Ideas for Teaching the LDS Primary Song "I Know that My Savior Loves Me"
- Learning songs in LDS primary school, the Mormon version of Sunday school, can be a fun and rewarding way for younger children to grasp religious concepts. Sometimes songs like "I Know that My Savior Loves Me" can be taught through repetition of the song, through a call-and-response technique, through movement and by combining the song teaching with visual aids, like construction paper projects made by the children or handouts they can take with them at the end of the lesson.
- Children's songs--even primary school religious songs--are usually constructed with an obvious rhyme scheme and melody. This helps children learn the song and also engages them in the enjoyment of singing the song. "I Know that My Savior Loves Me" contains a simple and repetitive chorus. Encourage children to sing this song multiple times to really pick up on the words and the meaning of each word singularly in each verse, and as a whole.
- Call-and-response is a technique music teachers use to teach children the words to songs. Sometimes memorizing and singing along to an entire song can feel daunting. The call-and-response technique breaks down the song into each part. First read the song lyrics to the children. Then incorporate music to create a melody. Finally sing each verse or line, then ask the children to respond by singing the same verse or line back. This encourages remembering the song and also enhances a child's ability to understand the lyrics.
- Children learn from visual cues. Deconstruct parts of the song before class and determine if you can act out any specific actions in the song, almost like playing charades, so children can associate a movement with certain song lyrics. "I Know that My Savior Loves Me" lends itself to movement with phrases like "children were gathered around Jesus" and "wrapped in the arms of my Savior's love."
- Ask the children to illustrate the song by drawing pictures or cutting out construction paper. Use other visual aids to help children learn the meaning behind the song, including flash cards with pictures drawn on them, puppets or even other books with pictures appropriate to the song.
Song Repetition
Call-and-Response
Movement Aids
Visual Aids
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