3rd Grade Rhythm Lessons 1-6

Each lesson is 30 minutes long.

Lesson 1 – Introduction

Lesson 2 – Rhythm

• Welcome Song / Friendship or Positive Song
• 3rd grade rhythm activity
• Old King Cole   (more nursery rhymes)    (more chants)
  • Teach chant and hand clapping
  • See rhythm cards on board – rearrange
  • Figure out a form (ABA?) and perform
• Long-Legged Sailor    (more songs with hand clapping)
  • I sing it to them and demonstrate the hand jive.

Lesson 3 – Rhythm

• Welcome Song / Friendship or Positive Song
• Old King Cole
  • Review chant and hand clapping
  • See rhythm cards on board – Review half note, quarter note, eighth notes, time sig, measure
  • As we chant “A,” I pick a student to rearrange notes into a 4-beat pattern.  Then we chant pattern.
• Echoing Rhythms
  • Pass out instruments (I name and demonstrate each one and explain the rule of instruments: if anyone plays when they are not supposed to, they lose the chance to play.)
    • Membranes: Hand drums  / tambourines
    • Woods: Woodblocks  / claves
    • Metals: Triangles  / Finger cymbals
  • In front, I have tubano (membrane), temple blocks (wood), suspended cymbal (metal). I do a 4-beat rhythm pattern on one, whoever has the same “family” of percussion echos.
• Long Legged Sailor
  • Students learn to sing and try to do hand jive in the air.
  • As time permits, students do hand jive in partners.

Lesson 4 – Rhythm

• Welcome Song / Friendship or Positive Song
• Old King Cole
  • Same as last lesson. Choose different students to rearrange cards.
• Put cards (turkey, mashed potatoes, Don’t forget the stuffing, Pumpkin pie) on board.  Make 4-ms. pattern. Barline, measure, t.s.
  • Back to seats, pass out instruments – pick up where we left off
  • Perform 4-ms pattern with me putting colored dots above each ms. to indicate which risers play (all blues play together)
• Long Legged Sailor + hand clapping
  • Add xylophone on FC – if time

Lesson 5 – Rhythm

• Welcome Song / Friendship or Positive Song
• Look at Long Legged Sailor rhythm cards:
  • Put “Long” “Legged” “Sailor” cards up on the board. Ask students, “Would these measures fit into my t.s. of 4?” (Answer: “NO” – Lead them to understand that we need to add quarter rests)
  • Sing song + hand clapping – students find partners
  • Add xylophones on FC – some students with partners, some on xylophones
• BOOK: Rumble in the Jungle
  • I read a few of the pages (the ones that have corresponding rhythm cards)
  • Show rhythm cards – “ta” through each rhythm card.
  • Introduce whole note* with the snake card.
• O Hanukkah   (more Hanukkah songs)   (Christmas songs)
  • Put cards with “hints” for Hanukkah on the board – students say rhythms “Festival of lights,” etc. Ask students if they know what holiday is referred to.
  • Intro O Hanukah PowerPoint.  Explain words.
  • Show dreidel.
  • Sing through song.
  • Roll dreidel to find out which notes to play, class sings.
  • Put together with “B” (board “hints”) – tambourines.

Lesson 6 – Rhythm

• Welcome Song / Friendship or Positive Song
• Rumble in the Jungle
  • Review rhythm cards
  • Review whole note
  • Pass out instruments in groups (each group is one animal rhythm)
  • Students switch instruments as time permits

See also

• List of songs with whole notes
• 3rd Grade Rhythm/Meter Lessons 7-12
• 3rd Grade Rhythm Lessons & Resources
• Lesson: Meter in 3
• Assessments
• lesson plans