Singing: Short Songs You Can Sing to Anyone
Primary 1 · Creative Arts
Singing: Short Songs You Can Sing to Anyone
Lesson 4 of 9
10 min
Let's begin
Gatete comes in from playing football and sits down to eat.
His hands look clean, so he does not wash them.
That night his stomach hurts and he cannot sleep.
Today you will sing about isuku, and then you will do it.
Isuku is your body, your hands, your clothes and your home.
It is one word for all of that.
When a song tells you to wash, the song is teaching isuku.
Gatete made one mistake. He washed only when his hands looked dirty.
The things that make you sick are far too small for your eyes.
So you wash even when your hands look clean.
Careful! Wiping your hands on your shorts is not washing. You need water and soap.
This is a new song, written for you. Sing it while the water runs.
Water and soap, water and soap.
Rub the front, rub the back.
Wash before I eat my food.
Isuku keeps me well.
Worked example
Gatete sings the song, then stops and thinks.
He asks himself: what does this song want from me?
Not a feeling. A thing to do, today, with his own hands.
So Gatete says: this song says that I must wash with water and soap before I eat.
That evening he fills the jerrycan and washes before the meal. His stomach is fine.
Isuku, a song about keeping clean. It is sung in Kinyarwanda.
Tip
Clean-looking is not clean
Sing the whole song once while you wash.
When the song ends, your hands have had enough water and soap.
Do each one, then tap Show answer to check.
What does the word isuku mean?
Answer: keeping clean.
Your hands look clean. Do you still wash before eating?
Answer: yes. The things that make you sick are too small to see.
Name two times when you must wash your hands.
Answer: before you eat, and after the toilet. Coming in from outside counts too.
A song says: sweep the floor and wash the plates. Is that a song about isuku?
Answer: yes. Isuku is your home as well as your body.
Wash your hands tonight before the evening meal, and sing while you do it.
Answer: water and soap, front and back, then dry them.
What you learned today
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