Pitch Lesson Plan - Year 5 Lesson 3

In the third lesson of a pitch-focused series for Year 5 students, the learning objectives are to familiarise students with the solfa name and hand sign for the note 'Do', as well as to recognise and sing intervals between 'Do', 'Mi', 'So', and 'La'. The lesson aims to enhance the students' ability to sing from notated rhythm and pitch patterns using the notes Bb, A, G, and the solfa syllables 'Do', 'Mi', 'So', 'La', and to develop their skills in improvising patterns using these notes. Key vocabulary includes the solfa syllables themselves, alongside terms such as 'pitch' and 'interval'. Resources required for the lesson include a whiteboard and pen, and optionally, stave notation worksheet 4.

The main activities of the lesson involve a variety of interactive and engaging exercises. Students start by copying rhythm and pitch patterns with corresponding hand signs, and progress to silent singing of these patterns. They are also introduced to the character 'Dodi' (also known as 'Do'), who is represented by a hand sign at knee-level and is associated with kindness and dependability. This character is used to help the children learn the pitch and hand sign for 'Do'. The lesson includes singing chants and song-games, such as 'Bee Bee Bumble Bee' and 'We All Have Different Names', which reinforce the intervals between the notes. An improvised performance using chime bars and solfa syllables is also part of the lesson, culminating in an appraisal of the students' timing, tuning, and hand sign accuracy. Finally, the lesson sets the stage for the introduction of another musical character, 'Raymond', in the following week. This lesson supports the National Curriculum by focusing on improvisation, performance, singing, listening, and musical notation.