Singing Games Lesson Plan - Year 6 Lesson 2

The second lesson in the Year 6 Singing Games series focuses on enhancing vocal clarity and rhythmical skills. Students aim to sing with clear diction, pass a steady pulse in a group setting, and learn to respond to rests in a song by pausing. They also strive to internalise the song and play rhythmic phrases with control and accuracy in two parts, while coordinating the bouncing and catching of a ball to a steady pulse. The key vocabulary for this lesson includes terms such as 'pulse', 'rhythm', 'phrase', 'internalise', and 'anticipate', laying the foundation for musical literacy.

Using the song 'Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky', the main activities involve singing and playing games that incorporate claves and a ball to reinforce rhythmic skills. Children are divided into two groups, each tapping out different parts of the song's rhythm with claves. The lesson progresses to include 'thinking voices', where students internalise the rhythm and tap without singing aloud. An extension activity challenges one group to sing and tap, while the other taps only, before swapping roles. The ball game further reinforces the steady pulse as the ball is passed around the circle in time with the music. As a plenary, the children are introduced to the song 'Bow Wow Wow' in preparation for the next lesson. This lesson aligns with the National Curriculum's objectives to explore duration, play musical instruments with accuracy, sing in ensemble contexts, and create music with others.