Looking for some fun back to school rhythm activities for elementary music? Wanting to see what your elementary music students remember from the year prior, like rhythm and melody? Today I’m going to be sharing 7 rhythm activities for elementary music that I love using in my music classroom with my students to see what they remember in ways that keep them engaged!
What’s great about all of these rhythm activities is that they can be used year round throughout your music lessons. It’s very important that we review rhythm patterns often with our students in order to ensure that they retain their knowledge from year to year!
Want to watch a video of me explaining each of these 7 back to school rhythm activities for elementary music instead? Click the video below!
Want a free sample of one of my favorite rhythm activities- Telephone Rhythms for Half Note Review (Ta-Ah)? Click here to download your freebie today!
Without further ado, let’s dive into my favorite rhythm activities for elementary music!
1. Write The Room
Write the room is one of my favorite rhythm review games to use with my music students from grades K-5, as it is active, meaning they get the chance to move around the room instead of just sitting in their seats, which we know can be hard for the little ones!
Before the students enter music class that day, I post 10 different rhythm cards around the room on the walls (each one has a different symbol/picture), and then the students will receive a blank sheet of paper with spaces to fill in all of the rhythms for each symbol/picture. The students will then walk around the room looking for the rhythm patterns and making sure to write the correct rhythm on the correct line with the corresponding picture!
We always make it a game where students are competing for who can find them all first-this is always an activity that does well in class! Click here to purchase my classroom rhythms set
2. Steal The Bacon (Rhythm Edition!)
Steal The Bacon is a fun game that originated from PE that can be used in music class with a bit of a revamp!
You start by having a bunch of rhythms spread in the middle of the floor, and divide your students into two teams (Each student has a number and sits in order of 1-however many per team in a line)- the lines are each on one side of the rhythms in the middle of the floor.
I will clap and say a rhythm and then shout out a number. The students with the number I just said have to get up and search for the rhythm I just clapped- I will usually say it three times for them, and then they’re on their own. Whoever finds it first brings it back to their spot before the other student tags them- THEY MUST CRAB WALK BACK TO THEIR SPOT/TO TAG ONE ANOTHER. Why? To prevent slipping and tripping on papers…..it’s not like I have experience with that…..
My students always love this game, and it’s a great assessment tool for you to see if your students truly know how to hear rhythms aurally and read them visually- make sure to purchase your set of steal the bacon rhythms here
3. Poison Rhythm
Poison Rhythm is a super simple game that students always enjoy, especially since it’s a teacher vs. student game- and they have to beat their teacher!
How this works is I will put a rhythm on the screen- that rhythm is the poison pattern- students are not allowed to clap or speak this pattern anymore- if they do, the teacher receives a point. I will then start clapping and saying rhythms, and students will echo me. If I say the poison rhythm, it’s up to them to not say it or clap it- if a student even starts to, I receive a point. If nobody says it, they receive a point. I also will gain another point if they are mean to each other, or blame another student for losing a point- it’s all about promoting teamwork and not negativity!
My students always ask for this game- if you want to level it up, you can add 2-3 poison rhythms per round in order to make it more challenging- go with a level that seems reasonable for your students!
4. Rhythm 4 Corners
Rhythm 4 Corners is a fun way of bringing the childhood game into your music room while reviewing and assessing rhythms at the same time!
In this game, I will have 4 different rhythms on the board- one for each corner, and I will designate 4 different locations within my classroom as corners and number them 1-4. Students will get 10 seconds to get into one of the corners- if they do not make it before the timer goes off, they will have to sit out for the round. I then will say one of the rhythms on the board, and that corner is then out. Students then continue with running to another corner within 10 seconds or less, and the game repeats itself until there is one person remaining.
I will say- make sure to mix up the rhythm order and repeat corners sometimes- as students will try to just go to the corner you just called to stay in the game and make it last way longer than you will want it to- kids are smart these days!
5. Music Trashketball- Rhythm Review Game
Music Trashketball is the perfect way to incorporate sports into your music classroom and have complete engagement within a lesson! Your students end up reviewing rhythms and playing basketball- which they will LOVE!
This game is like Jeopardy- there are different rhythm categories worth different points. Students will get into teams and on their turn will choose a category and point level, and will have one chance to answer the question correctly. If they get it wrong, they do not receive any points. For a correct answer, they receive the points, and one student from their team will get a chance to shoot a basketball (wadded up piece of paper or tennis ball) into the hoop (I just use a wastebasket I buy from Target or a bucket of some sort). If they get the ball into the bucket, they receive 100 extra points for their team, which they also love!
Since I have dots in my classroom, we make it more of a challenge by allowing them to shoot behind any row 1-5. If they shoot from the 5th row and sink it in, they get 500 extra points, 4th row is 400 points, etc. They will definitely try to go for the higher points, but hardly ever make it, just like a 3 pointer in basketball! You can purchase my pre-made music trashketball rhythm games here and get started with them today!
6. King Of The Mountain Rhythm Game
King Of The Mountain is one of my favorite rhythm games ever- it takes a while to understand how it works, but once they understand, the kids will ask for it time and time again!
Students start seated in a circle, with one of the rhythm sheets in front of them (They should have the paper folded and propped in front of them like a tent- the pattern is the same on both sides so they can see it and the group can see it too
One student is the King/Queen of the mountain. I usually have the two students on either side of the King/Queen rock-paper-scissors to see who is next in line for the throne, and who is at the bottom of the mountain. Whichever side wins, the circle will rotate that way, as they are next in line for the throne. The goal of the game is to work your way up the mountain so that you can eventually be King/Queen
The King/Queen starts by reading their pattern while keeping a steady beat. They must immediately begin reading another student’s pattern. That student must then read their pattern and immediately read another student’s pattern, etc. Play keeps going until somebody messes up. (Examples = not keeping a steady beat, not realizing it’s their turn to say a pattern, not saying their pattern first, etc.)
Once a student has made a mistake, they must move to the bottom of the mountain spot (right next to the King/Queen), and all players that were lower on the mountain than that student get to move up one spot on the mountain.
BUT THE CARDS DO NOT MOVE- WHEN YOU ROTATE, YOU GET A NEW PATTERN. Once everybody is back in position, the King/Queen can start a new round by reading their pattern.
The winner is whoever is in the King/Queen’s spot once you determine the game is over
If you are not playing this in your classroom already, you definitely need to! It will be a hit for sure!
7. Telephone Rhythms
Telephone used to be one of my favorite games as a little kid, and so finding a way to use it in my music classroom while still teaching rhythm was so exciting to me!
In order to play this game, students are split into teams and sit in rows with their team, all facing one direction. The first student in each team has a packet of rhythms in front of them.
The teacher taps a rhythm on the back of each row (the student’s shoulder), and they then tap the same rhythm on the person in front of them, etc. until it reaches the person in front. That first student in each row will search their packet for the correct rhythm and hold it up- each correct answer gains a point for their team!
You could also play it where you have all of the back row students come up to you, look at the rhythm, and then tap the person in front of them’s shoulders so they turn around and can see them clapping the rhythm and then they turn around and tap the next person’s shoulders, etc. Either variation works well in the music room! You can purchase pre-made telephone rhythm sets here.
And there you have it! Seven different fun rhythm activities for elementary music! Let me know over on instagram (@whimsicallymusicalteacher) which of these games is your favorite!
Looking for more back to school music content? Be sure to check out my blog post on my top five favorite back to school name games to spice it up this year in your music classroom!
Don’t forget to download your free sample of one of my favorite rhythm activities- Telephone Rhythms for Half Note Review (Ta-Ah) Click here to download your freebie today!
Until next time, have a whimsical day!
– The Whimsically Musical Teacher
