YEAR 5 AND 6 MUSIC AUTUMN CYCLE B
About this unit:
In this unit the children will use percussion instruments to compose a song about Henry
the Eighth. They will also begin to use the musical style of rap to retell the story of A
Midsummer Nights Dream. In this term the children will be introduced to ways of
composing and notating Christmas songs.
Vocabulary:
Vocab from a Midsummer Nights Dream
Musical notation
Resources:
Information on Henry the Eighth
A Midsummer Nights Dream
A variety of Christmas songs
Core Tasks:
1) To compose and perform a song about Henry the Eighth using percussion
instruments
2) To perform a rap about A Midsummer Nights Dream and accompany with
percussion instruments.
3) To write, perform and notate Christmas songs.
Expectations
When carrying out the type of activities and tasks in this unit:
Most children will be able to:
Contribute to writing a song about Henry the Eighth using their own prior knowledge.
They will also be able to learn and perform part of a rap and accompany with percussion.
They will be able to use symbols to create a Christmas song using percussion
instruments.
Less able children will be able to:
Begin to use some of their prior knowledge about Henry the Eighth to contribute to
writing a song. They should be able to accompany the performance of a rap with simple
percussion. They will also be able to use symbols to put together simple sounds to create
a Christmas song.
More able children will be able to:
Confidently use their knowledge of Henry the Eighth to write a detailed song and
accompany with percussion instruments. They will also be able to take a section of a rap
and perform and alter using percussion instruments. These children will use symbols to
create a Christmas song using appropriate sounds.
Year 5 and 6 Music Cycle B Autumn Term
Learning Objectives
To compose and
perform a song abut
Henry the Eighth using
percussion instruments
To learn and accompany
a rap about ‘A
Midsummer Night’s
Dream’ by William
Shakespeare. Use of
percussion instruments
and voice.
To write and perform
Christmas songs.
Possible Teaching Activities
 Discuss Henry the Eighth and his
life and record notes. The children
should then choose a style of
performance, a song, a poem and
accompaniment or a rap.
 In small groups children should
write and compose a piece of music
about Henry thinking about how the
words fit with the music. If they
are writing a song they should
consider the complexity of their
tune, e.g. is it easy to sing along to?
Is it too high, too low, too difficult?
 The groups should practise and
perform to the class. The piece will
then be recorded and played back
for appraisal.
 Discuss the story of ‘A Midsummer
Night’s Dream’ and then compose a
rap as a class to tell the story. As
this rap will be long, in groups
children should take a small part of
the rap and practice their vocals.
Once practised the class come back
together and perform their parts.
 Children should then begin to put
accompaniment to their rap using
percussion instruments of their
choice. They should notate their
rap script and indicate and musical
accompaniment using symbol form.
 Bring all the groups back together
and perform the whole rap together
as a class, each group performing
their part.
 Record and play back for appraisal.
 Look at pictures relating to
Christmas, e.g. Santa, angels,
presents etc. Discuss possible
musical accompaniment for each
one.
 In groups children to choose one
Christmas novelty to compose its
accompaniment.
 As a class look at how to arrange
the symbols of novelties and play it
Learning Outcomes
To write and perform a
song or rap about Henry
the Eighth using
percussion instruments
To create and perform a
rap to tell the story of a
Shakespeare play using
percussion instruments.
Composing, notating and
performing a Christmasstyle piece of music.


as a written piece of music.
Again in groups children should
compose a short piece of music to
represent each Christmas novelty
and then arrange the symbols in a
chosen way in order to play as a
whole Christmas composition.
Record and playback. Children
should listen out and try to identify
which music goes with which
Christmas novelty.
YEAR 5 AND 6 MUSIC SPRING CYCLE B
About this unit:
In this unit the children will explore the styles of African music and perform chants,
learn drumming rhythms and produce their own song composition using a range of
instruments.
Vocabulary:
Tribal chant
African drumming
Resources:
A variety of African music
Bongo and African drums
Core Tasks:
1) To compose and perform an African Tribal chant.
2) To learn the style of African drumming and perform the rhythms in sequence.
3) To write a song or rap using all the African elements learnt throughout the topic.
Expectations
When carrying out the type of activities and tasks in this units:
Most children will be able to:
Listen to and identify the features of African music. They will then be able to use these
elements in their own compositions. They will be able to use this knowledge to compose a
short song about what they have learnt using the appropriate musical elements.
Less able children will be able to:
Begin to understand the features of African music and contribute to class chanting and
drumming rhythms. They will also contribute ideas towards a song about Kenya and
accompany with percussion instruments.
More able children will be able to:
Confidently join in with class chanting and drumming rhythms, using an understanding of
the features of African music. They will also use this understanding to compose a song
about all that they have learnt using percussion instruments.
Year 5 and 6 Music Cycle B Spring Term
Learning Objectives
To listen to and
become aware of the
elements of African
music
To listen, compose
and perform an
African tribal chant.
To learn the style of
African drumming
rhythms and perform
Song writing using
African elements
learnt and crosscurricular knowledge
about the Gambia.
Possible Teaching Activities
 Listen to a variety of African
music and identify the elements
of its style. Record notes for
children to write up and present.
 Listen to examples of African
tribal music and identify key
features of the style.
 Children should learn an African
chant and perform as a whole
class using percussion
instruments.
 Children, in groups, should then
create their own chant using
words given to them and
accompany with appropriate
percussion instruments.
 Perform to the whole class and
record.
 Listen to examples of African
drumming and discuss the
rhythms. Can any of the children
reproduce the rhythms using the
drum?
 Learn rhythms using ‘jembye
drum’ chant. Practise and perform
as a whole class.
 Give children a range of different
rhythms to use and in groups they
should put together the rhythms
to form a rhythmical composition.
 Practise and perform to the class.
Other children should be able to
identify each rhythm and play it
back.
 Discuss what children have learnt
in their topic about Kenya and
record noted for children to use.
 In groups they should collect this
knowledge and begin to write a
song or rap expressing this
knowledge. They should think
about their accompaniment and
use the African drumming and
chanting techniques that they
have previously learnt to
accompany their voices.
Learning Outcomes
To become aware of the
elements of African
music.
To use African words to
create an original chant
accompanied by
percussion.
To use African drumming
techniques to create a
composition for
performance.
To use knowledge of the
subject and techniques
learnt about African style
music to compose a song
or rap. Notation of
sounds.


Children should discuss a way of
notating their work using words
and symbols to represent their
sounds. This should be presented
in order to be used as display.
Practise and perform. Record and
play back for appraisal.
YEAR 5 AND 6 MUSIC SUMMER TERM CYCLE B
About this unit:
In this unit the children will use the stimulus of their own local area t create musical
compositions. They will take the ideas from the school environment to write a song about
their time at school. They will also work with creating sound effects.
Vocabulary:
Sound effects
Resources:
Words about the school
Different places in the area to use as
stimulus
Core Tasks:
1) Write a song using the school as stimulus. Use percussion and voices.
2) Create sounds to represent element of the surrounding area and arrange them to
make a composition.
Expectations
When carrying out the type of activities and tasks in this unit:
Most children will be able to:
To use ideas about their own school environment to write a short song using a simple
structure using percussion instruments. They will also be able to create simple sound
effects to represent elements of their surrounding area.
Less able children will be able to:
Begin to contribute ideas towards the composition of a song for the school. They will
also contribute some ideas towards creating some sound effects to represent the
elements of the surrounding area.
More able children will be able to:
Confidently put forward ideas towards writing a song about the school following a
structure. They will incorporate percussion instruments and create some good sound
effects to be arranged together to make a composition to represent elements of the
surrounding area.
YEAR 5 AND 6 MUSIC SUMMER TERM CYCLE B
Learning Objectives
To write a song using
the school as a
stimulus. Using
percussion instruments
and voices.
Create sounds to
represent elements of
the surrounding area
and put together as a
composition.
Possible Teaching Activities
 Discuss the school and make class
notes about good points they can
name about the school.
 In groups children should put all
this knowledge together and write
lyrics for either a song or rap.
 Children to think about how to
accompany their songs and also how
to notate their sounds using words
and symbols. Their composition
should be presented as a picture
notation for display.
 Practise, perform and record.
 Discuss the elements of the local
area and note down children’s
responses. Collect about ten
different places and think of a
sound effect from each one.
 In groups children should arrange
their places and sounds into the
order that they choose and practise
putting the sound effects together
in that order. They should notate
their work using picture and sound
symbols.
 Practise, perform and record for
appraisal. Other children should
clearly be able to hear each sound.
Learning Outcomes
Use the school as a
stimulus to compose a
song or rap using
percussion as an
accompaniment. Notate
work using symbols.
To compose and perform
a piece of instrumental
music using the local
area as a stimulus. Use
of percussion
instruments and
notation of sounds.