Here is a lesson plan for 2nd and 3rd grade students that incorporates drumming in the ELA classroom. I hope you will use it in your classroom, and if you do, please give me some feedback! I welcome feedback whether you use the lesson plan or not as I’m always learning more about curriculum development!

Objectives:

• Students will be able to identify and produce rhyming words.
• Students will be able to segment words into individual phonemes (sounds).
• Students will be able to blend phonemes to form words.

Standards Met:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.2.A: Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.2.A: Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.A: Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.C: Decode multi-syllable words.
MU:Pr4.2.2a: When analyzing selected music, read and perform rhythmic patterns using iconic or standard notation.
MU:Pr6.1.2a: Explore and demonstrate an understanding of music concepts through interpretive movements.
MU:Cr1.1.2a: Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and musical ideas for a specific purpose.
MU:Cr2.1.2b: Use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to document personal rhythmic and melodic musical ideas

Materials Needed:

• Classroom set of small hand drums or rhythm sticks
• Whiteboard or chart paper
• Rhyming word cards
• List of multi-syllable words

Warm-Up (5 minutes):

1. Play a simple rhythm on the drum or by clapping.
2. Have students echo the rhythm back to you.
3. Discuss how rhythms are made up of individual beats, just like words are made up of individual sounds.

Activity 1: Rhyme Time (10 minutes)

1. Introduce the concept of rhyming words (words that have the same ending sounds).
2. Display a rhyming word card (e.g., “cat” and “bat”).
3. Have students repeat the words and identify the rhyming part.
4. Assign a specific drum beat or rhythm to represent each rhyming word.
5. Have students practice drumming the rhythms for each rhyming pair.

Activity 2: Sound Segmentation (15 minutes)

1. Write a simple one-syllable word on the board (e.g., “dog”).
2. Have students say the word slowly, stretching out each sound (d-o-g).
3. Assign a specific drum beat or rhythm to represent each sound in the word.
4. Have students drum the rhythm for the word, segmenting it into individual sounds.
5. Repeat with several other one-syllable words.

Activity 3: Blend and Build (20 minutes)

1. Write a multi-syllable word on the board (e.g., “butterfly”).
2. Have students identify each syllable in the word (but-ter-fly).
3. Assign a specific drum beat or rhythm to represent each syllable.
4. Have students drum the rhythm for the word, blending the syllables together.
5. Repeat with several other multi-syllable words.

Closing (5 minutes):

1. Review the concepts of rhyming, segmenting, and blending sounds.
2. Discuss how drumming can help reinforce these phonological awareness skills.