What is a jazz chant?

A poem that uses jazz rhythm to illustrate the natural stress and intonation patterns of conversational English. Jazz chants were first created by Carolyn Graham over 30 years ago. How to se Jazz Chants in the classroom You can use these jazz chants in a variety of fun ways. You can practice stress and rhythm with your class, to help your students sound more natural when they speak English. Also, because each jazz chant focuses on different vocabulary and grammar, you can also use them to review important words and structures! ere are some ideas on how to use these jazz chants with your class. !ractice stress and rhythm !hoose a jazz chant you want to use and make one copy of the chant for every pair of students in your class. "lay the recording for the first time just for fun. #ive each student a copy of the recording script, and play the recording again as they listen and read at the same time. "ut students into pairs and have them put a small circle above each word that is stressed. !heck their answers, then play the recording again as they listen and check. $inally, play the recording one more time and have students sing along. "eview vocab lary !heck the vocabulary focus for each jazz chant and choose one you want to review. %ake one copy of the &ecording script for every two students in your class. 'rite the vocabulary focus on the board and put students into pairs to make a list of as many associated words as they can. "lay the recording and have students note all the words they hear that are associated with the vocabulary focus. #ive each student a copy of the &ecording script, and play the recording again as they listen and read at the same time. (ell them to underline all the target words. $inally, play the recording one more time and have students sing along. "eview grammar !heck the grammar focus for each jazz chant and choose one you want to review. %ake one copy of the &ecording script for every two students in your class. 'rite the grammar focus on the board and put students into pairs to make a few e)ample sentences using the grammar. "lay the recording and have students note how many times they hear the target grammar. #ive each student a copy of the &ecording script, and play the recording again as they listen and read at the same time. (ell them to underline each e)ample of the target grammar.

$inally, play the recording one more time and have students sing along. #i$% $or the final sing*a*long stage, why not divide the class into two groups, and have each group sing a different section! #i$% (o help students identify the stress and rhythm, clap your hands in time to the beat. Encourage them to do the same. #i$% &emember, these are supposed to be fun! +eep the pace of the class ,uick and lively, and try to always make sure students join in the singing. -ownloaded from http.//www.onestopenglish.com/skills/listening/jazz*chants/.

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ints for creating your own 0azz !hant 1from the video 2 ow to make a jazz chant by !arolyn #raham from 3arbara 4akamoto on 5imeo6 76 !hoose a topic of interest to your students. 86 9se :real; language that<s useful and appropriate for the age of your students. 1:'hat<s your name=; is real language. :'hat is your name=; is not real language, because no one really talks like this.6 >. $or a vocabulary chant, choose > vocabulary words?a 8*syllable word, a >*syllable word, and a 7*syllable word and put them together with a bit of repetition. 3aseball, basketball, golf. 3aseball, basketball, golf. 3aseball, basketball, baseball, basketball 3aseball, basketball, golf. @. (o reinforce grammar, add a pattern. e plays baseball. 4he plays basketball. (hey play golf. (hey play golf. A. ave fun and don<t be afraid to play with language! (he main feature of a jazz chant as opposed to a poem or rhyme is that there is no poetic licence or artificial change to the stress and intonation patterns of natural speech. 0azz chants also often take the form of an interchange or dialogue which display the natural give and take of everyday spoken language. An e)ample of a very simple jazz chant to practise greetings is as below. (he first speaker is walking down the street and meets one friend in verse 7 and another in verse 8, with four rhythmic beats or Bsteps< between each verse. (ry clicking your fingers or tapping your fingers on your desk and saying the chant rhythmically out loud or in your head with natural stress and intonation as you read. Hello.

Hi. How are you? Im fine, thanks. And me too.

Good morning. Good morning. How are you? Im OK. And what about you? Me? Im fine. Im fine. Im fine. 0azz chants can also be used effectively to practise vocabulary and grammar. An e)ample of a cumulative chant to practise farm animal vocabulary with young children before they listen to a story on the same theme is as below. As children listen to and say the chant it can be accompanied by actions to represent each animal. sheep ? make circular movements with arms to show wool, duck ? make a beak with your hands, cow ? make horns with your fingers, horse ? make ears with your hands, hen ? make wings with your arms, cat ? hold hands as paws. On the farm by the ri er, theres a shee!. On the farm by the ri er, theres a shee! and a du"k. On the farm by the ri er, theres a shee! and a du"k and a "ow. On the farm by the ri er, theres a shee! and a du"k and a "ow and a hen. On the farm by the ri er, theres a shee! and a du"k and a "ow and a hen and a horse. On the farm by the ri er, theres a shee! and a du"k and a "ow and a hen and a horse And a "at And that is that# An e)ample of a grammar chant to practise the >rd person present simple based on familiar story characters with slightly older children is as follows.

$a ina likes lettu"e but she doesnt like !eas. $oes $a ina like lettu"e? %es, she does. $oes $a ina like !eas? &o, she doesnt. $a ina likes lettu"e but she doesnt like !eas.

'reddie likes !otatoes but he doesnt like ri"e. $oes 'reddie like !otatoes? %es, he does. $oes 'reddie like ri"e? &o, he doesnt. 'reddie likes !otatoes but he doesnt like ri"e. 3efore using jazz chants in class, we need to establish the conte)t and pre*teach any new vocabulary. Ct<s also usually a good idea to set one or two pre*,uestions 1e.g. (hat does $a ina like? (hat does 'reddie like? for the grammar chant above6 and do an initial listening activity in which children show understanding of the chant. As children say and act out the chant, it can be helpful to use finger or pencil puppets as a prompt for each speaker, or flashcards, for e)ample when children name the animals cumulatively in the vocabulary chant above. At first, you can divide the class in half to take turns to ask and answer ,uestions 1if the chant follows this pattern6 and then change roles and repeat. As a follow*up, children can practise saying the chant in pairs or groups in preparation for Bperforming< it to the rest of the class. 'ith some chants, it may also be appropriate to get children to create their own parallel versions. 'hen using jazz chants with children, C like to take to class my collection of percussion instruments 1see photo above6 which children take turns to ask for 1e.g. )an I ha e the tambourine, !lease?6 and use to keep the rhythm and pace of the chant. (his adds e)tra interest as well as a feeling of creating a spontaneous musical performance together. Cf you do use percussion, it works best to get the rhythm going with the percussion instruments softly first and then count the children in to four as a cue to start saying the chant. (he main benefits of using jazz chants with children are.

(hey are motivating, memorable and fun. (hey add variety to language practice. (hey provide for lots of natural and enjoyable repetition. (hey allow for physical movement. (hey are non*threatening.

(hey reinforce vocabulary and grammar. (hey improve all aspects of pronunciation. (hey develop fluidity and natural speed in speaking Bchunks< of language. (hey provide opportunities for Brehearsal< which helps children later transfer the language to other conte)ts. (hey build up children<s confidence and help create a sense of achievement and success.

!arolyn #raham has published many books on jazz chants ? two e)amples are *a++ )hants for )hildren and )reating )hants and ,ongs 1D9"6. You can also watch !arolyn #raham talking about teaching jazz chants on Youtube. (he greetings chant is from -nglish )lub, !arol &ead E 4agrario 4alaberri, %acmillan. (he farm animal chant is from .ittle /ugs 0, !arol &ead E Ana 4oberFn, %acmillan. (he grammar chant is from 'oot!rints 0, !arol &ead, %acmillan.