Musical Storyland, the new BBC music education series for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and KS1, was designed with the educational value to children at its core. This series of 10 films with accompanying classroom resources follows The Musical Story of the Gingerbread Man, the hugely successful pilot film from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. And, judging by the tens of thousands of streams that the Gingerbread Man receives every week, this continues to be cherished in EYFS settings and homes two years after it was first broadcast on CBeebies.
Content
Musical Storyland was created by musicians in consultation with Early Years music education experts. It gives children the opportunity to see and hear Western classical instruments and instruments from different traditions, performing specially composed high-quality music. It offers teachers easy-to-use classroom activities and listening guides that make delivering the curriculum easier – especially for non-specialist music teachers.
The lesson plans are devised to cover a range of musical skills and experiences as well as wider curriculum subjects for children between the ages of 3 and 7. These are set out in an easy-to-follow format and have clear progression through each activity, which the teacher can work through at the children's pace. The expectation is that, after watching your selected episode together, children will discuss what they saw and heard with the help of the ‘listening guide’. Your lesson will start with the ‘foundation activity’, which provides the basis from which the learning can begin. The ‘extension’ and ‘advanced’ activities then follow.
All the musical activities are founded on the pedagogies of Early Years. They focus on musical play around singing, vocalisation and movement, which facilitate an understanding of the elements of music.
There are also many non-musical activities included in the resources. These are related to the stories and cover a range of subject areas, including: sustainability, science, numeracy, art and geography. So, across the whole Musical Storyland series, a huge range of learning opportunities is covered.
Representation
An inspiring feature of the films is the cast of children who lead the musical interactions for the audience in the classroom to copy. The on-screen children sing the songs and chants, use their bodies percussively, play classroom percussion, and demonstrate actions to encourage a truly interactive viewing experience. Children watching won't be able to keep quiet or sit still, which is okay. I want children to be given the freedom to respond to the music and join in, if they feel compelled to do so. Too often, I have visited schools where teachers have chastised children for moving to or vocalising with the music. Telling children that they need to sit still and listen passively simply kills the enthusiasm for, and enjoyment of, music.
Diversity and authentic representation in the story choices, the musicians and the children are an intrinsic part of the series. Every aspect of the production was consulted on to ensure authenticity: from the style of hats that the main character wears in Ananse and the Monkeys to the number of toes that a Chinese dragon has, and whether the lazy pig in the story of the Zodiac could be depicted sleeping or not. Every detail was carefully checked by experts from their respective traditions.
Guest musician Sean Chandler, who plays trumpet in The Little Fir Tree episode, presents one of the episodes bilingually in English and British Sign Language (BSL). It makes a part of Musical Storyland equally accessible to deaf and hearing children. I’m proud of the diverse representation we achieved across the series. Musical Storyland features a range of instruments played by fantastic role models.
All 10 episodes of Musical Storyland and their accompanying classroom resources are available on the BBC Teach website and on CBeebies iPlayer.
