Rhythm and Pulse Lesson Plan - Year 4 Lesson 1

In the first lesson of the Year 4 Rhythm & Pulse series, students are introduced to the foundational concepts of keeping a steady pulse and enhancing their aural memory through various musical activities. The learning objectives set out for this lesson are to maintain a constant beat while chanting, to internalise and remember sounds more effectively, and to create their own musical patterns. Key vocabulary terms such as rhythm, pulse, and chant are emphasised to ensure students become familiar with the language of music.

The lesson is packed with interactive activities, starting with the 'BOOM CHICK-A-BOOM' chant and moving on to rhythm games like 'WHO HAS A BROTHER?', which is a call and response exercise focused on rhythm. Students also engage in 'KNEE KNEE CLAP CLAP'—a game where they choose a category and take turns creating a rhythm with words from that category. 'KNEE CLAP CLICK CLICK' further challenges students to keep a regular pulse while introducing themselves rhythmically. The lesson includes extension activities that encourage creativity, such as inventing names and places or associating words with the same initial letter as their names. Finally, the lesson concludes with a plenary where students sing 'GOODBYE EVERYONE' with actions, first with singing, then humming, and finally thinking the tune with actions, reinforcing their aural skills and memory.