Instrumental - Year 6 Lesson 2

In the second lesson of the Year 6 Instrumental Compositions & Activities series, students are set to engage in a variety of rhythmic exercises to enhance their musical skills. The learning objectives for this session include improvising 4-beat rhythm patterns, playing untuned instruments with accuracy, maintaining a steady pulse during performances, and developing appraisal skills. The children will be provided with claves or similar tap-able instruments and introduced to rhythm flashcards to support the learning process. Key vocabulary for the lesson includes pulse, rhythm, and improvise, which are essential terms in understanding the underlying concepts of musical timing and creativity.

The main activities of the lesson begin with a fun group exercise called 'Boom Chick A Boom with Instruments' followed by a structured 5-step process using rhythm flashcards, which helps students verbalise, clap, and play rhythmic patterns. They then participate in an improvisation game, where each child creates and performs a 4-beat rhythm pattern with the class providing a supportive chanting backdrop. This activity serves as an assessment tool to gauge the students' grasp of rhythm patterns. Additionally, the 'Take and Add Rhythm Game' encourages children to listen, repeat, and invent rhythmic sequences, fostering their ability to improvise and respond to musical cues. The lesson concludes with group performances, differentiated activities for varying confidence levels, and a plenary discussion to reflect on the ease of improvisation and rhythm internalisation. The lesson aligns with the National Curriculum's goals for improvisation, musical accuracy, notation understanding, and ensemble performance.