BBC Teach > Primary > EYFS / KS1 Music > Musical Storyland
The traditional story of The Baobab Tree is told by Jan Blake, accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Sidiki Dembélé and members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
The video
Narrator: Come to a magical place offairy tales and adventure.Let the music take you far away,to Musical Storyland.
Jan: Welcome to Musical Storyland with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. My name is Jan and these are my friends and their musical instruments.
Sidiki: Hello. My name is Sidiki and I play n'goni, djembe and calabash.
Elliot: My name's Elliot and I play the clarinet.
Jess: My name is Jess and I play the cello.
Jan:Together, we're going to tell the musical story of The Baobab Tree. A tale that is told in West Africa.Deep inside the forest the animals were hungry and thirsty because the humans had taken all the food and water.I might eat the rest of you, said the lion, as his tummy rumble.I once heard of a magical tree, said the hare. Say its name three times and water will flow from its roots and fruit will grow from its branches.What is the tree called? Asked the lion.I can't remember, said the hare.
But we could ask the wise owl who lives on the mountain.The lion turned to the fastest of all the animals, the cheetah.Go and find the wise owl. The animals are all depending on you.And with that the cheetah ran.The cheetah sprinted through the forest and up the mountain. She saw a big hole in the ground and leapt over it with ease. At the top of the mountain, the cheetah found the wise owl who sang these words:
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Baobab is the tree.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Gives life to you and me.
As she ran back to the forest, the cheetah repeated the word in her head.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,Baobab, baobab, baobab.
The cheetah was trying so hard to remember the word that she forgot about the hole!With a tumble and a crash, she fell and bumped her head and the word flew out of her mind.The cheetah returned without the name of the magical tree.So the animal sat and thought about what they would do next.Next, the lion sent the elephant. The animal with the best memory.When the elephant reached the hole, she just stepped over it.At the top of the mountain. The wise owl sang to the elephant.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Baobab is the tree.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Give life to you and me.
Baobab, baobab, baobab, the elephant repeated to herself.
The elephant was trying so hard to remember the name of the tree that she forgot about the hole.With a great big thud, she fell and bumped her head and the word flew out of her mind.The elephant returned without the name of the magical tree and everyone sat and wondered which animal would try next.Eventually, a tiny voice said, send me! It was the snail. The Lion thought the snail was too small to climb the mountain, but he was running out of animals to send.
When the snail reached the hole, it slid down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side.Three days later, the snail arrived at the top of the mountain and listened carefully to the wise owl's song.
Baobab, baobab, baobab, the snail repeated to itself.Baobab, baobab, baobab.
When the snail reached the hole, it slid down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side. Three days later. The exhausted snail returned to the animals.It had remembered the name of the tree.Baobab, baobab, baobab the snail said.The animals travelled to an old tree in a clearing where they repeated the wise owl's words:Baobab, baobab, baobab.
There was a rumbling under the earth and the magical Baobab Tree sprang into life.Water flowed from its roots and fruit grew from its branches as everyone said, thank you, to the snail. The tree climbing animals shared out fruit and they all took great gulps of water. And since that day, the animals have shared the Wise Owl's words with whoever needs help from the magical Baobab Tree.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Baobab is the tree.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Gives life to you and me.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Baobab is the tree.
Baobab, baobab, baobab,
Gives life to you and me.
The Baobab Tree
Presenter: Jan Blake
Composer: Daniel Whibley
Instruments: N'goni / Djembe / Calabash / Clarinet / Cello
Synopsis
Deep inside the forest are a group of hungry and thirsty animals. The hare tells of a magical tree that can provide food and water, but can't remember it's name. The animals decide to ask the wise owl who lives at the top of the mountain, but it's a long and treacherous journey to the top.
First they send the fastest of all the animals, the cheetah, through the forest and up the mountain. At the top of the mountain the cheetah finds the wise owl, who sings about the magical Baobab Tree. But as the cheetah runs back to the forest she trips over a hole, bumps her head, and the word flies out of her mind. The cheetah returns without the name of the magical tree.
Next, the animals send the animal with the best memory - the elephant. At the top of the mountain, the wise owl sings to the elephant about the Baobab Tree. But again, the elephant trips over the hole and - with a great big thud - bumps her head and the word flies out of her mind. The elephant returns without the name of the magical tree.
Next the snail volunteers. Although the lion thinks the snail is too small to climb the mountain, he's running out of animals to send, so off goes the snail.
Three days later, the snail arrives at the top of the mountain and listens carefully to the wise owl's song. On the way back the snail reaches the hole, but simply slides down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side. Three days later, the exhausted snail returns to the animals and tells them about the Baobab Tree.
Together, the animals travel to an old tree in a clearing where they repeat the wise owl's words: Baobab, Baobab, Baobab. With a rumble the magical Baobab Tree springs into life. Water flows from its roots and fruit grows from its branches as everyone says "thank you" to the snail. The tree climbing animals share out fruit and they all take great gulps of water.
Since that day, the animals have shared the wise owl's words with whoever needs help from the magical Baobab Tree.
Curriculum links
Music
The film and the accompanying Teacher Notes can be used to fulfil the following objectives of the Key Stage 1 music curriculum, which states that pupils should be taught to:
- use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
- play tuned and untuned instruments musically
- listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
- experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
English
The film and the accompanying Teacher Notes can also be used to target objectives from the Key Stage 1 English curriculum, particularly relating to Spoken language, Reading and Writing.
Resources
Teacher Notes. document
Download / print the Teacher Notes for this episode
The instruments. image
Click to display image full size
Vocabulary. image
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BBC Teach > Primary > EYFS / KS1 Music > Musical Storyland