A Strategy To Teach Beat And Rhythm

1. The students will learn a repertoire of songs and rhymes from the above list and will demonstrate they are able to sing them in tune or say them confidently without the aid of the teacher:

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will learn the rhyme One, Two, Three, Four.

Review:  

The teacher sings "Good morning everyone"
The students echo the melody and sing "Good morning Teacher" (students sing the teacher's name)
"Great copying! Keep copying me."

Point:

The teacher says the first four beats of One, Two, Three, Four while pointing to himself/herself. The teacher then points to the students and they echo the phrase The teacher says the next four beats and the students echo, etc, until the students have echoed the teacher for the whole song.
"Repeat after me as I say longer sections of the rhyme." The teacher says the first eight beats and the students echo. The teacher repeats this process for the next 8 beats.
"Let's all say the whole rhyme together."

Reinforcement: 

"If I tap you on the head, we will say the rhyme with your name" (Repeat 2-3 times) 
"Let's say the rhyme again with our beautiful clear voices."

Repeat this process or a similar process to learn a wide range of rhymes and songs.

(Teaching Note: Make sure the rhyme is said rhythmically with an accent at the beginning of each beat, with a stronger accent at the beginning of each bar.)

1. The students will learn a repertoire of songs and rhymes from the above list and will demonstrate they are able to sing them in tune or say them confidently without the aid of the teacher:

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will learn the song Snail Snail.

Review:  

The teacher begins to chant the words to Snail Snail.   "Was I using my singing voice or my speaking voice?" (Speaking)

Point:

"This time I am going to sing – listen to our new song" The teacher sings Snail Snail.
"Sing after me." The teacher sings the first four beats and the students echo.
The teacher sings the next four beats and the students echo.
"Sing after me as I sing the whole song." (For longer songs, the teacher repeats this process, singing eight beats at a time).
"Let's all sing the whole song."

Reinforcement: 

"Let's sing the song again softly."
"This time sing without me!"
"Let's sing the song again with our beautiful singing voices."

Repeat this process or a similar process to learn a wide range of rhymes and songs.

2. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while moving to the music.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will move freely to the song Come Let's Dance

Review:  

"What are some things we can do while we listen to music?" (Read, play, sing, dance etc.)
"What are some moves we can make to music?" (Wave arms, skip, clap etc.)

Point:

"While I sing, move along to the music in a space of your own."

Reinforcement: 

"This time do some different moves!"
"I'm going to sing faster this time, keep moving!"
"I'm going to sing slower this time, keep moving!"

Teaching note: It is important that students experience beat in both simple and compound time signatures from an early age.

2. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while moving to the music.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will discern fast and slow tempi in the song "Sometimes the Music Goes Fast" and demonstrate their understanding with fast or slow movements.

Review:  

"Let's sing Sometimes the Music Goes Fast."
"This time, let's move as we sing."

Point:

"Listen as I sing the song again."
"(1st student) did I sing the song fast or slow?" (Fast)
"Let's sing the song with fast moves."
"(2nd student) did I sing the song fast or slow?" (Slow)      
"Let's sing the song with slow moves."

Reinforcement: 

"If I hold up a picture of a cheetah, we will sing the song fast, with fast moves. If I hold up a picture of a snail, we will sing the song slowly with slow moves.” (Repeat a few times)
"(3rd student) come and choose which picture to hold up next."
"Let's sing Sometimes the music goes fast all together with our beautiful singing voices."

(Teaching Note: For this activity just sing the first verse of the song and you can use the contrast cube by only showing the picture of the snail and the cheetah.)

3. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (keeping time to the music) with gross motor movements.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing the song Johnny Works With One Hammer while keeping time to the music with their hands making hammering motions.

Review:  

The teacher begins singing Johnny Works With One Hammer and the students join in.

Point:

"Watch while I hammer in time to the music."
"With eyes on me, let's all hammer in time to the music."

Reinforcement: 

"Let's hammer with our left hand in time to the music."
"Right hand this time!"
"Use your right foot to hammer in time to the music!"
"Let's all sing Johnny Works With One Hammer with our beautiful singing voices."

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use a variety of songs that suggest movements with their words to have students demonstrate keeping in time with the beat with gross motor skills using their hands and feet while sitting or standing still.
   
   Examples:
   Good Night Sleep Tight and Bye-lo Baby-O - rocking a baby to sleep.       
   Bounce High – can make bouncing motion with or without a ball       
   Cuckoo Where Are You – flap like a bird       
   Engine Engine – move arms round and round by side of body like a train       
   See a Pin and Pick it Up – beat 1 pick up ‘pin’, beat 2 put in pocket       
   See Saw – arms held out straight and move up and down.

2. Use any songs and tap, clap different part of your body (e.g. head, shoulders, toes) each time the song is sung.

3. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (keeping time to the music) with gross motor movements.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing the song ”Oh Well You Walk” while keeping time to the music with their feet while they walk.

Review:  

The teacher begins singing "Oh Well You Walk" and the students join in.

Point:

"Watch while I walk in time to the music." 
"Let's all stand and walk on the spot in time to the music"         

Reinforcement: 

Teacher keeps singing and with words and/or actions shows students their new actions for each verse. Singing:
"Oh well you stamp…"
"Oh well you jump…"
"Oh well you hop…"
"Oh well you creep…"
"Oh well you kick..."
"Let's sing Oh Well You Walk with our beautiful singing voices as we sit down."

3. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (keeping time to the music) with gross motor movements.

(c) Behavioural Objective: The students will walk the beat of "Blue Bells" by stepping on beat icons in time with the music.

Review:  

The teacher holds up a picture of a blue flower for the students to guess what song it belongs to, (the teacher hums the song if the students need a hint).
The teacher begins singing "Blue Bells" and the students join in.
The teacher walks to the beat in a circle, the students follow and make a circle.

Point:  

"I am going to place these pictures in a circle. As we sing this time, keep in time with the song by stepping near each picture, one after the other."

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) we will watch and clap in time with the music while you keep in time with the song by stepping near each picture."
"(2nd student) we will watch and stamp in time with the music while you keep in time with the song by stepping near each picture."
"(3rd student) we will watch and tap our shoulders in time with the music while you keep in time with the song by stepping near each picture."
"Let's all sit and sing "Blue Bells" with our beautiful singing voices."

3. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (keeping time to the music) with gross motor movements.

(d) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing the song "See Saw" while holding hands with a partner and alternate having hands high or low like a see saw in time with the music.

Review:  

The teacher begins singing "See Saw" and the students join in.
"Let's all stand and walk on the spot in time to the music."
"Join with me while I bob up and down in time to the music."

Point:  

"Watch while (1st student) and I join hands and pretend we are a see saw. I'm going to start by standing and (1st student) will start by crouching and we will keep swapping in time to the music."
"As we keep singing I'm going to put you in pairs and as soon as you have a partner you can start being a see saw too!"

Reinforcement:  

"(2nd and 3rd student) show us how you see saw in time with the music."
"(4th and 5th student) show us how you see saw in time with the music."
"Let's all sit and sing "See Saw" with our beautiful singing voices."

4. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (keeping time to the music) with gross motor movements.

(e) Behavioural Objective: The students will walk in a circle stamping to show the beat in the rhyme "Engine, Engine" in a variety of tempi.

Review:  

The teacher begins to say the rhyme "Engine, Engine" emphasising each word or syllable that falls on the beat. The students join in.
The teacher stands and begins walking clockwise around the classroom and the students follow him/her.
"Boys and Girls, let's stamp in time to the rhyme."

Point:  

"Boys and Girls, our train is about to slow down as it goes up a hill." Students follow the teacher saying the rhyme and stamping at a much slower speed.
"Our train is now racing down the hill." Students follow the teacher saying the rhyme and stamping at a much faster speed.
"Now we are chugging through the countryside" Student follow the teacher saying the rhyme and stamping at a leisurely tempo.

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) Is our train going to go fast, slow or at a moderate speed this time?"   (fast) The teacher sets the speed and students say the rhyme and stamp on each beat at a fast tempo.
"(2nd student) Is our train going fast or slow or at a moderate speed this time?"  (slow) The teacher sets the speed and the students say the rhyme and stamp on each beat at a slow tempo.
"The train is now coming into the station. (3rd student) can you please show us how the train slows down so it can stop when it reaches the station? The teacher starts the rhyme at a moderate speed and the (3rd student) gradually slows the beat down with the class following.  
"Let's say the rhyme once more clearly as we sit down."  

5. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (the time of the song or rhyme) with fine motor movements.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will use a hand drum to keep time with the song "One Two Tie My Shoe".

Review:  

The teacher begins to sing the song "One Two Tie My Shoe" and taps the beat on his/her knees. The students join in with the singing and the tapping. 
"(1st student) Where can we keep time with the music this time?"  (E.g. answer: " On our shoulders".)

Point:  

"Watch while I show another way to keep time to the music." 
The teacher takes a hand drum and as she he/she sings "One Two Tie My Shoe" he/she softly taps the beat on the drum. 

Reinforcement:  

"Help me sing the song while I keep in time with the music with the drum." 
"(2nd student) Could you please keep time with the music on the drum while we sing the song." 
"(2nd student) Choose another person to keep time with the music on the drum." The drum is passed to a number of students to play.
"Let's sing "One Two Tie My Shoe" with beautiful singing voices." 

5. The students will sing and say a range of songs and rhymes while keeping the beat (the time of the song or rhyme) with fine motor movements.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing the song "Kangaroo" while pointing to beat icons which represent the beat.

Review:  

The teacher begins to sing the song "Kangaroo" and the students join in. 
The teacher sings the song again and keeps time with the song on his/her head, the students copy. 

Point:  

"Boys and girls, I'm going to keep time to this song in a new way." 
The teacher shows a beat sheet with sixteen kangaroos, one for each beat of the song. 
The teacher sings the song, keeping the beat by pointing in time to each picture. 

Reinforcement:  

"Please sing the song while I point to the pictures." 
"(1st student) Can you come and point to the pictures in time with the music while we all sing "Kangaroo" 
"(1st student) Please choose someone else to point to the pictures."  Another student points to the pictures on the beat.
"Let's all sing "Kangaroo" with our beautiful singing voices. 

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will discover that a name can have more than one sound. Students will say their name while clapping the syllables.

Review:  

The teacher sings good morning/ afternoon to the class and the students all echo. 
The teacher sings a greeting to a few individual students e.g. "Good morning Tabitha". The student then replies "Good morning Teacher". 

Point:  

"Today we are going to clap our names. Listen while I clap my name.  The teacher claps "Tea-cher"*. (Substitute your name and how many sounds your name has).
How many sounds does my name have? (Two)*  

Reinforcement:  

"Michael", if I was to clap your name I would clap "Mi-chael John-son". 
"If I tap you on your head, please clap and say your name."  (Repeat a number of times. For students who have trouble, the teacher can demonstrate and the student can copy.)
"If I tap you on your head, please say your name and stamp your foot for each sound in your name." 
"I'm going to call out some names and clap them – everyone, say them after me." 

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing the song "Clap Me Your Name". Individual students will insert and clap the syllables of their own name.

Review:  

The teacher sings good morning/ afternoon to the class and the students all echo. 
The teacher sings a greeting to a few individual students and claps each syllable of the greeting e.g. "Good morn-ing Ma-til-da". The student then replies singing and clapping each syllable "Good morn-ing Tea-cher". 

Point:  

The teacher sings the song "Clap Me Your Name", and sings "My name is Tea-cher" while clapping each sound of "Tea-cher". The teacher claps "Tea-cher"*. (Substitute your name and how many sounds your name has).
"Let's all sing this song and pretend we are the teacher!" 

Reinforcement:  

"If I tap you on the head, the class will sing the first part of the song and you can sing and clap your name."  (Repeat a number of times)
"This ball is going to be passed around in time with the music, if you are holding the ball on the word "name" you can put the ball down and clap and sing your name."  (Repeat the song a number of times.)
"Let's sing the song with our beautiful singing voices and we will all pretend we are the teacher." 

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(c) Behavioural Objective: The students will discover that a word can have more than one sound. Students will clap and say words from an African Animals Syllable Cube.

Review:  

The teacher sings good morning/ afternoon to the class and the students all echo. 
The teacher sings and claps each syllable: "My name is Tea-cher" 
"(1st student) can you please sing and clap me your name?"  (My name is Jor-dan)
"(2nd student) can you please sing and clap me your name?"  (My name is Har-ry)

Point:  

"Today we are going to clap the names of some African animals. Listen while I clap the first one. "El-e-phant". 
"Listen while I clap and say that again and tell me how many sounds I clap"  (Three)

Reinforcement:  

"If I hand you this cube, gently roll it and then clap the name of the animal that is on top."  (Repeat a number of times)
"I'm going to call out each of the animals' names. Everyone say and clap them back to me." 

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(d) Behavioural Objective: The students will clap 4 beat rhythms containing combinations of ta and ti-ti after the teacher claps them.

Review:  

"Copy what I do." (Teacher does a series of body ostinati and the students copy e.g.:
Shoulders –head  (ta ta)
Knees – hips  (ta ta)
Clap Clap – Knees  (ti-ti ta)

Point:  

"This time copy my clapping. I will clap, then when I nod, everyone can echo what I clapped."  Teacher claps a series of 4 beat rhythms containing ta and ti-ti and the students echo. E.g. etc.

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student), copy my feet" – teacher stamps  
"(2nd student), copy my hands" - teacher claps  
"Everyone, copy my feet" – teacher stamps  
"This time copy my hands with lovely clear clapping"   

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(e) Behavioural Objective: The students will clap in time with the words of "Bee Bee Bumble Bee"

Review:  

"Let's say the rhyme "Bee Bee Bumble Bee" 
"Let's keep the time of our rhyme on our knees"  (Students copy the teacher tapping the beat on their knees)

Point:  

"Watch while I clap the words of our rhyme"  (The teacher claps and says the first line of the rhyme, emphasising "bum-ble".)
"Copy me as I say and clap the words."  (The teacher claps and says each line of the rhyme, emphasising words with more than one syllable. The teacher claps one line then waits for the students to echo clap and say the line before starting the next one).

Reinforcement:  

"Let's say and clap the rhyme all together" 
"Let's put the words in our feet." 
"Boys, put the words on your shoulders while the girls say the words" 
"Girls, put the words on your knees while the boys say the words." 
"Let's say the rhyme all together with our lovely clear voices." 

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(f) Behavioural Objective: The students will play a hand drum in time with the words of "Queen Queen Caroline".

Review:  

"Let's say the rhyme "Queen Queen Caroline" 
"Let's keep the time of our rhyme on our knees"  (Students copy the teacher tapping the beat on their knees)
"Let's clap the words of our rhyme." 

Point:  

"We are going to keep the words of our rhyme in a different way today. Watch while I play the words of our rhyme on this hand drum"  (The teacher taps the drum and says the rhyme, emphasising words with more than one syllable.) 

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) you can keep the words of our rhyme on the hand drum while the rest of us say and clap the words." 
"(2nd student) you can keep the words of our rhyme on the hand drum while the rest of us say and tap the words on our ears." 
"(3rd student) you can keep the words of our rhyme on the hand drum while the rest of us say and stamp the words." 
"Let's say "Queen Queen Caroline" all together with our lovely clear voices." 

6. The students will understand that words can have different numbers of sounds. Students will practise clapping each sound (syllable) of words.

(g) Behavioural Objective: The students will clap the rhythm of "Rain Rain" while inner hearing the words.

Review:  

"Let's sing "Rain Rain". 
"Let's keep the time of our song on our knees"  (Students copy the teacher tapping the beat on their knees).
"Let's clap the words of "Rain Rain." 

Point:  

"This time sing and clap the words of "Rain Rain" while I do something different." 
"(1st student) what was I doing?"  (Clapping the words without singing.)
"Let's all clap the words but keep the words in our heads". 

Reinforcement:  

"Girls, this time you can clap the words but keep the words in your heads. Boys you can sing the song." 
"Boys, this time you can tap the words on your shoulders but keep the words in your head. Girls, you can sing the song." 
"Let's all sing "Rain Rain" with our beautiful singing voices." 

(a) Behavioural Objective: By moving to the rhyme "See Saw" the students will discover that the regular pulse in the music is called the beat.

Review:  

"Boys and girls, let's sing "See Saw" and stamp our feet in time with the music." 
"(1st student) show us another way to keep time with the music".  (E.g. clap)
"(2nd student) can you show us another action to keep in time with the music?"  (E.g. tap knees).

Point:  

"Boys and Girls when we use an action to keep in time we are showing a very special part of the music. This is called the beat. If we have a strong healthy heart it always beats in a regular way. The beat in music is the same – it will be strong and regular – always the same." 
 

Reinforcement:  

"Let's sing "See Saw" again and put the beat on our feet." 
"(3rd student) Show us another way to keep the beat."  (E.g. tap shoulders)
"(4th student) What can you tell us about the beat?" (It is always the same)
"Let's sing "See Saw" with beautiful singing voices while we softly clap the beat." 

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will discover that the pattern of the words in "See Saw" is called the rhythm, by watching the teacher demonstrate the rhythmic pattern.

Review:  

The students sing "See Saw" while keeping a steady beat on their knees. 
"Boys and girls, what do we call the part of the music we just put on our knees?"  (The beat)

Point:  

Teacher: "Boys and Girls, listen while I sing "See Saw". Am I clapping the beat while I sing or is it something different?" 
The teacher sings "See Saw" while clapping the rhythmic pattern and the students derive that something is different. 
The teacher asks the students if they can tell what he/she is clapping. 
The students derive that the teacher is clapping in time with the words. 
"Musicians have a special name for this. When they keep time with the words, they call it the 'rhythm'." 

Reinforcement:  

"Boys and girls, can you sing the song "See Saw" and make your hands clap the rhythm of the words.  (The students sing the song while clapping the rhythm.)
"Let's all sing "See Saw" with our beautiful singing voices." 

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will practise keeping the beat on various parts of their body while singing "On a Log" by following the teacher as a model.

Review:  

The students sing "On a Log" while keeping a steady beat on their knees. Boys and girls, what do we call the part of the music we just put on our knees?  (The beat) 

Point:  

"Watch carefully and copy where I put the beat!"  The teacher sings the song with the children 3 or more times and each time puts the beat in a different place, e.g. head, shoulders, nose, index fingers.

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) where can we put the beat this time?"  (In our feet)
"(2nd student) where can we put the beat this time?"  (On our hips)
"Let's sing "On a Log" once more with our beautiful singing voices and keep the beat on our knees." 
 

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will practise keeping the beat to "Two, Four, Six Eight" on various parts of their body as a class and in groups without the teacher.

Review:  

The students say "Two, Four, Six, Eight" while keeping a steady beat on their shoulders. 
"Boys and girls, what do we call the part of the music we just put on our shoulders?"  (The beat)

Point:  

"Let's keep the beat on our knees."  The teacher starts the children saying the rhyme and keeping the beat and stops tapping his/ her knees after a couple of bars.
"This time keep the beat on your head and I'm not going to help!" 
"This side of the room say the rhyme and keep the beat on your nose." 
"Now this side of the room say the rhyme and keep the beat on your chin." 

Reinforcement:  

"This side of the room say the rhyme and keep the beat on your head while the other side of the room keeps the beat in their feet."  Teacher observes without keeping the beat.
"Girls, say the rhyme and clap the beat, boys say the rhyme and tap the beat on your elbow."  Teacher observes without keeping the beat.
"Let's all say the rhyme with our beautiful clear speaking voices while we tap the beat on our knees. 
 

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(c) Behavioural Objective: The students will individually demonstrate they can keep the beat while singing "Lucy Locket".

Review:  

The students sing "Lucy Locket" while keeping a steady beat on their feet.  
"Boys and girls, what do we call the part of the music we just put on our feet?" (The beat)

Point:  

"Let's keep the beat on our knees."  
"This time keep the beat on your head and shut your eyes!" 

Reinforcement:  

"Let's keep the beat on our wrists and close our eyes again!" 
"(1st student), please show us how you keep the beat on your head." 
"(2nd student), please show us how you keep the beat on your shoulders" 
"Let's all sing "Lucy Locket" with our beautiful singing voices while we tap the beat on our knees." 

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(d) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform the beat by pointing to pictures on the Engine Engine Beat Sheet as they say "Engine Engine".

Review:  

The teacher holds up a beat icon with a train on it. "What song or rhyme does this beat picture belong to?  (Engine Engine)
"Let's all say "Engine, Engine" while we keep the beat on our heads." 

Point:  

"Watch while I keep the beat in a new way."  The teacher keeps the beat by pointing to the pictures on the "Engine Engine Beat Sheet".
"Let's all say 'Engine Engine' while everyone points to the beat on their own beat sheets." 

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) Please come to the board and show us how you keep the beat on our beat sheet." 
"(2nd student) Please come to the board and show us how you keep the beat on our beat sheet." 
"Let's all say "Engine Engine" with our beautiful clear speaking voices while we clap the beat softly." 

Teaching Note: Alternatives for giving every student their own beat sheet is to have the students sit in rows or in a circle, give a few students a beat sheet and have them pass it to the person beside them after the rhyme is said each time. Or, you can just invite individual students up to the board to demonstrate.

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(e) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform the beat by playing a woodblock while singing "Bounce High".

Review:  

Teacher begins singing "Bounce High" and students join in. 
Teacher begins clapping the beat and the students join in. 
Teacher taps his/her knees to the beat and the students copy. 

Point:  

"Watch while I keep the beat a different way." The teacher keeps the beat on a woodblock while everyone sings the song. 
"(1st student) come and play the woodblock while the rest of us sing and pretend we have a woodblock." 

Reinforcement:  

"Who thinks they could play the beat on the wood-block?" 
Two children perform the rhythm on the woodblock. Everyone else taps the beat on their knees. 
"This time let's sing with a slower beat while (4th student) plays the woodblock." 
"This time we will have a faster beat while (5th student) plays the woodblock." 
"Let's sing "Bounce High" with our beautiful singing voices and keep the beat on our knees." 

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(f) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform the beat by stepping on beat icons around a circle while singing "Bye-lo Baby-O".

Review:  

The teacher holds up a beat icon with a baby on it. "What song could this picture belong to?  (Bye-lo Baby-O)
Teacher begins singing "Bye-lo Baby-O" and students join in. 
Teacher begins tapping the beat on his/her arm and the students join in. 
Teacher taps his/her feet and the students copy. 

Point:  

"Watch while I keep the beat a different way." The teacher puts down beat icons and steps on a picture on each beat." 
"As we walk in a circle, let's keep the beat by stepping on our beat pictures." 

Reinforcement:  

"Let's keep a slow beat as we walk around the circle." 
"Let's keep a slightly faster beat this time." 
"Quiet feet and voices this time!" 
"Let's all sing "Bye-lo Baby-O" with our beautiful singing voices." 

Teaching Note: For this activity, it would work best to have one beat picture per child, so everyone can step on one every beat of the song. Alternatively, you can have eight pictures and have eight children step the beat in a small circle and then swap with the other children. The other students could form an outside circle and still walk around on the beat.

1. The students will practise the beat in a variety of ways to a range of songs and rhymes.

(g) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform beat by keeping a two beat body ostinato while singing "Cobbler Cobbler".

Review:  

Teacher begins singing "Cobbler Cobbler" and the students all join in. 
Teacher begins tapping the beat on his/her shoulders and all the students join in. 

Point:  

"I'm going to tap something different – watch carefully!" 
The teacher taps his/her shoulders once and then taps his/her knees once, repeating this pattern throughout the song. 
"(1st student) how did I keep the beat that time?"  (By tapping your shoulders and then your knees.)
"Let's all sing and tap this way!" 

Reinforcement:  

"(2nd student) what two places on our body can we keep our new pattern?"  (Our chin and our toes)
"Who would like to come and show the class two new places to keep our beat?"  (One or two children chosen)
"Let's all sing "Cobbler Cobbler" with our beautiful singing voices." 

Teaching Note: when children can keep a two beat body ostinato securely, it can be extended to a four beat body ostinato, e.g. head, shouldesr, clap, knees

2. The students will practise rhythm in a variety of ways to a range of known songs and rhymes.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform the melody of "Good Night, Sleep Tight" while clapping the rhythmic pattern.

Review:  

Boys and girls, please sing "Good Night, Sleep Tight" in beautiful singing voices." 
"Please sing the song again as you gently tap the beat on your shoulders." 
"Last lesson we discovered that there is something else in music besides the beat. Who remembers the name?"  (Rhythm)

Point:  

"We know that the rhythm is the pattern of the words. Listen while I sing "Good Night, Sleep Tight" and make my hands clap the pattern of the words." "
This time, can you do the same with me?"  "

Reinforcement:  

"Let's have the boys do that by themselves." 
"Let's have the girls do it by themselves." 
"(1st student) what do we call the pattern of the words?"  (The rhythm)
"Please sing "Good Night, Sleep Tight" with beautiful singing voices." 
 

2. The students will practise rhythm in a variety of ways to a range of known songs and rhymes.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will use inner hearing to practise the rhythm of "Snail Snail".

Review:  

"Please sing "Snail Snail" as you keep the beat on your knees." 
"Please sing "Snail Snail" as you keep the rhythm on your hands." 

Point:  

"Boys and girls, watch while I keep the rhythm on my hands but hide the words of the song in my head."  

Reinforcement:  

"Can everyone keep the rhythm on their hands but hide the words of the song in their heads?" 
"Can anyone do it by themselves?" 
"Let's all do it once more and then sing this song with beautiful voices." 
 

2. The students will practise rhythm in a variety of ways to a range of known songs and rhymes.

(c) Behavioural Objective: The students will use claves to tap the rhythmic pattern of "Bye-lo Baby-o" keeping the words in their heads.

Review:  

"Please sing "Bye-lo Baby-o" as you put the beat into your feet." 
"Please sing the song as you clap the rhythm." 
"Please clap the rhythm of the song as you put the words into your heads." 

Point:  

"Watch while I play the rhythm of "Bye-lo Baby-o" with the claves." 
(The teacher plays the rhythm while mouthing the words of the song.) 
"What did I do to help me play the rhythm correctly?" 
The students will understand that they need to think the words in their heads. 

Reinforcement:  

"Who thinks they could play the rhythm of this song with the claves?" 
Two or three children perform the rhythm on claves. 
The class sings the song while clapping the rhythm led by one child on the claves. 
The song is sung with beautiful singing voices. 

2. The students will practise rhythm in a variety of ways to a range of known songs and rhymes.

(d) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing "Rain Rain" while pointing to a rhythm sheet which represent the rhythm of the song.

Review:  

The students sing "Rain Rain" while tapping the beat on their shoulders. 
The students sing "Rain Rain" while clapping the rhythm on their hands.  

Point:  

"Boys and girls, watch while I sing "Rain Rain" and show the rhythm another way." 
The teachers uses a rhythm chart which shows a cloud for each beat and raindrops to show the rhythm. The teacher sings the song while pointing to the icons for the rhythm. 

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) can you come and point to the rhythm?" 
"(2nd student) can you come and do the same?" 
All sing "Rain Rain" while clapping the rhythmic pattern. 

2. The students will practise rhythm in a variety of ways to a range of known songs and rhymes.

(e) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform rhythm by keeping a two beat body ostinato containing "ta" and "ti-ti" while singing "Kangaroo".

Review:  

Teacher begins singing "Kangaroo" and the students all join in. 
Teacher begins tapping the beat on his/her shoulders and all the students join in. 
Teacher taps his/her shoulders and then his/her knees alternating on the beat throughout the song, students join in. 
"(1st student), what part of our body were we just keeping the beat on?"  (Our shoulders and our knees)
"(2nd student) how many times did we tap our shoulders each beat?  (Once)
"(3rd student) how many times did we tap our knees on each beat?  (Once)

Point:  

"I'm going to tap something different – watch carefully!" 
The teacher taps his/her shoulders once and then taps his/her knees twice on the one beat. (A  rhythmic pattern). This pattern continues throughout the song. 
"(4th student) how many times did we tap our shoulders each beat?"  (Once)
"(5th student) how many times did we tap our knees each beat?"  (Twice)
"Let's all sing and tap this way!" 

Reinforcement:  

"(6th student) what two places on our body can we keep our new pattern?"  (Our chin and our toes)
The class taps the  pattern on their chin and toes. 
"Who would like to come and show the class a way to keep our new pattern?"  (One or two children chosen)
"Let's all sing "Kangaroo" with our beautiful singing voices." 

3. The students will develop the ability to distinguish between beat and rhythm.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform "See Saw" with either beat or rhythm as directed by the teacher.

Review:  

"Please sing "See Saw" with the beat. (1st student) show us a way to perform the beat today." 
The students perform with the beat. 
"Please sing "See Saw"as you clap the rhythm." 
The students perform with the rhythm. 

Point:  

"I have two cards. One has a heart on it and one has books on it. The heart stands for the beat – The books for the rhythm. 
When you see the heart, you should sing "See Saw" and tap the beat on your heart. When you see the books, you should sing "See Saw" and clap the rhythm on your hands." 
The class sings "See Saw" with beat or rhythm according to the card they see. 

Reinforcement:  

"(2nd student) What part of the music do you show when you see the heart?"  (Beat)
"(3rd student) What part of the music do you show when you see the books?"  (Rhythm)
"Let's sing "See Saw" again with our beautiful singing voices." 

3. The students will develop the ability to distinguish between beat and rhythm.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will identify whether the teacher is performing beat or rhythm with the rhyme "Bumble Bee, Stung a Bear Upon His Knee".

Review:  

"Please say the rhyme "Bumble Bee" and show the beat on your shoulders." 
"Please say the rhyme "Bumble Bee" and tap the rhythm on your knees." 

Point:  

"Boys and girls, watch as I say the rhyme "Bumble Bee". Tell me if I am performing the beat or the rhythm." 
The teacher says the rhyme while putting the beat on her feet and the students identify 'beat'. 
The teacher says the rhyme while putting the rhythm on her head and the students identify 'rhythm'. 

Reinforcement:  

"(Jamie) can you say "Bumble Bee" and show either beat or rhythm."  The other students identify which is used.
Other students repeat the exercise. 
All say "Bumble Bee" with clear speaking voices. 

3. The students will develop the ability to distinguish between beat and rhythm.

(c) Behavioural Objective: The students will sing "Snail Snail" and determine which beats have one sound on the beat and which have two sounds on the beat. The students will turn over beat icons to show where there are two sounds on a beat.

Review:  

The teacher holds up a "beat icon" with a snail on it. "What song could this picture belong to?  (Snail Snail)
Teacher sings "Snail Snail" and the students join in. 
Teacher sings "Snail Snail" tapping the beat on his/her shoulders and the students join in. 
"How many beats in this song? Let's sing the song again and count them!"  (Eight beats)
"Let's put eight beat pictures out on the ground." 

Point:  

"Watch very carefully while I step the rhythm next to our beat pictures." 
The teacher steps the rhythm next to each beat picture emphasising the beats with two sounds on them. 
"Did I step just once on each beat picture?"  (No)
"How many times did I step on some beats?"  (Two times)
"Watch again while I step the rhythm and then tell me which beats have two sounds on them." 
Students are chosen to come and turn over the pages with two sounds on them. Once turned over, there will be two snails showing. 

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) come and step the rhythm next to our beat/rhythm pictures while everyone else sings the song."  (Repeat for 2 more students)
"(4th student) I'm going to turn all the pictures back to beat pictures – come and turn over the beats with two sounds on them." 
"Let's all sing 'Snail Snail' with our beautiful singing voices." 

4. The students will experience beat and rhythm simultaneously.

(a) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform the rhyme "Eeny Meeny Miny Mo" with half the class performing the rhythm and the other half performing the beat.

Review:  

"Boys and girls" please say 'Eeny Meeny Miny Mo' as you tap the beat on your knees." 
"Please say the rhyme as you tap the rhythm on your head." 

Point:  

"Let's have just this side of the class say the rhyme as they tap the beat." 
"Let's have the other half say the rhyme as they tap the rhythm." 
"Can each group do their part at the same time as the other?" 

Reinforcement:  

"Let's swap parts. If you were the beat, you should now be the rhythm." 
"Let's have (1st student) and (2nd student) perform the rhyme together." 
"You should each choose another person to do your part." 
"Let's sing the song with beautiful singing voices." 

4. The students will experience beat and rhythm simultaneously.

(b) Behavioural Objective: The students will perform beat and rhythm simultaneously while singing "Lucy Locket". One half of the class will be led by a student playing the drum and the other led by a student playing a triangle.

Review:  

The teacher claps the rhythm of "Lucy Locket" and asks the students what song he/she just clapped. The students recognise the rhythm as "Lucy Locket". 
"Let's sing "Lucy Locket" while we tap a beat on our knees." 
"(1st student) can you tap the rhythm on this drum while we sing?" 
"(2nd student) can you tap the beat on this triangle while we sing?"

Point:  

"This side of the class will sing "Lucy Locket" and tap the rhythm on their shoulders with (1st student) tapping the rhythm on the drum and at the same time, the other side of the class will sing "Lucy Locket" and keep the beat on their knees with (2nd student) tapping the beat on the wood block." 

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) and (2nd student) please give your instruments to two other people. 
Let's sing "Lucy Locket" again while these new people keep the beat and the rhythm." 
"Let's sing the song with the words." 

4. The students will experience beat and rhythm simultaneously.

(c) Behavioural Objective: The students will tap the rhythm of "Bobby Shafto" on percussion instruments while stepping the beat.

Review:  

The teacher sings "Bobby Shafto" and the students join in. 
The teacher claps the rhythm while singing the song and the students join in. 
The teacher begins walking in a circle, stepping the beat and the students follow. 

Point:  

"I'm going to give (1st student) a triangle and while the rest of us clap the rhythm he/she is going to keep the rhythm on the triangle." 
"This time while (1st student) keeps the rhythm on the triangle, we are all going to walk the beat in our circle."  

Reinforcement:  

"(2nd student) you can have the triangle, (3rd student) here is a tambour, and (4th student) here are some claves. Everyone let's keep walking the beat while these students keep the rhythm on their instruments." 
"If you have an instrument, pass it to the person in front of you. Let's sing again. If you have an instrument tap the rhythm, everyone else put the rhythm on your shoulders while we all walk the beat." 
"Let's sing "Bobby Shafto" with our beautiful singing voices while the people with percussion instruments put them away and we all sit down." 

Teaching Note: Because this song starts with three beats of ti-tis, students can mistakenly think the beat is twice as fast. You may find you need to demonstrate the beat to start students off, or count in and have students start their stepping before the song starts.

4. The students will experience beat and rhythm simultaneously.

(d) Behavioural Objective: The students will sit in pairs facing each other. One student will tap the beat on their partner's shoulders, the other student will tap the rhythm on their partner's knees while singing "Apple Tree".

Review:  

The teacher sings "Apple Tree" and everyone joins in. 
The teacher taps the rhythm on his/her knees and everyone joins in.  
"Did I just tap the rhythm or the beat?"  (The rhythm)
"This time let's clap the beat." 

Point:  

"Everyone find a partner and sit down facing them while we continue to sing."  (Teacher assists this process!)
"Pick one person in each group to keep the beat. If you are the beat person, put your hand on your partner's shoulders. Everyone sing "Apple Tree" while the beat person taps the beat." 
"Hands up if you are not the beat person! If your hands are up, now put them on your partner's knees – you are the rhythm person. Rhythm people, tap the rhythm while we all sing "Apple Tree." 
"Let's do both those things together!"  

Reinforcement:  

"(1st student) you can be my partner and show the class how well you keep the beat on my shoulders, while I keep the rhythm on your shoulders." 
"(2nd student) you can now be my partner and show the class how well you keep the rhythm!" 
"(3rd and 4th students) come and show us how well you keep the beat and rhythm." 
"Let's all sing "Apple Tree" with our beautiful singing voices!"