Voice Box TV

This Instrument Match-Up is a three part process. Firstly, you must read the clue to find out which instrument is being referred to. Secondly, you must connect this instrument’s name to the clue and then, thirdly, you must connect the picture to the name and clue. (Answers are below.)

Eg. CLUE: I have keys. INSTRUMENT: Piano. PICTURE:

CLUES:

CLUE: I am in the ‘strings’ family of instruments, just like the double base.

CLUE: I can be electric or acoustic.

CLUE: People bang sticks against me to make lots of noise.

CLUE: I am a musical instrument in the brass family.

INSTRUMENTS:

GUITAR TRUMPET DRUMS VIOLIN

PICTURES:

Answers: 1. Violin (Second Picture); 2. Guitar (First Picture); 3. Drums (Third Picture); 4. Tumpet (Fourth Picture)

Past, Present and Future Tenses

Read each of these sentences and circle which of the tenses is correct. Make sure you define any of the words you don’t understand using a dictionary! (The answers are below. Teachers: make sure you explain the speech structure used in Number 4 – it might be a bit tricky!)

1. Sumi decided he wanted to dance/danced all night.

2. Suvdaa will play/played her trumpet tomorrow morning.

3. Munkhchimeg study/studied her music throughout the intermission.

4. “Sarnai, you can’t refuse/refused to do your dance exercises,” her mother said.

5. As Tsolmon turn/turned the sheets of music, he is/had to continue holding his instrument.

Answers: 1. dance; 2. play; 3. studied; 4. refuse; 5. turned, had.

Music Find-a-Word

accompanist alto bass bass clef
choir chord conductor crescendo
dynamics eighth note fermata forte
grand staff half note harmony instrument
interval keyboard legato measure
melody mezzo forte piano quarter note
quarter rest singing solo soprano
staccato tempo tenor time signature
treble clef vocalize voice whole note

An ancient Egyptian wall painting of jugglers.

Juggling is a very old activity – some people say it started nearly 4000 years ago in Egypt! People from Chinese, Indian, Greek, Aztec and Polynesian civilizations also juggled. Jugglers were called ‘gleemen’ in Europe. Gleemen were so talented people thought they were witches! In 1768 the first modern circus was opened, and a few years later jugglers started to perform and became very popular.

Juggling is now a hobby all around the world and there’s even a World Juggling Day on June 14! There are juggling clubs and competitions too. People can juggle almost anything, from oranges to plates, and even knives.

Questions
1. How many years ago did juggling start?
2. Where did juggling begin?
3. What did European people used to call jugglers?
4. When did the first modern circus open?
5. What will happen on June 14?
6. Name three things that people can juggle.

Adjectives

Adjectives are commonly called “describing” words. Their role is to give more information, or modify, a noun or pronoun (called the adjective’s subject).
E.g. “That is a big dog” or; “I met a very old man” or; “You have a beautiful girlfriend.”

Adjectives are important because they help give more information and describe something. The following activity teaches about adjectives, whilst also improving vocabulary!

Just put one of the adjectives from the list below before the subject. (Note: answers are below. To make this exercise easier, you can put the adjectives at the end of the paragraph to limit choice.)

Auyi’s Trip to the Circus

terrific, fun, slowly, birthday, young, extremely, famous, quickly, amazing, exotic, new, funny, messy, charming, expensive, comfortable, flexible, hot, favourite, long

Auyi was ___(1)___ excited to be going to the ___(2)___ circus. His mother had bought the ___(3)___ tickets for him and his brother earlier that week as a ___(4)___ surprise for him. Auyi could hardly wait!

He work up just as the ___(5)___ sun began to rise. He ___(6)___ jumped out of his ___(7)___ bed and began to put on his ___(8)___ clothes. But it was only 6am! The ___(9)___ circus would not start until afternoon.

It was such a ___(10)___ wait. Auyi ___(11)___ ate breakfast. His mother then made him clean his ___(12)___ bedroom. Then he read his ___(13)___ book.

Finally, it was time to go! It was an ___(14)___ show. There was the ___(15)___ ringmaster, ___(16)___ animals, ___(17)___ clowns and ___(18)___ acrobats. Auyi and his ___(19)___ brother wished it could go on forever!

When Auyi went to sleep that night, he had ___(20)___ dreams about the circus.

1. extremely; 2. famous; 3. expensive; 4. birthday; 5. hot; 6. quickly; 7. comfortable; 8. new; 9. fun; 10. long; 11. slowly; 12. messy; 13. favorite; 14. amazing; 15. charming; 16. exotic; 17. funny; 18. flexible; 19. young; 20. terrific.

Hi there. Okay, so today I am going to teach you how to juggle. Step-by-step.

To begin, you will need some balls to juggle with. You can basically use any round objects, but soft, sand bags are best. You can get special juggling balls from a toy-shop or department store but fruit is also good for learning. Make sure your fruit isn’t too big or too small. The ball should sit comfortably in your palm.

Now, how to stand. Put your feet shoulder-width apart and relax your whole body. Keep your elbows close to your hips as your lift your forearms, like this.

Now, we’re ready to begin. Start with one ball. Hold it in the hand you write with because this is your dominant hand. Throw the ball in an arc shape, as high as eye level. And catch it.

Practice this for a while. Feel the rhythm.

Now add the second ball. When the first ball reaches the peak of the arc, and begins to drop, this is when you throw the second ball. But don’t forget to keep an eye on the first ball! After you catch both balls, then reverse the action by throwing the first ball back to the original hand.

Practice this for a while and get the hang of this.

So, when you feel confident with two balls, you are ready for three! You will notice that there is a natural pause in the movement with only two balls. This is where the third ball belongs.

Hold two balls your dominant hand, and one ball in the other. The first ball you throw should be from the hand that has two balls. Again, when this ball reaches the peak of the arc, throw the second ball. As this ball reaches the peak, you now throw the third ball.

And before you know it, you are juggling! Juggling takes a lot of patience and practice. So keep at it-it’s so much fun!

Here are some tips for juggling:

- Work on being consistent in your tosses. Juggling is about rhythm.
- The balls should remain the same distance from your body all the time. You don’t want to be chasing your balls around the room!
- Remember to keep your body relaxed. Juggling should be a smooth motion. Begin slowly and soon enough your body will learn what to do.
- Your wrists should be doing the work, not your arms or shoulders.
- Try to use a scooping action when catching and throwing. Think of this as a smooth motion of your hands.
- Train your weaker hand to be equal in skill to your dominant hand. This will make you a better juggler.
- The more you practice, the better you will be. But be patient and give your hands a break if you are getting frustrated! You will find that the next time you try to juggle, you will be better and better!

Good luck!

The Music and Dance College in Ulanbataar has trained some of the most outstanding musicians and dancers in the world. Gabrielle takes you inside the walls of this prestigious college. You will get a taste of all sorts of artistic styles, from traditional Mongolian music to classical and contemporary music and dance.
We talk to Sharav, an internationally acclaimed Mongolian pianist who now teaches at the college. Sharav has spent many years travelling the world, performing in many different theatres and opera houses. He advises us that discipline, talent and most importantly passion are qualities required of every student. We talk with a number of these talented students and even get our own front row seats to a performance of ballet.
If you have ever enjoyed music, ever danced or ever even thought about dancing, join us for this inside look at one of Mongolia’s most famous institutes.

Juggling, balancing, contorting, clowning- step right up to the CIRCUS!

Join us this week to explore the crazy art form of circus. From Russia to Australia to France to China come journey with Gabrielle and Batuka through the history of circus across the world. We chat with Amraa, a circus-trained young Mongolian woman, Amraa shares with us her experiences growing up in the world of circus and performing in the Mongolian State Circus.

She describes her favourite memories and her favourite circus acts. Our blonde friend, Miranda from Australia, will show you step-by-step how to juggle- so you too can run away with the circus!

Learn how to juggle yourself!

Did you know that there are currently only about a thousand wild Bactrian camels that exits anywhere in the world? Did you know that the majority of these live in Mongolia?

Camels, camels, camels!

Join us this episode to learn all about camels, talk to a camel expert and laugh as Gab and Batuka take a leisurely camel ride in the countryside. Also, we take a look at footage from the unique Camel Festival held every year in South Gobi.