Prep. Lesson 30. Rhythm syllables
- Woodblocks, fruit shaker Difficulty:
Prior learning: None
Students will learn to sing a song using an echo technique, keep in time while passing a fruit shaker, and practice call-and-response singing.
- Start by gathering the resources: pictures of food items (one for each student) and a fruit shaker or similar percussion instrument.
- Sing through the song to demonstrate how it should sound. Use expressive actions or gestures to highlight the beat and keywords.
- Teach the song using the echo technique. Sing one line at a time and have students echo it back. Continue until everyone is confident.
- Distribute food item cards to each student. Ensure each card features a different food item.
- Ask students to stand in a circle. Begin singing the song together while passing the fruit shaker around the circle, keeping in time with the beat.
- When the song stops on the word "eat", the student holding the shaker sings, “I have a [name of their food item]”. The rest of the group responds in singing voices, “He/she has a [repeat the food item]”.
- Continue until every student has had a turn holding the shaker and participating in the call-and-response.
Lyrics
What's on your dinner plate? You must find it hard to wait.
Rice, bread, pasta, meat. Is it time to stop and eat?
Success Criteria
- I can sing the song confidently using the echo technique.
- I can pass the fruit shaker on the beat while singing.
- I can sing my part in the call-and-response activity.
Students will identify and clap syllable patterns in words to develop rhythmic awareness and listening skills.
Success Criteria
- I can listen carefully to a clapped rhythm and match it to the correct word.
- I can count the syllables in a word and clap the correct rhythm.
- I can confidently lead the class by clapping syllables for others to guess.
- On the whiteboard, display a selection of food items with different numbers of syllables, such as bread, apples, bananas, and watermelon.
- Ensure the words are clear and spaced out for easy visibility. Choose one of the food items without saying it out loud.
- Clap the syllables of the chosen word, for example, two claps for “apple” or four claps for “watermelon.”
- Ask the students to listen carefully and determine which food item matches the clapping pattern.
- Encourage them to say the words quietly to themselves, clapping along to see if they match.
- After a few rounds, select different students to come to the front of the class.
- Each student silently picks a food item from the board and claps the syllables for the rest of the class to guess.
- Rotate through several students, ensuring everyone has a chance to participate.
- As the activity progresses, vary the difficulty by using words with more syllables or clapping at different speeds.
- Encourage the class to focus on listening carefully and consider that each word has to match the clapping patterns correctly.
Students will create and perform rhythmic ostinatos using body percussion and movement to represent the syllables of different food items.
Success Criteria
- I can suggest body percussion or movement that matches the syllables of a word.
- I can chant my food item while performing the correct movement in time with the beat.
- I can switch between different rhythmic patterns and movements confidently.
- Pick four food items from the board as a class, selecting words with different numbers of syllables, such as sandwich, strawberry, milk, and watermelon.
- Engage the students by asking for movement or body percussion suggestions to match the syllables of each chosen food item.
- For example, for 'sandwich', students might suggest punching the air to the left on "sand" and to the right on "wich." For 'strawberry', they might choose a patsch (patting the thighs) followed by two claps to match the three syllables.
- Once each food item has an associated movement or body percussion pattern, split the class into four groups.
- Assign one food item to each group. Each group should chant their food item rhythmically while performing the corresponding movement or body percussion, creating an ostinato—a repeating rhythmic pattern.
- Encourage students to maintain a steady beat and keep their movements in time with their chant.
- After all groups perform their ostinatos simultaneously, encourage the class to look around and observe how the different rhythm patterns fit together to create a cohesive piece of music.
- Highlight how their parts contribute to the overall sound.
- Rotate the groups so each student can perform each food item's ostinato.
Students will perform call-and-response patterns using instruments to represent the syllables of different food items.
Success Criteria
- I can play simple rhythmic patterns that match the syllables of food items on my instrument.
- I can listen carefully and echo a rhythm played by the teacher or a classmate.
- I can create my own food sequence and model it confidently for the class.
- Give each student a pair of claves or a tambour.
- Create a simple food sequence on the board using either an interactive whiteboard or large laminated pictures of food items. If these aren't available, students can quickly draw the food items on mini whiteboards or paper.
- Model a food sequence of four items, ensuring the syllables create a rhythmic pattern. For example: orange, orange, pineapple, banana.
- Clap or play the sequence on your tambour, matching the number of syllables to the beats (e.g., or-ange = two beats, pine-ap-ple = three beats).
- After modelling, ask the students to echo the sequence using their instruments, keeping in time with your rhythm. Emphasise the importance of listening carefully before responding.
- Select students to come up to the front and create their own food patterns on the board.
- The student models the pattern using their instrument while the rest of the class echoes the sequence.
- Rotate through several students, encouraging creativity in their patterns while maintaining steady timing.
- Encourage the class to listen closely to the different rhythms, noticing how syllables influence the beats and how patterns can be repeated or varied to create interesting musical sequences.
Students will identify animal names and clap the corresponding number of syllables to develop rhythmic awareness.
Success Criteria
- I can clap the correct number of syllables for each animal name.
- I can listen carefully to the sounds in words to match them with rhythmic claps.
- I can confidently participate in clapping activities with the class.
- Project or print the worksheet that displays animals alphabetically.
- Show the worksheet to the class, ensuring all students see the animal names.
- Ask students to identify each animal in turn. If they struggle with an unfamiliar animal, provide the name for them. Once the name is identified, have the students clap the number of syllables in the word. For example: antelope = clap-clap-clap, bear = clap, crocodile = clap-clap-clap.
- Encourage students to say the name aloud together before clapping, helping them to hear the syllable breaks. Rotate through the list, asking different students to lead by saying and clapping the animal names while the rest of the class echoes.
- If time allows, turn the activity into a game where students guess the animal based on clapped syllables alone or challenge them to find animals with the same number of syllables. This keeps the activity engaging while reinforcing syllable recognition and rhythmic skills.
Students will recognise and match syllables to spoken or clapped rhythms.
- Display a selection of fruit items on the whiteboard with varying numbers of syllables.
- Begin by clapping the syllables of one word at random, and have the students listen carefully to identify which word matches the rhythm.
- Invite individual students to take turns clapping the syllables of a word for the rest of the class to guess.
- To make the activity more dynamic and increase participation, you can add an optional time limit or allow students to suggest their own words.
- Conclude by discussing how understanding syllables can be useful in language and rhythm exercises.
Success Criteria
- I can listen to the rhythm of a word clapped by the teacher.
- I can identify the correct word based on its syllables.
- I can create rhythms by clapping syllables for others to discover.
Suggested lessons
Y1. Beat II
Y1. Beat III
Y1. Beat IV