Fifth Grade Improvisation of the La Pentachord Scale Activity with Xylophones

5th Graders at Benner Elementary complete an extension to the improvisation activity from Kodaly in the Fifth Grade Classroom by Micheal Houlahan and Philip Tacka Unit 1 Lesson 5 Page 198.

They have sung through the examples on their own as reading just prior. Two students were chosen to play the melodies from the board on xylophones, and this is perhaps their FIRST TIME playing these instruments. With the internalized knowledge of solfege skills, reading in rhythm and solfege notation and playing is easy to them. Students in the class determine which example is played aurally and sing it back using solfege and hand signs.
An extension I have used beyond this is having the xylophone players create their own melody. Inf 5th grade the norms of a 4 beat phrase is intuitive.