C8 Promote your French language program using musical games

C8 Promote your French language program using musical games, dances
and French-Canadian rhymes, songs and music
Betty Lee-Daigle, presenter [email protected]
Greater Essex County District School Board Windsor, ON
Promote your French language program using musical games, dances
and French-Canadian rhymes, songs and music by Betty Lee-Daigle
Promote your language program through your students in class and to your community. It is important
to promote your language program by having your students participate in dances in class and perform
them in front of their parents. If you don't have room in the classroom, find some room in the hallway,
gym or another area in the school even if it is outside. Have as many students involved in the concert if
you feel comfortable joining in the school concert or at a café français if possible and have audience
participation. Parents want to see their child(ren) perform. If they see how excited students are about
the program, parents will continue to support your French program. If you decide to do your own
performance or share with the music teachers or other teachers, concerts should be an hour long or 1 ½
hours maximum with an efficiency of movement between acts or numbers. Parents and young children
who are watching and the students get restless on stage. Prepare ahead, time what the emcees say (do a
bit of history of French folksongs!) and the class performances. If JK and SK classes are involved, have
them first on stage. Not only will they steal the show but they are the hardest to set up and bring off the
stage. Leave space between the floor where the band is in order for parents to take pictures. We are
there for PR too! Curtains can close while the JK/SK classes leave the stage and the band can play next
to muffle the sound of the little ones if they talk. Teachers of course are supervising in the back or
someone needs to be on stage and a gopher to get the next class or group on stage. The classes can be
in the classrooms or music room while they are waiting. If you have a short skit, make sure that the
performance rotates between the stage, band on the floor and perhaps benches or risers for the choir on
the side. Alternate between the stage, risers or benches on the gym floor and the band seating format.
When one group finishes, a group goes on while another goes off. You are trying to reduce the
movement in the gym so the songs and band pieces are focal points when the stage is being prepared
for the next group. If you are not musically inclined, ask the music teacher to prepare the instrumental
or recorder parts of the French songs. End the concert in a exciting mass number that brings out the
“l’esprit” of French folksongs eg. L’arbre dans ses feuilles and have the parents clapping all of the way
home!
Circle Games
Frère Jacques-Form one large circle or break up in groups of even people. Sing in unison and then in
a round. Dance in groups of 8-10 people. Have students play recorder and band instruments with this
song and if you have handchimes, play these separately and then altogether in a mass number at the
end. Music can be found in many songbooks at the school. Ask your music teacher for a copy or buy
John Barron’s “Ride with Me” from McGroarty Music Publishing Company, 2000. Make sure you
teach this in C+ key or in G+ so the children can play the recorder more easily depending on their
ability level on the recorder. Actions: Frère Jacques (2X): In a circle, step in 4 steps. Step back 4
steps. Dormez-vous? (2X) Put your hands by your cheek as if you are sleeping. Alternate to the other
cheek. Sonnez les matines.(2X). Pull the rope of a bell with your hands. Din, Dan, Don (2X) Turn
around half-circle while stepping on a spot and clap 3X simultaneously. All actions are done on the
steady beat.
The handclapping game “Stella, Ella” can be adapted to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Violette, Bicyclette. The
object of the game is to eliminate the people beside you at the end of the song. If Student 1 misses
clapping Student 2’s hand on the word “bicyclette”, then Student 1 is out. If Student 1 touches the hand
of Student 2, then Student 2 is out. This game can be used as a filler between the concert changes or
used in an assembly. Make sure the groups are small for this game if on stage. Do not use the whole
class as a filler.
Pomme de reinette-Use with the instructions for the song “Stella Ella” or with the chant One Potato,
Two Potato using a steady beat. All children have fists in front of their body. The teacher taps each
fist. At the end of the song, whichever student’s fist is touched last will be placed behind their back.
When both of the fists are gone, they are out until you have one child left who is the “winner”.
Students who are out sit in the middle of the circle and play the game inside the circle.
Savez-vous planter des choux?-Pass the object (un chou) that you have throughout the song like the
button in the song “Button you must Wander”. At the end of the song, the person hiding their eyes who
sits in the middle of the circle (as the rest of the class finish singing) guesses 3 times who has the choux
“Est-ce que tu as mon choux?”
The circle dance “Bow Wow Wow” can be adapted to the following chant:
Am Stram Gram, Pic et Pic et Colé Gram, Bour et Bour et Ratatam, Am Stram, Gram, Pic! (Eenie,
Meenie, Miny, Moe in French). Directions: In a single circle, face your partner and stamp 3X, point in
rhythm to your partner, hold hands with your partner to switch places and stamp 3X. On “Pic!” hop
and turn to your next new partner.
Dances
The double circle dance “John Kanaka” can be adapted to the song “I Went to the Market” French
folksong. Ask the music teacher to teach the song to the dance or remind you of the melody of the
song. To change partners, ask the music teacher to play the chorus again as an accompaniment before
singing the next verse. Ask the music teacher to teach the song or find music with the words on it and
teach your class the verses.
Directions: With an outer and inner circle facing a partner, do-si-do (2X), Stamp, patsch 4X, clap 2X,
clap 1X your partner’s hands. Only the inside partner moves left to the next new partner on “I love
you, vous n’m’entendez guerre” then patsch 4X, etc when you sing “I love you…” the second time in
the refrain.
The song “Weavily Wheat” can be adapted to “J’ai tant dansé”. In groups of 4, hold hands and circle
to the left for 8 beats, switch directions to the right for 8 beats. Stop and face the inside of the circle.
During the refrain of the song, choose a leader to begin putting the right hand in front of themselves in
the center of the circle and the rest of the group put their right hand on top of the each other going
counterclockwise. Then put the left hands on top of the right hands already piled up in the same order
beginning with the leader and repeat the same procedure for the rest of the refrain. Repeat the same
directions for as many verses of the song as you wish.
Alabama Gal p. 147 Contra Dance with a Reel can be used with the songs “J'ai tant dansé, Vive La
Canadienne, Alouette or use any traditional lively French music that has 8 or 16 beat phrases.
www.rigodon.net has some traditional music on its CDs. “Musique s'il vous plaît” by Suzanne Pinel
by Berandol Music Ltd, 1993 has some pieces too. You might have this already at your school. Do
contradances with groups of 6 partners or 6 people facing each other in 2 lines. There is a head couple
and the end of the line is the foot. Before doing the dance, make sure you explain to your students the
directions.
Savez-vous planter des choux? Action Game (Button, You Must Wander Game)
Savez-vous planter des choux, à la mode, à la mode,
Savez-vous planter des choux, à la mode de chez nous.
On les plante avec les pieds, ...
On les plante avec les genoux, ...
On les plante avec les mains, ...
On les plante avec le nez, ...
On les plante avec le coude, ...
Pomme de reinette (One Potato game) -(St. Pierre et Miquelon Folk Song)
Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api,
Tapis, tapis rouge,
Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api,
Tapis, tapis gris.
Cachez un poing derrière votre dos
Ou vous aurez un coup de marteau!
I Went to the Market (John Kanaka)
I went to the market; mon p’tit panier sous mon bras; (bis) (my little basket in hand)
The first girl I met was la fille d’un avocat. (was the lawyer’s daughter)
Refrain: I love you, vous n’m’entendez guerre, (You hardly hear me)
I love you, vous n’m’entendez pas. (You don’t hear me at all)
‘Monsieu' what'av you got dans ce beau p'tit panier là” (bis)
(in that lovely little basket?)
“I've got some apples n'm'en acheteriez-vous pas?”
(won't you buy some from me?)
Refrain
“I've got some apples n'm'en acheteriez-vous pas?”(bis)
“Oh! Give me two dozens, pis l'bon homm' te paiera ça”
(and the guy will pay you…)
Refrain
I gave her two dozens mai l'bon homm' y payait pas…(bis)
(but the guy did not pay)
Such is the business avec la fill' d'un avocat!!!
(with the lawyer's daughter)
Refrain
J’ai tant dansé (Circle Dance-Weavily Wheat)
J'ai tant dansé, j'ai tant sauté
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
J'en ai décousu mon soulier à l'ombre
Refrain: Dansons ma bergère joliment
Que le plancher en rompe (bis)
2- J'en ai décousu mon soulier
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
J'ai été trouver le condonnier à l'ombre
3- J'ai été trouver le cordonnier
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Beau cordonnier, beau cordonnier à l'ombre
4- Beau cordonnier, beau cordonnier
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Veux-tu raccommoder mon soulier à l'ombre
5- Veux-tu raccomoder mon soulier
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Je te donnerai un sou marqué à l'ombre
6- Je te donnerai un sou marqué
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Des sous marqués, j'en ai assez à l'ombre
7- Des sous marqués, j'en ai assez
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Pour dans un mois nous marier à l'ombre
8- Pour dans un mois nous marier
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Nenni un mois n'est pas assez à l'ombre
9- Nenni, un mois n'est pas assez
Dansons ma bergère oh gai
Faut m'attendre encore une année à l'ombre
Ah! Si mon moine voulait danser (Reel Dance)
Refrain: Danse, mon moine, danse
Tu n’entends pas la danse
Tu n’entends pas mon moulin, lon, la
Tu n’entends pas mon moulin marcher.
Ah si mon moine voulait danser (bis)
Un capuchon je lui donnerais (bis)
Ah si mon moine voulait danser (bis)
Un ceinturon je lui donnerais (bis)
Ah si mon moine voulait danser (bis)
Un chapelet je lui donnerais (bis)
Ah si mon moine voulait danser (bis)
Un froc de bure je lui donnerais (bis)
S’il n’avait pas fait voeu de pauvreté (bis)
Bien d’autres choses je lui donnerais (bis)
Vive La Canadienne! (Reel Dance)
Vive La Canadienne,
Vole, mon coeur, vole,
Vive La Canadienne,
Et ses jolis yeux doux!
Refrain: Et ses jolis yeux doux, doux, doux
Et ses jolis yeux doux,
Et ses jolis yeux doux, doux, doux
Et ses jolis yeux doux!
Contra Dances with Reels (Alabama Gal)-Use with any traditional French folk music with 4 verses of
16 beats in each verse
You need to teach the students the terminology of the “head couple, foot of the set (line), through the
wicket (proceed under the arched arms of the head couple) and peel the orange (the two lines peel off
to meet at the foot of the set)”. The one basic step unique to contra dancing also needs to be taught.
This is the weaving motion in which the head couple swing each other with their right arm, then move
to the next person in the facing line with their left arm and then returning to their partner with a rightarm swing and so on down the entire line. That’s why it is called the reel. Give precise directions:
“Look at your line. You are not going to swing any of those people!”
“Look at the line across from you. You are going to swing all of those people!”
“Which arm will you use to swing your partner?” (Right)
“Which arm will you use to swing all of the other people?” (Left)
“Always swing your partner again after swinging anyone who isn’t your partner!”
Walk the students through this step before expecting them to perform it in time to their singing or
before you play a piece of folk music.
Alabama Gal
You don’t know how, how; (3X).... Alabama Gal.
I’ll show you how, how; (3X)….…Alabama Gal.
Ain’t I rock candy; (3X)………… Alabama Gal.
Come through in a hurry. (3)……..Alabama Gal.
Contra-dance Formation: (8 beats so 8 steps)
Verse 1: Head couple joins hands and sashays to foot of the set and back to the top
Verse 2: Head couple swings with right arms and then swing person #2 in other line
with the left arm. Head couple swings together with their right arm and so
on down the line. Continue singing the verse until the head couple gets to
the foot of the set. This is the reel.
Verse 3: When the head couple has reached the foot of the set, the head couple sashays
to the head of the set and peels the orange and forms an arch at the bottom
of the set.
Verse 4: The rest of the dancers go through the wicket with their partners and sashays back into place
so that there is a new head couple. Everyone eventually becomes the head couple.
Resources- Four of the five the circle games come from “120 Singing Games and Dances for
Elementary Schools by Lois Choksy and David Brummitt” by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ
1987 ISBN 0136350380 The directions are very thorough in English.
Barbeau, Marius - Jongleur Songs of a Old Quebec. Copyright 1962 by Rutgers, The State University.
New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Barbeau, Marius - Romancero du Canada, Editions Beauchemin, 1937
Barbeau, Marius – Roundelays, Dansons à la ronde, Bulletin No. 151, National Museum of Man,
National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, 1958.
Chiasson, Père Anselme and Boudreau, Frère Daniel - Chansons d'Acadie, La Réparation,
Pointe-aux-Tremble, Montréal.
Fowke, Edith and Johnston, Richard – Folk Songs of Québec – Waterloo Music Co. Ltd., Waterloo,
ON, 1957
Gadbois, Abbé Charles-Emile - Les cents plus belles chansons, La Bonne Chanson, La Prairie, Québec
Gosselin, Frère Paul E. - Chante, rossignolet, La Maison Tremblay et Dion, Québec
Johnston, Richard et al – Songs for Today! Vol. IV -Waterloo Music Co. Ltd, Waterloo, ON, 1958
Johnston, Richard -Folk Songs North America Sings, E.C. Kerby Ltd., Toronto, 1984
Lessells, Katherine Tyler -Singing Games Simon & Schuster, New York, 1947
Mills, Alan -Favorite French Folk Songs, Oak Publiations, New York, 1963.
Mills, Alan – Folk Songs for Young Folk, Canadian Music Sales Corp., Ltd., Toronto, 1957
Roy, Carmen – Saint Pierre et Miquelon, National Museum of Man, Bulletin No. 182, National
Museums of Canada, Ottawa, 1962.
Voice Care- Drink lots of fluids throughout the day. Bring a water bottle with you and drink water
during the day. Do not whisper if you lose your voice. Don’t sing with your students unless you are
teaching a new French folksong. Give them a starting pitch but once they know a song or poem, only
give them the starting words of the next line if they forget.
Copyright- Any traditional French folksongs can be reproduced as long as you do not photocopy from
a published book. Look online through google.ca and type the title and there are sites that allow you to
print out the whole song. Look at www. Paroles.net or about.com.
Le bonhomme-gigueur (Limberjack)- Also used during the contradances
Tap the man on the flat stick on the steady beat or use the same rhythm as the spoons.
Spoons- (Repeat this rhythm until song ends) Effective use during the contradances.
Down, Down Up, Down, Down Up, Down, Down Up, Down Up, Down Up
(ta ti-ti
ta ti-ti
ta
ti-ti
ti-ti
ti-ti)
Folk Songs to use in your classroom (collected by folklorists Edith Fowke and Richard Johnston)
Brave Wolfe -The Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 made Canada British, but the death of
General Wolfe almost overshadowed the victory. Very shortly after the battle this ballad about the
colourful hero began to circulate through the British colonies. General Montcalm led the French army
and fought Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec, New France but British mobilization of large
numbers of troops against New France led to military setbacks in 1758 and 1759, culminating in
Montcalm's defeat and death at the Battle of Quebec, and then the 1760 surrender of New France.
Un canadien errant (Once a Canadian Lad)-After the rebellion of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada,
many of the rebels had to flee to the United States. This song about one of the banished lads became
very popular with all French-Canadians.
En roulant ma boule -There are over 92 different Canadian versions of this song collected about the
“trois beaux canards). It originated in France in the 15th century but in the New World it became the
favourite paddling song of the voyageurs and coureurs-de-bois.
C'est l'aviron (Pull on the Oars) – The canoemen added the paddling refrain to this ancient French
ballad of a man who met three maidens on the road from La Rochelle. The many verses lightened the
monotony of paddling from daybreak until dusk. Youpe! Youpe! Sur la rivière! and Le bal chez
Boulé are other paddling songs.
Dans les chantiers (The Winter Camp) and Les raftsmen are lumber camp songs. The word “chantier”
is used to describe the log huts where the men lived, and from it came the English terms of “shanty”
and “shanty-boy”. Lumbermen songs catalogued life in the woods.
Ah! Si mon moine voulait danser! (Come and Dance with Me!) - In the early days in the west the
voyageurs used to dance to this tune when they gathering in the evening at the fur-trading posts. This
song is about the inducements which a young lady offers a monk in an effort to get him to dance. Over
time, this song was a favourite with Quebec children who sang it as they spun their tops.
Alouette! -This popular song is about a skylark. The lark is informed that “I will pluck your head,
beak, nose, eyes, neck, wings, back, feet and tail”.
The Huron Carol (Jesous Ahtonhia) – This is believed to be the first Canadian Christmas carol. Father
Jean de Brébeuf is believed to have written the Huron words about 1641 to make the Christmas story
real to the Indians. It is set to the melody of a 16th century French carol. J.E. Middleton, a Canadian
poet wrote the English words.
D'où viens-tu, bergère? (Whence Come you, Shepherd Maiden?) - This is an old French carol that has
been sung for many generations in the rural communities of Quebec.
À la claire fontaine (By the Clear Running Fountain) – It is believed that the men of Champlain's
Order of Good Cheer had sung this song at Port Royal in1609. The early explorers and coureurs-debois used it as a paddling song and the habitants and their wives sang it as they cleared their land along
the St. Lawrence. After New France became British, the French-Canadians used it as a way of vowing
that they would never forget their homeland.
Vive La Canadienne! (of My Canadian Girl I Sing) – This is a popular song toasting the Canadian girl.
Fais do do (Go to Sleep) – This is a popular French lullaby.
L'arbre est dans ses feuilles – This is a traditional Cajun song that is accumulative. From Louisiana, it
celebrates the awakening of love and life in the spring. Sing the song with hand actions.
Partons la mer est belle -This is an Acadian song that celebrates the feast of ascension of the Virgin
Mary, patron saint and protector of fishermen. You can feel the motion of the water in the song.
Other French, Acadian or French Canadian Folk Songs
Le nez de Martin – French
Nous n'irons plus au bois (Come and Join Our Dancing) – French
Monsieur le Curé – French Canadian
Papillon, tu es volage! (Butterfly, Oh, You are Fickle!) - French Canadian
La laine des moutons – French Canadian
La poule à Colin- French Canadian
La poulette grise (The Little Grey Hen) -French Canadian F
Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman? (Oh! Dear Mother, Shall I Say?) - French Canadian (Tune of Twinkle...)
Ah! Les petits pois – St. Pierre and Miquelon Folk Song
Gai lon la, gai le rosier (Gay as the Rose)
Les petites marionettes (The Little Marionettes) -French Children's Hand Game
Lundi, jour de lavage (How the Days go) - French Canadian
La rose blanche (The White Rose) - French Canadian
Je sais bien quelque chose ( I Know a Thing or Two) – French Canadian
Le petit Grégoire - French Canadian
Une perdroile (A Partridge) – French Canadian
Wing-tra-la -Acadian Folk Song
Sur la montagne du loup (I'm not allowed ) - Acadian
Petit rocher (Oh, Little Rock) – French Canadian
Jamais on a vu – French Canadian
Bonhomme, Bonhomme! (What can you do?) - French Canadian Singing Game
Avec son aiguille – French Canadian
Le marchand de velours or L'Alouette chanta le jour (The Merchant I Married) -French Canadian
Isabeau s'y promène (One Day Isabel Wandered) – French Canadian
La boiteuse au marché (When Grannie goes up to the Town) – French Canadian
Envoyons d'l'avant, nos gens! (Paddle Your Canoe, My Boys!) - French Canadian