Music and performing arts
Instrument cards: meet the orchestra families
Sort 16 labelled orchestra cards into four families and explain how each family makes sound. Three pupil pages provide the sorting sheet, schematic instrument cards and fact checks. The companion gives placements and answers, including why a metal flute belongs to woodwind; no audio is supplied.
Meet the instrument, then compare how it is played with another orchestra family.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Sort 16 labelled orchestra cards into four families and explain how each family makes sound. Three pupil pages provide the sorting sheet, schematic instrument cards and fact checks. The companion gives placements and answers, including why a metal flute belongs to woodwind; no audio is supplied.
Pupil worksheet. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
Page 1
NAME CLASS DATE LEARNING GOAL Name orchestra instruments and sort them into families. 1 Meet and sort the families ACT 1 16 marks A family is about how the sound is made, not what the instrument is made of. Cut out your 16 cards (pages 2 and 3) and sort them. Write each name on its family ticket. Strings Strings are bowed or plucked. Woodwind Blown across a hole or through a reed. Brass Buzz your lips into a mouthpiece. Percussion Struck, shaken or scraped. 2 Fact check ACT 2 5 marks a Sam says: "The flute is made of metal, so it is brass." Is Sam right? Explain. b Circle the right answer. A trombone changes notes with a valve slide reed An oboe player blows through a single reed double reed A pedal changes the note of the timpani cymbals ENCORE Put the violin, cello and double bass cards in order of size. Tell a partner which one you think plays the lowest notes, and why. MUSIC AGES 7 TO 11 THE ORCHESTRA Instrument cards Meet, sort and play 16 orchestra instruments. ACT 1 SUCCESS CRITERIA I can name instruments from a picture. I can sort instruments into four families. I can say how each family is played. CARDS 4 CARDS 4 CARDS 4 CARDS 4 Pupil activity | Page 1 of 3
Page 2
Cut along the dashed lines. The stub on each card shows its family: Strings or Woodwind. MUSIC INSTRUMENT CARDS CARDS 1 TO 8 Strings and woodwind Violin HOW IT IS PLAYED Bowed or plucked. Rest it under your chin. LOOK FOR f-holes, a curly scroll and a bow. Cello HOW IT IS PLAYED Bowed or plucked. Sit and hold it between your knees. LOOK FOR Bigger than a violin. A spike (endpin) rests on the floor. Double bass HOW IT IS PLAYED Bowed or plucked. Stand, or sit on a tall stool. LOOK FOR The biggest string instrument, with sloping shoulders. Harp HOW IT IS PLAYED Plucked with the fingers of both hands. LOOK FOR Lots of strings in a big triangle-shaped frame. Flute HOW IT IS PLAYED Blow across a hole. Hold it out sideways to the right. LOOK FOR Usually made of metal, but still a woodwind! Clarinet HOW IT IS PLAYED Blow through a mouthpiece with one reed. LOOK FOR A straight black tube with a bell at the end. Oboe HOW IT IS PLAYED Blow through a double reed: two thin reeds tied together. LOOK FOR Slimmer than a clarinet, with no mouthpiece. Bassoon HOW IT IS PLAYED Blow through a double reed on a curved metal tube (crook). LOOK FOR A long wooden tube folded in two. STRINGS 1 STRINGS 2 STRINGS 3 STRINGS 4 WOODWIND 5 WOODWIND 6 WOODWIND 7 WOODWIND 8 small / chin endpin / seated largest / low notes Pupil activity | Page 2 of 3
Page 3
Cut along the dashed lines. The stub on each card shows its family: Brass or Percussion. MUSIC INSTRUMENT CARDS CARDS 9 TO 16 Brass and percussion Trumpet HOW IT IS PLAYED Buzz your lips into a mouthpiece. Press three valves. LOOK FOR Three valves on top and a bell at the front. French horn HOW IT IS PLAYED Buzz your lips into a mouthpiece. One hand rests in the bell. LOOK FOR A round, coiled tube with a wide flared bell. Trombone HOW IT IS PLAYED Buzz your lips. Push and pull the slide to change notes. LOOK FOR A long U-shaped slide. Tuba HOW IT IS PLAYED Buzz your lips into a big mouthpiece. Press the valves. LOOK FOR The biggest, lowest brass. Its bell points up. Timpani HOW IT IS PLAYED Struck with soft sticks. A pedal tunes the drum. LOOK FOR Big kettle drums on stands. Xylophone HOW IT IS PLAYED Struck with beaters on wooden bars. LOOK FOR Shorter bars play higher notes. Snare drum HOW IT IS PLAYED Struck with sticks. Wires under it make it rattle. LOOK FOR A shallow drum on a stand. Cymbals HOW IT IS PLAYED Crashed together, or struck with a stick. LOOK FOR Two round metal plates with handles. BRASS 9 BRASS 10 BRASS 11 BRASS 12 PERCUSSION 13 PERCUSSION 14 PERCUSSION 15 PERCUSSION 16 Pupil activity | Page 3 of 3
Page 1
Teacher companion Instrument cards: meet the orchestra families Family sort, 16 marks Strings: violin, cello, double bass, harp. Woodwind: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon. Brass: trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba. Percussion: timpani, xylophone, snare drum, cymbals. One mark per correct family placement. Fact check, 5 marks Sam is wrong: the flute is woodwind because sound is produced by blowing across its embouchure hole, regardless of metal construction (2). Trombone: slide (1). Oboe: double reed (1). Pedal: timpani (1). Total activity score 21. Visual comparison and extension The new first three string diagrams use different sizes; violin is the small chin-held instrument, cello the larger seated instrument with an endpin, and double bass the largest. Typical size order is violin, cello, double bass; the double bass usually plays the lowest notes. Diagrams are schematic and labelled, not photographs or a blind recognition assessment. Sequence This new edition has three pupil pages and this separate key. No audio is supplied. Teacher companion | Page 1 of 1
A teaching sequence
Pupils should name the pictured instruments, sort them into strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, and explain the sound-making basis of a placement. They should use card details to distinguish a flute’s construction material from its family.
Meet the instrument, then compare how it is played with another orchestra family.
Read the complete materialInspect names and playing clues
Inspect the instrument names, playing descriptions and visual clues. Compare the violin, cello and double bass using their labelled size and playing-position features.
How do the labelled size and position clues distinguish violin, cello and double bass?
Sort by sound-making method
Sort the 16 cards and record four names on each family ticket. Ask pupils to justify a placement by sound-making method, while recognising that the cards already show family labels.
Why is the metal flute grouped as woodwind?
Check the printed instrument facts
Complete the fact checks using the card evidence: flute, trombone slide, oboe double reed and timpani pedal. Revisit any explanation based only on what an instrument is made from.
Which card identifies the slide, double reed or tuning pedal?
Meet the instrument, then compare how it is played with another orchestra family.
Read the complete materialReview the schematic comparison
Review the family groups with the companion. Discuss the printed size-order challenge and ask pupils to connect their answer to the schematic clues rather than treating the pictures as photographs.
What supports the size order without treating drawings as photographs?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
A useful response places the flute in woodwind because it is played by blowing across a hole, even though it is usually metal. The trombone uses a slide, the oboe a double reed and the timpani a pedal. If a pupil groups by material, return to the family’s sound-making description and re-sort one card.
Give a little support
Compare two cards at a time and underline the playing verbs: bowed, plucked, blown, buzzed or struck. Keep the four family descriptions beside the cards. Let pupils point or place uncut cards if cutting is a barrier, then ask for one short reason for their choice.
Take the idea further
Build a comparison within one family, such as flute, clarinet and oboe. Explain what they share and how their playing methods differ, using the printed descriptions. Create a new question whose answer can be checked on those cards, then exchange it with a partner.
Things to keep in mind
Diagrams are schematic and labelled. No sound files or unlabelled picture-recognition assessment are supplied.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas to try with your class
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet the creators whose teaching interests connect with this template. Find an approach to try with your class.
Hoang Thi Trang
Working with different year groups lets me return to musical ideas in varied ways, while keeping the purpose of each lesson clear.
Meet the creator
Lisa Coker
Because classes meet for Music at a regular point in the week, I want repertoire and listening choices that give pupils something worth exploring and returning to.
Meet the creator
Helen Curzon-Rae
I want music-making to be a regular part of school life, with time to listen, practise and develop an ensemble sound.
Meet the creator
Gentle Reminder
The 16 cards are sorted by how sound is made: bowed or plucked strings, blown woodwind, buzzing brass and struck, shaken or scraped percussion. The flute question directly tests the rule that family is not determined by what an instrument is made from.
Page-Turner Planner
For ages 7 to 11, pupils name, sort and explain before answering a fact check about trombone, oboe and timpani. The size order for violin, cello and double bass adds a listening-related discussion about which may play the lowest notes.
Paperclip Perspective
The family tickets and card details give a visual route into sorting, while “how it is played” supplies a clue to discuss. Ask pupils to justify one placement aloud rather than relying on the card’s material alone.
Bright Margins
The family categories depend on sound production, not instrument material; preserve the flute example when using the set. Check any instrument fact against a music source before extending the cards beyond the pictured instruments.