Carnival of the Animals

Classroom Production
 Carnival of the Animals
Production

Lesson For: Grade K-2 Music Class

Outcomes: Participation, Descibing musical excerpts using grade appropriate terminology,

Movement Skills, Rehearse and Perform.

Objectives: To create movement for the animals in Camille Saint Saens “Carnival of the
Animals”

Resources: Recording of “The Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint- Saens, Animal
Masks,

Sequence:

1. Introduce the Carnival of the Animals and its composer Camille Saint – Saens.
2. Ask students to lay on the ground in “listening position” (quiet, alone, eyes closed).
3. Ask them to imagine what animal they see in their heads when they close their eyes.
4. When the music stops they can sit up and put up their hand to guess what the animal is.
5. When they animal is guessed correctly get the students to move around the room like
this animal, not making a sound (let the music do it).
6. Do this starting with the Intro/Lion and then all of the other animals in the composition.
7. Once all the animals are taught and movement has been made for them all tell the
students we will put on a “Carnival of the Animals” production.
8. The teacher can be the narrator or choose one or more well-spoken students.
9. Also choose students to be certain animals in the composition. Maybe 2 or 3 to an
animal depending on the amount of students in your class.
10. Follow the story below and insert music as you go along for the students to move to. I
have premade masks that the students where when moving. You could extend this
activity by making the masks with their classroom teacher.

Extensions:
1. Masks – art activity
2. Art – Drawing the animals while listening
3. Sing songs about the animals in “The Carnival of the Animals” from different resources.
4. Analyze the music using Listening Resource Grade 1 from musicplay.ca
 Carnival of the Animals
A Movement Musical
Intro
Early one morning, The Lion, the king of the jungle woke up and realized he had slept in!
“Where is my cuckoo bird to wake me up” he said. The cuckoo’s job is to come out of his
favorite clock and wake the roosters and chickens so they can wake up the entire animal
kingdom.

Lion Music
After the lion made his way to the roosters and chickens to let them know, they did their morning
calls to wake up the kingdom and tell them about the cuckoo’s disappearance.

Chicken Music

The Turtles decided that they better get a head start looking for the cuckoo because they are so
slow and take a long time.

Turtle Music
The elephants went through the dessert in Africa to look for the cuckoo but they did not find her.

Elephant Music
The Kangaroo jumped through the Australian Outback for he cuckoo but did not find her.

Kangaroo Music
The Fish swam through all of the Oceans to see if the cuckoo went swimming but did not find
her.

Fish Music
The Donkey did not go far because he was in his farm but used his call to find the cuckoo but
did not hear anything in return.

Donkey Music
Then the Lion thought “hmmmmm maybe little bird knows where her friends the cuckoo is?” so
he called for little bird. She flew around the world but did not find her friend.
 Little Bird Music
As the lion was checking in one of the caves he found some dinosaur fossils. He though they
would make a nice tick tock for his clock so he brought them back with him.

Fossil Music
He thought maybe the cuckoo would hear it and come back….but she didn’t.

On his way back to the jungle he passed the swan swimming gracefully and quietly in the pond.

Swan Music
The lion asked if she had seen the cuckoo. The swan said “no but I have heard her, all you have
to do is listen.”

So they did…

Cuckoo Music
I think she is playing tricks on me. Eventually the cuckoo got tired and headed back to the clock.

To make the cuckoo feel important so she would stay in the clock, the lion decided to have a big
celebration called “The Carnival of the Animals”.

They had a big parade and the cuckoo was at the front!

Finale Music

THE END
(You will notice a couple of the pieces of music from the original composition are missing to
make the story work for us)