Here at Mobile Music School, we believe music for primary school level should be interactive, engaging and fun. Music for primary school level can be quite daunting, especially for teachers who aren’t comfortable teaching music. We decided to help teachers out by providing this fun and festive rhythm activity to try with your class.
With Christmas around the corner, why not incorporate some festivity into music for primary school students? Rather than the traditional songs such as jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, why not mix it up and try a rhythm based activity with your class? This Christmas rhythm activity can be used in various ways according to the age and musical experience of the children. You don’t need any extra equipment, although some wooden tone blocks or a tambourine might come in handy. Children can use clapping or body percussion if instruments aren’t available, making this exercise accessible for every school!
How it works:
- Print out the rhythm flash cards below:
- Show each card to class.
- Say the words on card aloud a few times.
- Teacher claps words on card aloud, and gets class to copy. Each syllable of each word is a beat, or a clap. By saying the words out phonetically, the amount of beats in each word will become apparent to class. This will make the class familiar with the concept of rhythm notation. You may use the notation to prompt class.
- Spend some time clapping the rhythms, as you say the words together.
- Once familiar, you can then play a guessing & recognition game, where you tap the rhythm but don’t say the word and the class has to guess which word the rhythm belongs to.
Interested in booking a workshop or short programme? Contact us here.
