Feel the Beat

Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area: The Arts – Music
Year Level: Year 5
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptor:
ACAMUM085 – Develop aural skills by exploring, imitating and recognising elements of music including dynamics, pitch, rhythm patterns and form in music they listen to, compose and perform.

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WALT (We Are Learning To):

• Create and perform simple rhythmic patterns using body percussion and classroom instruments.
• Explore and apply musical concepts: steady beat, rhythmic variation, and silence.
• Listen, copy, and invent musical patterns with coordination and teamwork.

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Success Criteria:

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

✅ Tap, clap, or play a steady beat in time with others.
✅ Recognise and reproduce simple rhythmic patterns, including rests/silence.
✅ Invent and perform an original 4-beat rhythmic pattern using body percussion or instruments.
✅ Follow musical cues (start/stop, tempo changes).
✅ Reflect on what makes a rhythmic pattern interesting or effective.

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Lesson Duration:

45 minutes
Class Size: Up to 30 students

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Resources Required:

• Djembe drums, claves, triangles, maracas (enough for rotation, 1 per student ideally or shared in small groups)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Visual rhythm cards (with crotchets, quavers, rests)
• Timer or metronome (teacher-controlled)
• “Rhythm Circle” cards (simple rhythm cue cards)
• Open floor space
• Large poster paper and markers for visual rhythms (optional)

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Lesson Breakdown

Introduction (5 mins) – Rhythm Warm-Up

• Begin in a circle. No instruments yet.
• Teacher claps a 4-beat pattern (e.g., clap–clap–rest–clap). Students echo.
• Introduce WALT and Success Criteria:
  • “We are learning to make and perform our own rhythms using body percussion and instruments. We're listening carefully, staying in time, and using rests to create interesting rhythms!”

Part 1: Body Percussion Echo (10 mins)

• Use clapping, clicking, stomping. Call and response: teacher performs, students mimic.
• Progressively increase complexity (begin with quarter notes/crotchets, then add quavers and rests).
• Introduce 'the power of silence':
  • Clap–Clap–Silence–Clap (pause dramatically).
  • Ask: What made that rhythm interesting? (Silence!)

Differentiation:

• Support: Use visual rhythm cards with symbols (clap icon, rest icon).
• Extension: Invite capable students to lead a rhythm for others to echo.

Part 2: Create a Class Rhythm Grid (10 mins)

• Draw a 4-beat rhythm grid on the whiteboard.
• Fill in squares with student input using icons (clap, stomp, silence, etc.)
• Perform it together with body percussion.

Challenge: Speed it up! Try at different tempos using a metronome.

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Part 3: Instrument Rotation (15 mins)

• Break into 5 groups of 6 students.
• Each group receives classroom instruments (rotate between drums, shakers, claves, etc.)
• Students spend 2 minutes per station:
  1. Listen to a modelled rhythm by the teacher or advanced student.
  2. Echo the rhythm as a group.
  3. Create their own 4-beat pattern together.
  4. Be ready to perform!

Teacher circulates to support and assess.

Differentiation:

• Support: Allocate group leaders to guide peers through structured rhythm cards.
• Extension: Advanced students may use 8-beat phrases or syncopated rhythms.

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Part 4: Mini Performance and Reflection (5 mins)

• Groups share one original 4-beat rhythm with the whole class.
• Class claps along to each performance.
• Recap learning: What was tricky? What made your rhythm cool to perform?

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Extension Activities:

• Introduce layered rhythms (ostinatos) in split groups.
• Use visual rhythm notation to link symbols/sound (basic rhythmic writing).
• Integrate culturally diverse rhythms (e.g., Aboriginal clapsticks rhythm patterns).
• Create a rhythmic name chant where each student converts their name syllables into a percussive rhythm.

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Assessment Opportunities:

• Formative Assessment through observation during call and response and instrument stations.
• Use a simple checklist aligned to Success Criteria:
  • Keeps steady beat
  • Reproduces simple rhythmic patterns
  • Participates in group creation
  • Demonstrates active listening

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Cross-Curricular Links:

• Physical Education: Movement coordination and timing.
• English: Syllabic awareness through rhythm names and chanting.
• Cultural Studies: Explore rhythms from different cultures.

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Reflection Prompt for Students:

“What’s one new rhythmic idea you created or noticed today? How did silence or rests make a difference to your pattern?”

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Additional Notes for Teachers:

• Encourage inclusive participation by modelling imperfections—rhythm is for everyone, not just “musicians.”
• Consider recording performances to capture student work and reflect in the next session.
• Use the rhythms in a future composition task or mesh with a dance/movement session.

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Let Rhythm Connect Your Class – Through Listening, Creating and Performing!