I subbed for the Primary Choristers in our ward last week. We reviewed and learned the song "Book of Mormon Stories." Our choristers want to sing this song in this order: vs. 1, 4, 7, 2. This was SO FUN, and went by so fast.
I basically put on a mini play where we sang each verse of the song while kids held up props or acted out their role.
What I Liked About this Singing Time
I prepped a prop bag for each of the verses of the song. Below is a list of the props for each verse, pictures of some of the props for that verse. I explain further what I did below the lists of props for each of the four verses.
Also, in case you are wondering, for safety issues, and since I don't have permission from the children's parents to post their pictures, I've blurred out everyone's faces in the pictures :)
Verse 1
1. Gold plates I had made previously (but you could use a real Book of Mormon)
2. Headbands - one for a Lamanite, one for a Nephite, and one for Jaredite. (Make a bunch of these for a big class. I opened to the first page of the Book of Mormon and explained that this song was a little misleading because it says it's "all about the Lamanites from ancient history" and its actually tells about the Lamanites, Nephites, and Jaredites. I would have spent a little more time here but I was worried about time. In hindsight, I could have given it one more minute but I was worried about time, and it did go by very quickly. I didn't want to risk one class not being able to go up.
To make the headbands, attach long strips of paper together, then cut slits on the ends so they can be closed around the head and adjusted to different sizes. I laminated mine.
3. I cut out some blue paper in a zig zag for "sea" and laminated it.
4. I cut out and laminated a half circle to represent a boat.
5. A poster board that said "CTR" for "righteously"
Verse 4
1. Abinadi's chains.
I linked paper together with a stapler to make a chain for the bound Abinadi. I labelled the wrists and ankles so it would be easy for the child to know which end went where, and I also made the ankle chains much wider to slip more easily over feet. "Abinadi" had the "chains" around his ankles earlier but had taken them off by the time this picture was taken, unfortunately. He was wearing boots so he had to take his shoes off to get the chains on. It was my favorite prop and so easy to make!
2. A gold crown for King Noah.
I cut little tabs into the crown so it was easy to size for different children's head sizes.
I had "King Noah" raise his fist and make an angry face when we sang that part. The kids loved it, and it was fun to see a shy, sweet girl pretending to be angry in Junior.
3. A poster board that said "CTR"
4. A picture of Abinadi standing before King Noah
This was mainly because this song didn't lend to as many props.
5. Fire!
I laminated together orange and yellow paper to look like fire and had the kids holding the fire move their fire in front of Abinadi during that part of the song. I very quickly reminded them that Abinadi died by fire, but he died righteously.
Verse 7
1. A chair for Samuel to stand on for the "city wall" (Yes, this little girl is standing on a chair.) I LOVE how her teacher is helping her. Yay for teacher participation!!
2. A headband for Samuel (actually I didn't make one because I was planning to include my Bible garb but I forgot it)
3. Blue arrows that I laminated.
This is an opportunity to make a bunch of arrows to make sure kids have enough props. In Junior Primary, each child had an arrow and just pretended to throw it.
In Senior Primary, two children each had multiple arrows, and they threw them at Samuel. It was awesome because since the arrows were just laminated paper, they really couldn't hit Samuel.
4. A poster board that said "CTR" (for "righteously"). I briefly explained why we were using the poster.
Verse 2
1. Headbands that said "Lamanites" on them. Again, this is a chance to make multiple headbands for a bigger class.
2. Book of Mormon
3. Hearts. The hearts represent being brothers. I made two for the class size. Make multiple here.
4. A poster board that said "CTR."
Making Assignments with the Prop Bags
I reviewed the class list and how many children I thought would be there on Sunday to determine which class got which props, since some verses lent themselves to more visuals. I also planned to move one child to another class if necessary but everything worked out so that I didn't need to do that. The key is to make sure you have more props than you think you will need. No child left behind!
Having a separate bag for each verse made it easier to quickly hand a group of props to each class. In some cases, I combined classes. I made sure to review the roster beforehand, but then did a quick count of each class as they came in to see who was missing that day and if that impacted which bag I wanted to give a class.
I also didn't want the Sunbeams to go first because I thought that it being so early in the year, they might still be a little shy (depends on the class every year!) so if they saw another class go first, they might have a better understanding of what was going on, and be more willing to come up. I had several Sunbeams that came up that have been too shy to participate as of yet so I believe this theory was correct. The nature of the participation was a little less intimidating as they were up there with their entire class, got to see everyone else do it first, and were preoccupied with their props.
Other Thoughts
While it's fun to act out the traditional motions to "Book of Mormon" stories I feel that some of the motions are outdated and not accurate to the cultures they represent. For example, in the Book of Mormon, and in pictures that artists have depicted, I have not seen any evidence of Lamanites with two feathers (two fingers) sticking out of headbands. This way of singing the song was an easy way to avoid the popular motions but not in a way that the kids would miss them.
Just to be clear, I know the motions are beloved and still well remembered by many of the choristers that teach them. I understand, and love the nostalgia and sentimentality there. I thought this was a fun way to move further into the gospel of the song, though.
Also, it's a great opportunity to share you testimony. I did not do this in Junior Primary because I ran out of time but in Senior Primary, I let them know that as fun as it was to sing these songs, for me they were powerful because I know and believe that they really happened, and are a witness to us of the prophets that came before our time.
I basically put on a mini play where we sang each verse of the song while kids held up props or acted out their role.
What I Liked About this Singing Time
- Great participation. Several kids that are normally too shy to get up and participate in the front of the room willingly came to the front of the room!
- Teachers involvement. I handed them copies of the lyrics their class would be involved in, and had them decide what to hand out to each child and "direct" the kids. I like having teachers participate in Singing Time when possible.
- Fun way to learn the song.
- Kids learned the words fast. It was definitely aggressive to cover all four verses at once but I wanted to make sure every child had a prop and an opportunity to participate. I don't regret doing it this way because it was so fun but it would definitely be helpful to have a second week to reinforce each verse.
- (I can see Week 2 being something fun like - hand out all the pieces, not by class, and have it be a game for the kids to figure out when to stand up. I might just have them stand without coming to the front so they aren't too intimidated by this game. OR, have kids come up and ask the class to "unscramble" them and put them in the right order before the verse ends. I would NOT do a full repeat but I would incorporate a bunch of the same stuff, somehow.)
I prepped a prop bag for each of the verses of the song. Below is a list of the props for each verse, pictures of some of the props for that verse. I explain further what I did below the lists of props for each of the four verses.
Also, in case you are wondering, for safety issues, and since I don't have permission from the children's parents to post their pictures, I've blurred out everyone's faces in the pictures :)
Verse 1
1. Gold plates I had made previously (but you could use a real Book of Mormon)
2. Headbands - one for a Lamanite, one for a Nephite, and one for Jaredite. (Make a bunch of these for a big class. I opened to the first page of the Book of Mormon and explained that this song was a little misleading because it says it's "all about the Lamanites from ancient history" and its actually tells about the Lamanites, Nephites, and Jaredites. I would have spent a little more time here but I was worried about time. In hindsight, I could have given it one more minute but I was worried about time, and it did go by very quickly. I didn't want to risk one class not being able to go up.
To make the headbands, attach long strips of paper together, then cut slits on the ends so they can be closed around the head and adjusted to different sizes. I laminated mine.
3. I cut out some blue paper in a zig zag for "sea" and laminated it.
4. I cut out and laminated a half circle to represent a boat.
5. A poster board that said "CTR" for "righteously"
Verse 4
1. Abinadi's chains.
I linked paper together with a stapler to make a chain for the bound Abinadi. I labelled the wrists and ankles so it would be easy for the child to know which end went where, and I also made the ankle chains much wider to slip more easily over feet. "Abinadi" had the "chains" around his ankles earlier but had taken them off by the time this picture was taken, unfortunately. He was wearing boots so he had to take his shoes off to get the chains on. It was my favorite prop and so easy to make!
2. A gold crown for King Noah.
I cut little tabs into the crown so it was easy to size for different children's head sizes.
I had "King Noah" raise his fist and make an angry face when we sang that part. The kids loved it, and it was fun to see a shy, sweet girl pretending to be angry in Junior.
3. A poster board that said "CTR"
4. A picture of Abinadi standing before King Noah
This was mainly because this song didn't lend to as many props.
5. Fire!
I laminated together orange and yellow paper to look like fire and had the kids holding the fire move their fire in front of Abinadi during that part of the song. I very quickly reminded them that Abinadi died by fire, but he died righteously.
Verse 7
1. A chair for Samuel to stand on for the "city wall" (Yes, this little girl is standing on a chair.) I LOVE how her teacher is helping her. Yay for teacher participation!!
2. A headband for Samuel (actually I didn't make one because I was planning to include my Bible garb but I forgot it)
3. Blue arrows that I laminated.
This is an opportunity to make a bunch of arrows to make sure kids have enough props. In Junior Primary, each child had an arrow and just pretended to throw it.
In Senior Primary, two children each had multiple arrows, and they threw them at Samuel. It was awesome because since the arrows were just laminated paper, they really couldn't hit Samuel.
4. A poster board that said "CTR" (for "righteously"). I briefly explained why we were using the poster.
Verse 2
1. Headbands that said "Lamanites" on them. Again, this is a chance to make multiple headbands for a bigger class.
2. Book of Mormon
3. Hearts. The hearts represent being brothers. I made two for the class size. Make multiple here.
4. A poster board that said "CTR."
Making Assignments with the Prop Bags
I reviewed the class list and how many children I thought would be there on Sunday to determine which class got which props, since some verses lent themselves to more visuals. I also planned to move one child to another class if necessary but everything worked out so that I didn't need to do that. The key is to make sure you have more props than you think you will need. No child left behind!
Having a separate bag for each verse made it easier to quickly hand a group of props to each class. In some cases, I combined classes. I made sure to review the roster beforehand, but then did a quick count of each class as they came in to see who was missing that day and if that impacted which bag I wanted to give a class.
I also didn't want the Sunbeams to go first because I thought that it being so early in the year, they might still be a little shy (depends on the class every year!) so if they saw another class go first, they might have a better understanding of what was going on, and be more willing to come up. I had several Sunbeams that came up that have been too shy to participate as of yet so I believe this theory was correct. The nature of the participation was a little less intimidating as they were up there with their entire class, got to see everyone else do it first, and were preoccupied with their props.
Other Thoughts
While it's fun to act out the traditional motions to "Book of Mormon" stories I feel that some of the motions are outdated and not accurate to the cultures they represent. For example, in the Book of Mormon, and in pictures that artists have depicted, I have not seen any evidence of Lamanites with two feathers (two fingers) sticking out of headbands. This way of singing the song was an easy way to avoid the popular motions but not in a way that the kids would miss them.
Just to be clear, I know the motions are beloved and still well remembered by many of the choristers that teach them. I understand, and love the nostalgia and sentimentality there. I thought this was a fun way to move further into the gospel of the song, though.
Also, it's a great opportunity to share you testimony. I did not do this in Junior Primary because I ran out of time but in Senior Primary, I let them know that as fun as it was to sing these songs, for me they were powerful because I know and believe that they really happened, and are a witness to us of the prophets that came before our time.
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