Your logical thinkers will love this fun Christmas Bells Crack the Code activity! Work together to solve this rhythm code with symbols and shapes representing different rhythms in this Christmas song!
Christmas Bells Crack the Code
There are SO many Christmas songs to choose from this year! Whether you choose to focus on just one song or teach a few, our massive Primary Christmas Songs List can help you decide!
Christmas Bells (archives) is a great one to pair with another song or two because it’s short & sweet! Your primary children will love learning this song with a melody that sounds just like chiming bells!
This activity was created specifically to focus on the rhythm of this song. In this post, I include a simple code with symbols representing each type of note in the song. Once you’ve figured out the code, it can be a great way to visualize the rhythm as you sing!
How to Play:
Don’t worry if you aren’t a music theory expert! This activity doesn’t require you to have a college degree in music or even much music background at all. For this activity, we are simply using visuals to break down the rhythm into long vs short notes in the song.
At the beginning of singing time, start by singing through Christmas Bells (lyrics here) once. Then, post the rhythm code on the board. What in the world could all these symbols mean?
Sing through the song again as the kids look at the code. After you sing through it, take some guesses. Do you notice any patterns? What color/symbol do you see the most of? What do you see the least of? Questions like these might help guide the kids as they try to figure it out!
As the kids guess what the code might mean, try it out! Sing through the song, trying out some of the ideas. If the kids are still stumped, you can give them a hint.
Encourage them to think about the length of the notes. They don’t need to use musical terms. Just see if they can guess which symbols stand for the shortest notes and which ones represent long notes. The rest of the symbols are somewhere in between!
Once they’ve figured out how many counts each symbol gets, try singing through the song again with the pattern. Point to each symbol as you sing to help you get a good feel for the rhythm of this song.
Rhythm Code:
When creating a rhythm code, I find it helpful to start by printing out the song. Look for different types of notes in the song. Where are the longer notes? Shorter notes? For this song, I chose simple symbols to represent all the different note values (counts).
Remember, it doesn’t have to be scary! Simrtply focus on long/short notes and some will fall in the middle! Since this song is in 3/4 time, you’ll have to watch out for some dotted notes. This just means these notes will be a little bit longer!
- ½ Count Note (Eighth) = .
- 1 Count Note (Quarter) = –
- 1.5 Count Note (Dotted Quarter) = ~
- 2 Count Note (Half) = Triangle
- 3 Count Note (Dotted Half) = Rectangle
Extension Activities:
- Try a simple rhythm pattern along with this activity! A simple way to start could be to clap the rhythm as you sing. Notice where the long notes are. Then, try alternating between claps and knee pats for long vs short notes. See what fun body rhythms you can come up with!
- Assign each symbol an action! For example, you could stomp on all the ½ count notes, clap on all the notes that get 1 count, tap your shoulders for notes that get 2 counts, and spin for 3 counts.
- Assign each class a symbol or color! Have each class only sing the words that fall on their symbol. For this version, it may help to write the words/syllables under each symbol.
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Book of Mormon Stories Ancient Code singing time activity!
Christmas Bells Crack the Code Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes a 2-page colorful code with symbols and shapes representing different rhythms in the song!
This activity has extended printables including a 1-page and 5-page crack the code plus black and white version and the key. You’ll find these bonus files included when in the Christmas Bells song packet in my shop.
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See this Christmas Bells Handbells Chart for another fun & engaging way to review this song in primary!
What other fun ways will you use this crack the code singing time activity in your Primary room?
