Instrumental Lesson Plan - Year 2 Lesson 6

In Year 2's sixth instrumental lesson, the focus is on rhythm and composition, with the overarching aim for students to hold one rhythm pattern while others play different patterns. They will also partake in a class composition, creating and performing their own 4-beat rhythm patterns using instruments, and will engage in appraising their work. The key vocabulary for the lesson includes 'rhythm' and 'improvise', and the essential resources are instruments capable of being tapped and rhythm cards featuring notations such as Ta, Te-Te, and rests.

The main activities of the lesson involve rhythm composition exercises where children build and reduce layers of rhythm using tuned instruments. The class is divided into groups, each with a rhythm card, and they progress through stages of saying, clapping, and playing their rhythms. In the class composition, groups sequentially add their rhythms to create a layered musical piece, requiring clear conducting to signal when each group should start and stop. Differentiation is built into the lesson, with varying levels of complexity in rhythm patterns and the use of child conductors for the more able groups. An extension activity allows for the creation of more complex rhythm patterns and parts. The lesson concludes with a plenary that involves singing with tapping instruments and practicing with 'thinking voices', alongside a reminder to refer to the teacher notes and accompanying DVD for further guidance and the National Curriculum objectives covered in the lesson.