Bad Cat

• Kate Philp
• Posted 7/29/25
• 0 comments

Suggested Grades: K-1

National Core Arts Standards 

#1 — Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. 
#2 — Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
#3 — Refine and complete artistic work.
#4 — Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation.
#6 — Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.

Objectives 

• Begin to identify and perform a quarter rest  
• Sing a simple song by rote with appropriate phrasing  
• Perform rhythmic patterns using classroom instruments  
• Create visual representations of musical notation using manipulatives  
• Distinguish between sound and silence in musical contexts 

Materials

• Book – “Bad Cat” by Nicola O’Byrne  
• Play-doh  
• Plastic tray  
• Unpitched Percussion Instrument 
• Bad Cat Game Board  
• Dice 

This lesson will introduce the quarter rest through a playful, story-based approach. Students will learn to visually identify a quarter rest by connecting it to a familiar song and engaging in hands-on activities. The lesson uses the book “Bad Cat” as a foundation for learning the “Naughty Kitty Cat” song, which serves as the vehicle for introducing quarter rest notation through a gradual transition from cat images to musical symbols.  

1. Read the book, “Bad Cat” by Nicola O’Byrne.  
2. Teach the song “Naughty Kitty Cat” by rote: 

“Naughty Kitty Cat 🐱 
Would you look at that? 🐱 
You have butter on your whiskers, 
Naughty kitty cat.” 🐱  

• Teacher Tip: Project the lyrics so students can see, but include an image of a cat after lines 1, 2, and 4.  

3. Ask students to “Meow” when they sing the song and see the cat image.  
4. Choose an instrument for students to play on the “Meow”.  
5. Repeat until all students have had a chance to play. 

1. Project the words for “Naughty Kitty Cat” again, but instead of a cat image, replace it with a quarter rest:  

“Naughty Kitty Cat  𝄽 
Would you look at that?  𝄽 
You have butter on your whiskers, 
Naughty kitty cat.”  𝄽  

2. Discuss what a quarter rest is.  
   • When musicians see the quarter rest, what do they do?  
3. Practice using stick notation or iconic representation:  

🐱 𝄽 🐱 𝄽 🐱  

• Teacher Note: Emphasize that the quarter rest means “silence” or “no sound” for one beat, just like how the cat was quiet in those spots. 

1. Play-Doh Center: Have students practice drawing a quarter rest! They can also use play-doh to create the shape of a quarter rest.  
2. Rhythm Card Center: Create Cat and Rest rhythm cards for students to clap or play in a small group: 🐱 𝄽 🐱 𝄽 🐱  
3. Game Center: Have students roll a dice. If they roll a 𝄽, they may move their game piece. The first player to reach the “butter” is the winner! 

O’Byrne, N. (2014). Bad Cat. Oxford University Press. 

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