Disclaimers

External Links
To use YouTube links, enable the security warning tab shown at the top of the slide.

This resource contains links to external video websites. These websites often have autoplay features meaning that other
videos will play after the video you are watching finishes. You should disable this feature before using the video in any
classroom or similar setting. Twinkl assumes no responsibility for the contents of linked websites. The inclusion of any
link in this resource should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind by Twinkl of the linked website or any association
with its operators. We have no control over the availability of the linked pages. If the link is not working, please let us
know by contacting TwinklCares and we will try to fix it, although we can assume no responsibility if this is the case.

Physical Activity
This resource is provided for informational and educational purposes only. As this resource refers to physical activity, you
must ensure that an adequate risk assessment is carried out prior to using this resource. You must contact a suitably
qualified professional if you are unsure. Twinkl is not responsible for the health and safety of your group or environment.
It is your responsibility to ensure the resource and the information/activity it contains are safe and appropriate to use in
your situation. It is your responsibility to decide whether to carry out the activity at all and, if you do, to ensure that the
activity is safe for those participating. You may wish to take guidance as to whether and how participants should warm up
before taking part in any activity, and carefully assess any environmental risks to be sure participants have a safe space in
which to take part.
What Is a Musical?
Musicals, like ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical’, are
theatrical productions that include music, dancing and
dialogue. They can be produced as films or be performed on
a stage.

Can you think of any musicals that you

have watched or heard of?

Did You Know…?

The film ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical’ is based on an
award-winning stage musical that was first performed in 2010. The songs are
written by Tim Minchin, who is an Australian composer, comedian and actor.
Musical Numbers
A musical number is a term used to refer to an individual song from a musical production,
which is usually accompanied by a dance routine.

Listen to the song ‘Revolting Children’ from ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical’.
Musical Numbers
Watch the clip of children performing the song in the film.
Musical Numbers
What are your impressions of the song?

How does it make you feel?

Does it remind you of any other song that you have heard before?

Were there any words or phrases that are repeated in the song?

What did you notice about the dance routine?

Writing a Musical Number
You are going to be designing your own musical number linked to ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda The
Musical’.

Begin by thinking about a theme for your song. It might help you to start with a title that sums up
your theme. For example, ‘Revolting Children’ is a song all about Matilda and her friends revolting
and taking a stand against unfair treatment at their school.

Some ideas for themes linked to ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical’ might include:

staying true
chocolate cake friendship
to yourself

reading teachers parents

courage learning rebellion

recognising
fairness freedom imagination
your strengths
Writing a Chorus
Now that you have a theme for your song, you can start
to think about writing the chorus.

The chorus is the main part of the song; it is usually sung

after each verse so will be repeated throughout.

Use your planning sheet to make a note of

some key words and phrases, linked to
your theme, that you can include in
your song’s chorus. You may
choose to include the words from
the song’s title in this part of
the song.
Writing a Chorus
For example, here is the chorus of the song ‘Revolting Children’:

We are revolting children living in revolting times.

We sing revolting songs using revolting rhymes.

We’ll be revolting children till our revolting’s done

And we’ll have the Trunchbull bolting, we’re revolting!

Note:
The word ‘revolting’ is repeated
several times in the chorus.
Creating a Rhythm With Words
Once you have a list of words that you want to include in your chorus,
you can think about giving a rhythm to your words.

Rhythm is a strong, regular repeated pattern of sounds. It

is what you might clap or nod along to when listening to
music.
One way of doing this is to look at the syllables that are in
the words and phrases that you have put on your list.
A songwriter will need to choose the words and phrases
that they want to use and make these into rhythmic
sentences.

Can you clap the rhythm for the line

‘We are revolting children’?
Writing a Chorus
Now that you have some sentences, you can put all of your ideas together to make
a rhythmic chorus. You may also choose to include rhyme.

Can you clap along with the rhythm to the chorus of ‘Revolting Children’?

We are revolting children living in revolting times.

We sing revolting songs using revolting rhymes.

We’ll be revolting children till our revolting’s done

And we’ll have the Trunchbull bolting, we’re revolting!

Can you spot the rhythm that is repeated throughout the chorus?
Writing a Verse
Once you have written your chorus, you can begin
thinking about verses for your song.

A song usually has at least two verses but you

may choose to include a different number. Verses
typically have the same tune and are the
same length.

Verses are a chance to tell a story.

For the verses of your song, you
might want to include memories,
stories or examples that link to
your theme.
Top Tips for Writing Verses

Like with the chorus, you could include

rhyme and rhythm in your verses.

You could even try performing your verse

as a rap and concentrate on
the rhythm of the spoken words.

When you have finished writing your verses, have a go at

putting them together with your chorus to see what your song
will sound like.
Improving Your Song
Now that you have finished writing your song, it is time to prepare it for
performance. Think about how you usually edit your writing; editing music is no
different.

Think about these questions:

Is the song too long or too short?
Do you need to add/remove a verse?

Do the verses and chorus sound right together?

Do you need to change the rhythm or the tune slightly?

Are there any words that could be replaced

or removed to improve how the song sounds?
Adding a Dance Routine
Now that you have finished your song, you can think about adding some
choreography (a dance routine) to make it into a musical number.

Top Tips
Think about the words in the song and
consider adding actions that link to some of the lyrics.

Make your movements clear and bold so your audience can see them.

Consider repeating certain moves so they stand out. This should also
make the routine less complicated.
Choreography Ideas
Here are some steps that you might wish to incorporate into the dance routine for
your musical number:

forward
side to side arm movements
and back

claps clicks waves

kicks turns jumps

Don’t forget to leave a safe space between

each other and to move in time with the music.
Practice Makes Perfect
If you want to make your musical number the best that it can be,
then take as many opportunities as you can to practise it.

Try to rehearse the words so that you don’t need to

hold a piece of paper in your hands. Also, try to
learn your dance routine so you don’t need to
look at others in your group while performing.

Top Tip:
Watch a recording of your musical number and try to find places where you can
improve your performance.
Discuss what went well and come up with some ideas for improvements that
you might want to make.
 ‘Revolting Children’ featured in MATILDA THE MUSICAL
Words and Music by Tim Minchin
© Copyright 2011 Navel Enterprises Pty Ltd./Kobalt Music Publishing Limited
All Rights reserved International Copyright Secured
Reproduced by permission of Hal Leonard Europe
Official movie songbook available at www.musicroom.com