Unit 8 – Instruments of the Orchestra
Activity 1 – Orchestra Sections
Orchestra Sections: the activities for this year group will consolidate the children’s knowledge on the different sections of the orchestra. The teacher will guide the students to understand better that instruments in the same section have similar characteristics and timbre.
The teacher reminds the children that the children are classified in families whilst specifying particular characteristics.
String instruments
Brass instruments
Woodwind instruments
Percussion instruments
Children will follow Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”. The teacher will display a diagram showing the place where the instruments are found in the normal layout of the orchestra.
In the first activity, the children will place the names of instruments in the appropriate family sections and identify the sections. All the instruments included in this activity are mentioned in Britten’s work.
Activity 2 – Knowledge of Instruments
This activity tests the children’s knowledge of instruments. The teacher asks the children to name the four families, to list the members of each family. These will be displayed on the white board or interactive screen. The children will be asked to mention particular characteristics about each family.
The teacher will randomly read statements from the handout and ask the children to identify the family. The teacher can then read the statements one by one and the children will be asked to fill in the missing word. Answers will be revealed at the end of the activity.
