Last reviewed: 2 November 2026
Updated November 2026. These Grade 6 Creative Arts notes follow the rationalised Grade 6 Creative Arts design strand by strand: string instruments and stippling, painting and collage, volleyball, rhythm and block printing, weaving, gymnastics, melody and sol-fa, athletics, the descant recorder, indigenous Kenyan ensembles, pottery, swimming or indigenous games, and analysing creative works. For each sub-strand you get the key terms, the skill steps and what the learner should be able to show.
The sub-strands below are taken from the KICD Grade 6 curriculum designs (Creative Arts, revised 2024), which give the subject 180 lessons in three strands. Much of it is practical, so use these notes to prepare before lessons and to revise the theory.
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Grade 6 Creative Arts Notes: Topic List
| Strand | Sub-strands |
|---|---|
| 1.0 Creating and Executing | String musical instruments and drawing; Painting and collage; Volleyball; Rhythm and pattern making; Weaving; Gymnastics; Melody |
| 2.0 Performing and Displaying | Athletics; Descant recorder; Indigenous Kenyan instrumental ensembles; Indigenous Kenyan craft: pottery; Swimming or indigenous Kenyan games (one is chosen) |
| 3.0 Appreciation in Creative Arts | Analysis of creative arts works |
Strand 1: Creating and Executing
String musical instruments and drawing
Indigenous Kenyan string instruments include the fiddle (such as the orutu of the Luo and the wandindi of the Luhya) and lyres such as the nyatiti. Learners make a simple fiddle from local materials and learn to care for strings and keep instruments dry. In art, they draw a still life of two string instruments using stippling: building up tone with many small dots, closer together for dark areas and further apart for light areas, while showing overlapping and balance.
Painting and collage
The colour wheel has primary colours (red, yellow, blue), secondary colours made by mixing two primaries (orange, green, violet) and tertiary colours made by mixing a primary with a neighbouring secondary (for example yellow-green). Tonal gradation is made by thinning a colour or adding a darker tone. Brush strokes change with brush angle, load and stroke. A finished painting is mounted centrally on a mat (a card frame) for display. A collage is a picture made by sticking materials such as paper, fabric and seeds onto a support; the design’s theme is football.
Volleyball
The underarm service: stand facing the net, hold the ball in front at waist height with the non-hitting hand, swing the hitting arm back and then forward, and strike the ball with the heel of the hand. The single-hand dig pass is used to return a low ball with one arm when you cannot get both arms under it.
Rhythm and pattern making
| Note | French rhythm name | Beats |
|---|---|---|
| Crotchet | taa | 1 |
| Pair of quavers | ta-te | 1 (half each) |
| Minim | taa-aa | 2 |
| Dotted minim | taa-aa-aa | 3 |
| Semibreve | taa-aa-aa-aa | 4 |
Each note has a matching rest of the same length. Learners compose and improvise rhythms in a three-beat pattern. In art, they cut a printing block from rubber (such as old slippers) or wood with a geometric motif and print a full repeat pattern on fabric to make a small table mat.
Weaving
Learners make a serrated card loom and weave a mat or scarf in plain weave using recycled yarns and fibres, then finish it with tassels. Full steps are in our Grade 6 notes on weaving.
Gymnastics
The cartwheel: start sideways, place hands on the floor one after the other in line with the feet, kick the legs over in a straight line, and land one foot at a time. Learners then link a 3-action sequence: cartwheel, forward roll and swan balance (standing on one leg, leaning forward with arms spread like wings and the other leg raised behind).
Melody
Learners sing the sol-fa ladder d r m f s l t d’ (doh to upper doh) going up and down, show it with Kodály hand signs, and compose short melodies using stepwise movement, small leaps of a third, repetition and variation, with a clear ending on doh. They write the syllables in calligraphy lettering.
Strand 2: Performing and Displaying
Athletics
Long jump, sail technique: sprint up, take off from one foot on the board, hold the legs forward in a sitting position in the air, and land with both feet together, falling forward. High jump, scissors technique: run in at an angle, take off from the foot further from the bar, swing the leg nearest the bar up and over, then the other leg in a scissor action, and land on your feet on the landing mat.
Descant recorder
Learners read a Baroque fingering chart and play notes C D E F G A B C’ and D’. Good tone needs gentle breath, tonguing each note with “too”, covering holes fully with the pads of the fingers, and sitting or standing upright. The main performance piece is the main melody of the Kenya National Anthem. Clean and dry the recorder after use and do not share mouthpieces.
Indigenous Kenyan instrumental ensembles
Ensembles are grouped as percussion (drums, shakers), wind (horns, flutes) and string (fiddles, lyres). To play well together, choose a suitable instrument, tune it, use the right playing technique, keep the tempo, stay in time with others, and play the rhythm or melody accurately.
Indigenous Kenyan craft: pottery
Using the slab technique: source clay (from anthills or riverbanks), knead and wedge it to remove air, roll it into slabs of equal thickness, cut rectangular and circular pieces, join them with slip to form a vase, then decorate by burnishing (polishing with a smooth stone) and stamping. Dry it in the shade so it does not crack.
Swimming or indigenous Kenyan games
Schools choose one. Swimming covers the body position and actions of the breaststroke; the alternative is indigenous floor games performed to a musical rhythm for fitness.
Strand 3: Appreciation in Creative Arts
Learners visit an exhibition (real or online), make a catalogue of artworks with the artist’s name, type of artwork and materials, and interpret the works. In music they discuss the elements of a song: pitch, melody, rhythm, dynamics (loud and soft), tempo (speed) and texture, including monophonic (one melody line) and homophonic (a melody with accompaniment).
How Grade 6 Creative Arts Is Assessed
Most of the subject is assessed through practical work and projects in school. In KPSEA, Creative Arts is part of the Creative Arts and Social Studies paper, which the KNEC 2026 KPSEA timetable set at 1 hour 40 minutes. For the junior school version, see the Grade 9 Creative Arts and Sports curriculum guide.
Practise free on the Grade 6 CBC Challenge and the CBC quizzes, and find every other subject on the Grade 6 notes hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What topics are in Grade 6 Creative Arts?
Thirteen sub-strands in three strands, from string instruments and drawing, painting, volleyball, rhythm, weaving, gymnastics and melody to athletics, the descant recorder, ensembles, pottery, swimming or indigenous games, and analysing creative works.
What are the French rhythm names in Grade 6?
Taa (crotchet, 1 beat), ta-te (two quavers, 1 beat), taa-aa (minim, 2 beats), taa-aa-aa (dotted minim, 3 beats) and taa-aa-aa-aa (semibreve, 4 beats).
What is stippling in art?
Stippling is shading with many small dots. Dots placed close together make dark tones and dots spread apart make light tones.
Are these Grade 6 Creative Arts notes rationalised?
Yes. They follow the Grade 6 Creative Arts curriculum design that KICD revised in 2024.
Want marked practice? Every paper starts with free questions. A Day Pass (KSh 20) unlocks full Grade 6 practice papers with worked answers for a day, and the Monthly Pass (KSh 500) opens every grade and subject for a month. Compare passes.