from the Music Library
Get ready-to-teach music lesson plans for the music classroom that are sure to send the fun into overdrive!
Discover lesson plans that keep kids moving and having fun while teaching them to hear and reproduce a steady beat.
Entry Kentry | Music Lesson Plan - Passing Game Grade 2-6Engage students with this fast-paced, high-energy passing game. Combines a traditional folk song with a movement activity designed to sharpen steady beat skills.Little Sally Walker - Steady Beat Singing Game Grade K-2Introduce the steady beat with a game! Students chant the "Little Sally Walker" rhyme, patching a steady beat on their knees. This activity promotes active listening and reinforces steady beat.Jump the Hoop | Music Lesson Plan - Steady Beat Game Grade 2-6Hula hoops, music, and movement! This game is a perfect combination for fun and learning about steady beat. Student teams jump in and out of the hoops in time with the music, making it a winner for every age group.Touchdown | Music Lesson Plan - Steady Beat and Math Facts Grade 2-6Want to get your music students moving and smiling more? This exciting lesson wrap-up game combines steady beat practice and math skills into one high-energy activity that also encourages collaboration with the homeroom teacher.The Wee Little Scare | Music Lesson Plan - Steady Beat/Jump Rope Grade 2-3Extend recess for your music students! This lesson plan gets kids participating in a jump rope contest and teaches them how to maintain a steady beat.
Discover lesson plans that define music tempo terms and provide examples in live and recorded music.
Discover lesson plans that teach basic rhythms with hands-on music making activities and games.
Battle of the Bands | Music Lesson Plan - Reading Music/Rhythms Grade 3-6It's the Battle of the Bands showdown! Students work in cooperative groups to perform rhythms of a traditional rhyme/song on non-pitched percussion instruments. The winning "band" earns a 'Battle of the Bands' certificate.Monsters in My Closet | Music Lesson Plan Grade K-3Scary rhythms ahead! This elementary drumming lesson teaches students basic drumming technique as they listen to and repeat rhythms from the "Monsters in the Closet" rhyme.John Kanaka | Music Lesson Plan - Reading Music/Rhythms Grade 2-4"John Kanaka" is all-in-one fun! Students demonstrate an understanding of basic rhythms (quarter note, rest, and eighth note) using Tubanos, hand drums, or rhythm sticks and dancing in this joy-filled lesson.I Caught a Fish Alive | Music Lesson Plan - Reading Music/Rhythms Grade K-2Mother Goose gets groovy! Learn the classic rhyme, "I Caught a Fish Alive," and then add non-pitched percussion instruments to the chant to make music to a cool and groovy beat.I'm as Free a Little Bird | Music Lesson Plan - Reading Music/Syncopation Grade 2-3Soar into syncopation! This fun, active lesson uses the singing game "I'm as Free a Little Bird" to introduce syncopated rhythms through clapping, movement, and performance on Orff keyboard instruments.Mystery Message Game | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythm and Pitch Grade 2-6It's hangman with a musical twist! Students decode a secret message in this fun race by comparing and contrasting challenging rhythm and pitch sets. Always a class favorite!Run From The Farmer | Music Lesson Plan - Reading Music/Syncopation Grade 2-3Pre-Thanksgiving Day Wackiness! "Run from the Farmer" is a hilarious song about Thanksgiving, told from the turkey's perspective. This super-charged lesson introduces syncopation in a fun and active way.Slap Happy Music Math | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythmic Values Grade 2-6Slap your way to happiness! Students race to slap the correct answer on the whiteboard, reinforcing basic rhythm values in this fun and active game.Tic-Tac-Toe | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythms and Rests Grade 2-6Tic-Tac-Toe with a twist! Students read and perform simple rhythms correctly to win squares in this musical twist on the classic game.Who Has the Candy in Their Pocket | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythms and Rests Grade 2-4Solve the Musical Whodunit! Students chant a rhyme and perform simple rhythms on non-pitched percussion instruments to track down the student with the hidden candy. A fun, active, and rewarding game!Miss Polly Had a Dolly | Music Lesson Plan - Reading Music/Rhythm Grade K-2Miss Polly Meets Mr. Ostinato! This adorable K-2 lesson uses the song "Miss Polly Had a Dolly" to introduce quarter notes and rests as students sing and perform a steady rhythm on rhythm sticks.
Visit MMF Songbook for kids songs and rhymes. The rhythm and meter of simple rhymes are easy to hear and repeat and will make your next drumming lesson a surefire hit!
Discover lesson plans that teach musical pitch with activity lessons and games that are sure to send the fun into overdrive.
I Know an Old Lady | Music Lesson Plan - Introduction to Intervals Grade 2-5There Was an Old Lady Skipped... or did she step? Using the book 'There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell,' students play xylophone patterns to distinguish between step-wise and skipping motion in this fun, introductory lesson on intervals.CodeMaker! | Music Lesson Plan - Note Naming and Notation Grade 4-6Operation: Note Name! Your mission is to use only the musical alphabet (A-G) to create words and encode them on the staff with music notes.Melody Map | Music Lesson Plan - Introduction to Melodic Contour Grade 2-4This tall yarn is a melody! Students work in pairs to shape a piece of yarn, mapping the melodic contour of a familiar tune.Mi-Do-Do Game | Music Lesson Plan - Introduction to Solfège Grade 2-4I'm no Dodo... bird that is! This game uses a solfege staircase to introduce do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do. Repeat every solfege phrase you hear, but don't get caught singing Mi-Do-Do!Mortimer | Music Lesson Plan - Introduction to Solfège Grade 2-3Clang, Clang, Rattle, Bing, Bang! Students sing the solfege scale as Mortimer (Mortimer by Robert Munsch) goes up and down the stairs. Students accompany this story by loudly banging on pots, pans, and percussion instruments!Mystery Message Game | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythm and Pitch Grade 2-6It's hangman with a musical twist! Students decode a secret message in this fun race by comparing and contrasting challenging rhythm and pitch sets. Always a class favorite!Name That Tune | Music Lesson Plan - Note Naming Grade 4-6I Can Name That Tune! This cooperative lesson challenges students to name familiar kids' songs by labeling the treble clef notes on the free worksheet. The team that names every tune fastest wins!Color-by-Note | Music Lesson Plan - Note Naming Grade K-3The Perfect Sub Tub Lesson! Engage every student in learning note names with this color-by-note music worksheet lesson. It’s a great no-prep lesson for subs and always a winner with students.
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Discover lesson plans that teach students musical form through movement and listening maps and glyphs.
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks | Music Lesson Plan - ABA Form Grade 1-2Today, your music students "hatch!" This movement lesson introduces your youngest learners to ABA form as they perform a magnificent ballet to Mussorgsky’s masterpiece.Bow, Wow, Wow | Music Lesson Plan - Round Grade 2-6Bow, Wow, Wow! An introduction to singing in a round. Your students will bark for more!Hungarian Dance No.5 | Music Lesson Plan - AABBCDAB Codetta Grade 2-6Brahms Meets Baseball. Students perform baseball moves to Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5. This lesson is always a home run!In the Hall of the Mountain King | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6This listening map helps students analyze and describe Grieg’s masterpiece.Messiah/Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! You've found it - the perfect listening map to introduce your students to one of history’s greatest works!Michael Row the Boat Ashore | Music Lesson Plan - Call and Response Grade 2-3All Aboard! Introduce Call and Response as students sit in boats and use rhythm sticks as oars to row their way through this movement lesson!Rhythm Go "Round" | Music Lesson Plan - Round Grade 3-6Challenge your students with this "follow-the-leader" body percussion activity. This rhythmic round builds advanced listening skills as students perform one pattern while simultaneously preparing for the next!Skittle, Skittle, Skittle, Ski | Music Lesson Plan - Canon Grade 2-6Students learn about the canon while playing body percussion patterns—including snaps, stamps, and finger pops—to create an impressive rhythmic performance.Trashin' the Camp/Tarzan | Music Lesson Plan - AABA Form/Dance Grade 2-3Bring the jungle to your music classroom! Students learn AABA form as they dance a different step to each section of Trashin' the Camp from Disney's "Tarzan."Trepak | Music Lesson Plan - AABA Form/Listening Map Grade 2-4Experience the Nutcracker through dance. Teach AABA form with Tchaikovsky’s high-energy "Trepak." This ready-to-teach lesson introduces students to the most popular ballet of all time through movement!Twinkle, Twinkle, Changing Star | Music Lesson Plan - Theme and Variations Grade 2-4Introduce Theme and Variations form with this lesson that combines listening with a worksheet that gives students an opportunity to illustrate each variation.Viennese Musical Clock | Music Lesson Plan - Rondo/Dance Grade 2-3Bring Kodaly’s masterpiece to life through role-play as dancers, trumpeters, knights, and royalty in Vienna while learning about the Seven-Part Rondo form (ABACADA).
Discover lesson plans that teach students about meter and time signature through movement and get your music students smiling from ear to ear.
Chomp! Shark-Themed Music Lesson Plan - Time Signatures Grade 2-4Chomp! Music Theory Board Game is frantic, shark-chomping fun from start to finish! Review simple rhythms and time signatures with this engaging, printable game.Beat Tag | Music Lesson Plan - Meter Game Grade 2-5Master meter with a game so active and fun that your students will beg you to play it again.Meter, Meter, 3-4-5 | Music Lesson Plan - Time Signatures/Playground Balls Grade 2-4Combine playground balls and rhythm sticks to master time 3 time signatures (3/4, 4/4, 5/4) with this movement-based lesson that's always a hit!
Discover lesson plans that teach students dynamics through manipulative-based lessons and games.
Boom Chicka Boom | Music Lesson Plan - Piano and Forte Grade K-1Students learn about two dynamic levels: piano (p) and forte (f) with this manipulatives-based music lesson plan. The adorable illustrations make this lesson irresistible!Musical Easter Egg Hunt | Music Lesson Plan - Dynamics Grade 1-6"Am I Hot or Cold?" Students learn about four dynamic levels (p-f) and then enjoy an Easter egg hunt guided by clues from the class. In a twist on the hot-cold game, students perform piano (soft) sounds if they're far from the egg and forte (loud) sounds if they're close to it.
Discover lesson plans that teach students about music and cultures from around the world.
Aiken Drum | Music Lesson Plan - Unit Wrap-Up Grade 1-3Provide a fun wrap-up for your Scotland unit with this traditional song.Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks | Music Lesson Plan - ABA Form Grade 1-2Today, your music students "hatch!" This movement lesson introduces your youngest learners to ABA form as they perform a magnificent ballet to Mussorgsky’s masterpiece.Hungarian Dance No.5 | Music Lesson Plan - AABBCDAB Codetta Grade 2-6Brahms Meets Baseball. Students perform baseball moves to Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5. This lesson is always a home run!In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6This listening map helps students analyze and describe Grieg’s masterpiece.Messiah/Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! You've found it - the perfect listening map to introduce your students to one of history’s greatest works!Surprise Symphony (Haydn) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 3-4Zany and fun! This music lesson plan delivers! Rated by students as "Mega-Wow!" Your students will never listen to Haydn's Surprise Symphony in the same way again!Peter and the Wolf | Music Lesson Plan - Leitmotif Grade 1-3Comic Strip Creativity! Students illustrate the story of Peter and the Wolf in a comic strip as they listen to the recording!Viennese Musical Clock | Music Lesson Plan - Rondo/Dance Grade 2-3Bring Kodaly’s masterpiece to life through role-play as dancers, trumpeters, knights, and royalty in Vienna while learning about the Seven-Part Rondo form (ABACADA).
Discover lesson plans that teach students about music with listening maps and glyphs, or give them a chance to compare and contrast musical scores with Venn diagrams.
O Danny Boy | Music Lesson Plan - Compare and Contrast Grade 2-4This lesson compares and contrasts three versions of this Irish favorite, including a performance by the Muppets.Surprise Symphony (Haydn) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 3-4Zany and fun! This music lesson plan delivers! Rated by students as "Mega-Wow!" Your students will never listen to Haydn's Surprise Symphony in the same way again!In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6This listening map helps students analyze and describe Grieg’s masterpiece.Messiah/Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! You've found it - the perfect listening map to introduce your students to one of history’s greatest works!John Williams | Film Score Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6See what your students hear! Listening glyphs allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Star Wars (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade K-3Our Star Wars listening glyphs allow students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Jurassic Park (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6See what your students hear! Listening glyphs allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Indiana Jones (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6Our Indiana Jones listening glyphs allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.The Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6Our The Nutcracker listening glyphs allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Kangaroo from Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns) | Listening Map Grade 2-6This listening map for "Kangaroo" helps students track the whimsical music of Saint-Saëns’ masterpiece.Monster-Themed Music Lesson Plan Pack | Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and More Grade K-5Ready for a month of monster-sized fun! Get monster-themed music composer lesson plans and resources, including lesson plans for composition and drumming, treble and bass clef note name and rhythm worksheets, and more.Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach) - Form/Listening Map Grade 2-4Introducing your elementary grade students to Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata from Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is easy with this ready-to-teach music lesson plan and listening map.Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6Our listening glyphs for Toccata and Fugue in D Minor allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6Our listening glyphs for Peter and the Wolf allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Circus Music (Entry of the Gladiators) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6Our listening glyphs for Circus Music (Entry of the Gladiators) allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.Royal March of the Lion (Carnival of the Animals) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets Grade 2-6Our Royal March of the Lion listening glyphs allow K-3 students to express what they hear through color, while teachers assess an entire class's understanding of musical elements at a glance.
Discover lesson plans that teach students about music through movement.
Bow Belinda | Music Lesson Plan - Contradance Grade 2-4Students learn to sing "Bow Belinda" and participate in a traditional folk dance.John Kanaka | Music Lesson Plan - Eighth/Quarter Note and Quarter Rest Grade 2-4"John Kanaka" is all-in-one fun! Students demonstrate an understanding of basic rhythms (quarter note, rest, and eighth note) using Tubanos, hand drums, or rhythm sticks and dancing in this joy-filled lesson.Run From The Farmer | Music Lesson Plan - Syncopation Grade 2-3Pre-Thanksgiving Day Wackiness! "Run from the Farmer" is a hilarious song about Thanksgiving, told from the turkey's perspective. This super-charged lesson introduces syncopation in a fun and active way.Trashin' the Camp/Tarzan | Music Lesson Plan - AABA Form Grade 2-3Bring the jungle to your music classroom! Students learn AABA form as they dance a different step to each section of Trashin' the Camp from Disney's "Tarzan."Viennese Musical Clock | Music Lesson Plan - Rondo Grade 2-3Bring Kodaly’s masterpiece to life through role-play as dancers, trumpeters, knights, and royalty in Vienna while learning about the Seven-Part Rondo form (ABACADA).
Discover lesson plans that teach students about the instruments of the orchestra.
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Discover lesson plans that teach students about the lives, music, and culture of our most famous composers.
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks (Mussorgsky) | Music Lesson Plan - ABA Form Grade 1-2Today, your music students "hatch!" This movement lesson introduces your youngest learners to ABA form as they perform a magnificent ballet to Mussorgsky’s masterpiece.Do-Re-Mi (Richard Rogers) | Music Lesson Plan - Solfege Grade 1-3Bring Richard Rodgers’ masterpiece to life in your classroom! This lesson is perfect for introducing solfege or wrapping up a composer unit with singing and movement.Flight of the Bumblebee Game (Rimsky-Korsakov) | Music Lesson Plan - Unit Wrap-Up Grade 1-3Experience Rimsky-Korsakov’s fast-paced score through an exciting "beehive" game.Gymnopedie (Erik Satie) | Music Lesson Plan - Same/Different Grade 1-3Teach the concept of same vs. different through a graceful movement activity choreographed to Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1.Hungarian Dance No.5 (Brahms) | Music Lesson Plan - AABBCDAB Codetta Grade 2-6Brahms Meets Baseball. Students perform baseball moves to Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5. This lesson is always a home run!In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6This listening map helps students analyze and describe Grieg’s masterpiece.Messiah/Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 2-6Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! You've found it - the perfect listening map to introduce your students to one of history’s greatest works!Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) | Music Lesson Plan - Leitmotif Grade 1-3Comic Strip Creativity! Students illustrate the story of Peter and the Wolf in a comic strip as they listen to the recording!Surprise Symphony (Haydn) | Music Lesson Plan - Listening Map Grade 3-4Zany and fun! This music lesson plan delivers! Rated by students as "Mega-Wow!" Your students will never listen to Haydn's Surprise Symphony in the same way again!Viennese Musical Clock | Music Lesson Plan - Rondo Grade 2-3Bring Kodaly’s masterpiece to life through role-play as dancers, trumpeters, knights, and royalty in Vienna while learning about the Seven-Part Rondo form (ABACADA).
Visit Hey Kids, Meet the Composer biographies for related sheet music, worksheets, and bulletin board posters.
Discover lesson plans that teach students to compare and contrast musical scores.
Discover lesson plans that provide students with an easy introduction to the world of music composition and an opportunity to compose their own music.
Down by the Bay | Music Lesson Plan - Composing and Drawing Grade K-1Unlock the creativity of your music students by asking them to create their own verses to 'Down by the Bay' and illustrate these ideas to understand the relationship between music and art.Pizza Man, Pizza Man | Music Lesson Plan - Composing Music Grade 2-4Pizza, music and kids... what could be better? Students combine all three with this popular and fun-filled music lesson plan, Pizza Man, Pizza Man.Star Wars Rap | Music Lesson Plan - Composing Music Grade 2-4Make your next music classroom lesson a galactic adventure! This music composition lesson and worksheet gives students their first opportunity to write music like Star Wars film composer, John Williams.
Discover our lesson plan review games for the music classroom that are flexible enough to allow you to review a wide variety of lessons.
Slap Happy Music Math | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythm Review Grade 2-6Slap your way to happiness! Students race to slap the correct answer on the whiteboard, reinforcing basic rhythm values in this fun and active game.Suck It Up! Music Lesson Review Game Grade 2-6Review the facts from any music lesson with Suck It Up! - a fast-paced relay race with straws.Tic-Tac-Toe | Music Lesson Plan - Rhythms and Rests Grade 2-6Tic-Tac-Toe with a twist! Students read and perform simple rhythms correctly to win squares in this musical twist on the classic game.
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