Rhythm and Pulse Lesson Plan - Year 3 Lesson 6

In Year 3's sixth lesson on rhythm and pulse, students are tasked with a series of engaging activities designed to enhance their ability to maintain a steady pulse and improvise rhythmic patterns. The learning objectives set out to develop their skills in keeping a consistent beat while chanting, improvising within a group performance, associating rhythm symbols with actions, and strengthening their aural memory to recall rhythmic phrases. To facilitate this, rhythm flashcards serve as a key resource within the lesson. The main activities include a repeat of 'KNEE CLAP CLICK CLICK' from the first lesson, an improvised performance where each child in turn claps a 4-beat pattern within a group count, and an appraisal session to evaluate timing and rhythm fitting.

The lesson continues with the 'Rhythm Action Game' where students perform actions corresponding to different rhythm notations such as claps for 'Ta', knee taps for 'Te-Te', and a 'sh' sound for rests. This game challenges a student to recite complex rhythm patterns from memory and any mistakes result in a quick change of participant. The 'Bow Wow Wow' game is introduced with a similar rhythm action approach. A 'Rhythm Memory Game' helps to reinforce the children's ability to remember sequences of rhythm cards, progressively hiding the patterns to test their recall. The plenary includes singing 'Goodbye Everyone' with various levels of participation, from full singing with actions to humming and thinking the song in a two-part round. These activities align with the National Curriculum's objectives, focusing on performance, improvisation, attentive listening, and understanding of musical notation and structure.