Redeemer of Israel – 5 different Primary Music ideas to teach the song

I love the song Redeemer of Israel. It is a strong beat song that lends itself well to movement activities the children love. Here are 5 different ideas to teach Redeemer of Israel!

1. Flag Patterns

Prep:
Make a flag for each child. Roll up a 8 x 11 sheet of paper and tape it shut. Cut out a colored triangle and tape it to the handle.

Teaching:

1. Don’t hand out the flags to the kids until after you teach the pattern. They get excited and won’t watch and learn as well. 🙂
2. Grab your flag, and do the patterns (shown below) as you sing.
3. Ask the children to pretend they have a flag and do the actions with you as you sing. They can sing if they want to but most will focus on following you with the action.
4. Pass out the flags, and hav everyone sing the song and do the pattern.
5. If you need to extend the activity or up the difficulty, do both patterns as shown below, or have half the room do one pattern, and half do the other pattern.
   The kids have heard the song at least 3 or more times and they are learning the beat and rhythm while the words are sneaking through the back door. 🙂

So what are the patterns? ??

Pattern 1 – point sides, point up

Point to the side, then point up, switch to point to the other side, then point up

There are 8 counts in the sung phrase “Redeemer of Israel”. The counts go:
1 side, 2 side, 3 up, 4 up, (switch) 5 side, 6 side, 7 up, 8 up.
R – e – d – e, -e -m -e -r, ( of ) I – s – r – a – e – l

For the sung phrase “our only delight” there are 6 counts and a pause. The counts go:
1 side, 2 side, 3 up, 4 up, (switch) 5 side, 6 side, pause!
O – u – r – o – n – l – y (switch) d-e-l-i-g-h-t (pause!)

Pattern 2 – circle sides, point forward

For the older kids, they might learn Pattern 1 quickly. To make it harder and keep their attention and focus, halfway through the song, change the whole pattern to,

Pattern 2: Circle the flag one side, circle the flag other side, then point and hold forward center.
1 circle 2 circle (switch) 3 circle 4 circle, 5678 point forward and hold proudly.

To extend the activity and add a challenge, you can ask the children to do the two patterns one right after the other as you sing the song.

Here is how it could look to do the both patterns:

“Redeemer of Israel, our only delight”
Pattern 1 – Point to the side, then point up, switch to point to the other side, then point up x2
“On whom for a blessing we call”
Pattern 2 – Circle the flag one side, circle the flag other side, then point and hold forward center x2

Idea #2 – Body Rhythm Pattern

1. Body Rhythm Pattern – Ask the children to follow your pattern. Sing while you do the patterns.
   1. Younger – Patsch 8x, clap 8x.  Repeat this sequence 2x. In the middle of the song, change patterns: Cross touch L shoulder 8x, cross touch R shoulder 8x, patsch 8x.
   1. Older – patsch, patsch, clap, clap, forearm (taking 2 beats), forearm (again 2 beats) Repeat sequence 3x then add snap, patsch, patsch, snap, rest.
   1. Once the older children can do this pattern by themselves, ask for someone to be your partner.  Instead of the forearm move, cross clap across one hand then the other to your partner. Instead of the snap, clap both hands straight across to your partner.

Idea #3 – Paper Plates

1. Paper Plates – Ask the children to pretend to have paper plates and follow your pattern. Sing and do the pattern.
   1. Patsch (for two counts), swish, swish 4x, then Drum roll (two counts), cymbal crash (two counts) 4x
   1. Ask if there are children that could come up and help you lead the pattern.  Sing and do the pattern again.

Idea #4 – Actions to Describe the Words

1. Actions to describe the Words
   1. Ask the children to help you decide some actions to represent the words.  Here are some suggestions.
   1. Redeemer – R asl fingers that cross, come out, then down
   1. Israel – two slow circles in the air
   1. Delight – draw a smile
   1. Blessing – something given
   1. Shadow – hands overhead protecting
   1. Pillar – hands shooting up to the ceiling
   1. King – crown
   1. Deliverer – asl is pointer fingers up, hands crossed then out and down

Idea #5 – Maori Sticks

1. Maori Sticks – Using rhythm sticks, pencils, or PVC pipe
   1. Ask the children to do this pattern: patsch, patsch, click, side touch L, side touch R.  Sing the song and do the pattern.  As you sing you might want to call out “Freeze” and mention the concepts of “shadow,” “pillar,’ and “Deliverer”.
   1. Older – Ask them to get on the floor in groups of 4 or 5 with a teacher or presidency member in their group. The side touches are where you pass and receive the sticks.