This is a simple but very effective way to teach improvisation and it can be made as easy or complex as you like, depending on the needs of your group.

The very easiest version:  The children sit in a circle without instruments.  The whole group chant ‘1,2,3,4’, in time to a steady pulse, then immediately the first child says or claps a 4-beat rhythm.  This is followed immediately by the group chanting ‘1,2,3,4’, then the next child saying or clapping a 4-beat rhythm. The aim is to keep it going without stopping.  The group chanting keeps the performance in time and gives the less confident members a good feel for the 4 beats they need to improvise to.  It is also fun for the group to whisper the ‘1,2,3,4’ as it gives a difference in dynamics between the group and the soloist.

Extensions can easily be made by chanting 1 – 8 and individuals improvising 8-beat patterns.  A great variation is then for the group to chant a regular 8-beat rhythm pattern instead of just chanting the numbers – or for the soloists to have instruments. The varieties are endless…