in and out the windows)
Monter sur un éléphant
Monter sur un éléphant, c’est haut, c’est haut
Monter sur un éléphant
C’est haut, c’est effrayant