Miss Polly Had a Dolly | Free Elementary Music Lesson Plan (Rhythm)

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Teach the lyrics to "Miss Polly Had a Dolly." Begin by chanting the lyrics phrase by phrase. When the students have successfully repeated the first phrase, move on to the next.

Step 2
Learn the melody to "Miss Polly Had a Dolly." Ask the students to perform the song phrase by phrase as you play the melody on the piano. When the students are confident, ask them to sing the song all the way through with you.

Step 3
Quiz the students on the values of the following rhythms and rest. Ask one student to come up and clap the rhythm shown on the board.

Step 4
Ask the class to evaluate the performance. Did they get the rhythm right? Once everyone agrees, clap the rhythm together as a class.

Step 5
Tell students, "I'm going to sing the song again. I want you to count how many times you hear this specific rhythm."

Step 6
Check their answers! They should have heard the three quarter note and quarter rest rhythm four times.

Step 7
Tell students, "This time, let's sing together. Every time that rhythm occurs, I want you to clap it."

Step 8
Pass out the rhythm sticks. Reinforce correct technique, then have the students play the rhythm on the sticks whenever it appears in the song. When they have it down, try singing and playing at the same time.

Step 9
Perform "Miss Polly Had a Dolly" for the homeroom teacher when they return to pick up the class!

Extension

Add actions. Ask half of the students to perform these actions, while the rest of the class plays rhythm sticks.

1) Clap, Clap, Clap
2) Stomp, Stomp, Stomp
3) Hop, Hop, Hop