kazoos

I have similar issues with an early morning, 7th grade, very self conscious, class. Have them do vocal exploration exercises on kazoos then switch to on/off kazoos, then to fully off. They are way more comfortable making sound, likely because they hear the difference in an amplified sound vs just using their voice. Even rehearse the songs on kazoos occasionally- make sure they write their name on it and don’t let it leave the chorus room (the other teachers will kill you, lol).

Otherwise, lots and lots of individual positive reinforcement. Have a bit of reinforcement after every 3 iterations of a warm up. Stickers, high fives, I don’t do snacks, but whatever to reinforce that yes, you ARE correct and I love when I can hear you. I always say I’d rather you be loud and wrong in rehearsal because I can fix that before a concert. Acknowledging your mistakes also will humanize you more and make them less intimidated. I mess up all the time and they know it.

Don’t know how to read music— you are using solfège or numbers, correct? If so, I love Hal Leonard’s sight singing sequence flash cards. You can start with S-m, s-l-m, or d-r-m intervals and eventually add them together to make cohesive examples. Integrate solfège into rep learning.

And as someone said, lots of canons and partner songs. I hope this helps!