Rhythm and Pulse Lesson Plan - Year 5 Lesson 1

In the first lesson of a Rhythm and Pulse series tailored for Year 5 students, the primary learning objectives are to chant in time with a steady pulse and to learn cue word actions for new games, as well as to improvise movements to represent a rest. The key vocabulary for this lesson includes 'pulse', 'rest', and 'internalise'. To facilitate the lesson, a variety of musical tracks are employed, each serving as a resource for the different rhythmic activities planned.

The main activities begin with the energetic 'Boom Chick-a-Boom', followed by the rhythm game 'Who Has a Brother?', which is a call and response game played rhythmically. The children then move on to 'Knee Knee Clap Clap' – Categories, where they choose a category and say a word from it while performing a sequence of taps and claps. The game 'Knee Clap Click Click' further challenges the children to keep a regular pulse while introducing themselves and their origin. The lesson also includes the song and game 'Tony Chestnut', where children perform actions associated with the lyrics, and 'Come, Butter, Come', where they invent actions during the rests. The game 'Goodbye Mary' encourages children to create and copy actions to the pulse. The plenary involves testing the children's ability to maintain a steady pulse with and without music, which helps them internalise the rhythm. These activities align with the National Curriculum's aim to sing and use voices to create music with others and to explore duration.