Rhythm and rhyme activities for Phase 1 phonics in Nursery and Reception.
Rhyme Town Week 12: Rhythm and rhyme
Based on Hokey Cokey and If You’re Happy and You Know It
Rhyme Town Week 12 focuses on rhythm and rhyme (Phase 1 phonics) for Nursery and Reception, using a village hall birthday party theme. Pupils join in with familiar rhymes, listen carefully for patterns, and explore rhythm through movement, music and rhyme games. This week is ideal for strengthening listening and attention, building confidence with joining in, and developing early awareness of rhyming words.
What’s included in Week 12?
This pack includes five pre-reading phonics lessons and five pre-writing mark making activities, alongside a detailed lesson plan, an interactive presentation and ready-to-use resources. The pre-reading lessons focus on listening for rhythm and joining in with rhyme through party games and action songs. The pre-writing activities support writing readiness through forming a square shape, linked to presents, wrapping paper and party patterns.
- Musical statues (join in with party music and freeze on cue)
- Musical bumps (listen carefully and respond quickly when music stops)
- Action party songs (copy actions and listen carefully to rhythm and words)
- Do the conga! (move as a line and swap leaders on cue)
- Rhyming present match game (match rhyming objects hidden inside presents)
- Gift box worksheet (draw a square around items to “wrap” them)
- Lucky dip present outlines (fill each present with repeated pre-writing shapes)
- Confetti formation tray (draw squares and shapes in confetti)
- Balloon patterns (decorate balloons with shapes and patterns)
- Make your own wrapping paper and wrap a present (role play and mark making)
The party games can be repeated across the week as short warm-ups, and the pre-writing activities work well as adult-led tasks or set up for child-led practice in your Early Years learning environment.
Want to see how this week fits into the full sequence? Download the Rhyme Town progression document or explore the complete Rhyme Town scheme here.
