I Caught A Fish Alive: Free Music Lesson Plan (Rhythm)

Big Idea

I Caught A Fish Alive is a no-prep elementary music lesson that turns the beloved Mother Goose counting rhyme into an irresistible rhythm adventure. Kids chant the poem, clap the beat on the numbers, then dive into playing the rhythms on the drums!

Grade Level: K-2
Activity: Mother Goose Counting Rhyme, Rhythm & Drumming
Skill: Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes

Students will learn to play a quarter and eighth note rhythm pattern on percussion instruments while reciting a counting rhyme.

This lesson is designed to fulfill the 2014 National Standard for Music:
Perform music, alone or with others, with expression and technical accuracy, and appropriate interpretation. (Performing - MU:Pr6.1)

Non-Pitched Percussion Instruments
I Caught a Fish Alive Rhyme (Included below)

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Hook your students! Tell them, "Today, we’re going to learn a Mother Goose rhyme and then use our percussion instruments to play the rhythm of the rhyme."

Step 2
Teach the rhyme I Caught a Fish Alive by having the students echo each phrase after you.

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
The little finger on the right!

Step 3
Now, let's add the rhythm! Ask the students to clap on the numbers as they say the rhyme. Show the rhythm on the board so they can start to associate the sounds they are clapping with the musical symbols.

Caught a Fish Rhythm

Tell the class, "Once I see that everyone is clapping the rhythm perfectly, we'll get to try it on the instruments." Keep practicing until everyone is confident.

Step 4
Time to play the drums! I’m going to say the rhyme one more time. By the time I finish, everyone should be sitting in a circle on the floor and ready to go.

Step 5
Pass out your non-pitched percussion instruments evenly around the circle. Ask the students to place their instruments on the floor in front of them until it's time to play.

Step 6
Let's perform! The students with instruments will play the rhythm first while everyone says the rhyme. When the rhyme is finished, they pass their instrument to the neighbor on their right. Repeat the rhyme until every student has had a turn to play.