Lesson Plan Example Distinction

Below is an example of a lesson plan that was given a distinction.

Lessons have been taken from week 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20.
This shows how the lesson plans progresses and develops throughout this
period.
The content of the lesson plan contains enough detail for someone to look at
this and understand WHAT the teacher is aiming to do, and HOW this is
going to be achieved.
The use of the group dynamic is clear, and creative teaching and delivery
methods are used.
The progression is realistic for each area (ie pieces are likely to develop faster
than scales - some areas will progress faster than others) as well as being in
line with the specific learner context that you are given in week 1.
These are a guide to inform your own set of lesson plans, and the progression
over the weeks.
This shows clearly what the candidates teaching and delivery methods are.

Licentiate in Music Teaching

Beginners Group Lessons (Level 1)
I am going to aim my group lessons at children aged 6-7years old, who have had no previous
experience in singing apart from in school assemblys and nursery rhymes. I aim to approach these
lessons as if I were teaching music in the classroom at Primary level KS1 and KS2.
Over the next 20 weeks, I will be using musical games and activites which relate to everyday life as
a tool to help the children explore their voices. I will be working on finding their singing voice and
assessing their natural abilities with respect to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo and performance
skills. I will encorporate visual aids, physical activities and the use of call-and-response to make
sure all the different types of learners are catered for. This is to give every child the best chance to
understand and learn to their full potential. I also plan to complete a full performance song towards
the end of the 20 weeks, drawing together all the children have learnt and to provide me with an
opportunity to assess how far they have developed.

Duration: 30
minutes

Lesson Plan 1

Key Concept: Finding the singing voice

Beginners Group Class

Monday 3rd January 2011

Aims

!
!

To repeat short rhythmic and melodic patterns

To be able to use different voices and find their singing voice

Objectives

!
!
!

I can sing and clap notes back

I can use my voice in different ways
I can use my singing voice

Activity

Time

Take
Register
and Warm
up

3 mins

Content and Methodology

!
!
!

Resources

Register
Shoulder rolls: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
Arm circles: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
Shaking the right hand count 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, repeat wth the left
hand and both feet. Repeat whole exercise coming down to 4,
then 2, then 1 and ending with shaking the whole body out whilst
jumping in the air. (Make sure all movements are emphasised to
keep the childrens attention)

Aural Tests 5 mins Teacher says: Now I'm going to clap my hands and I'd like you to copy
Piano
exactly what I do. Does everybody understand?
Refer to worksheet 1 'Short rhythms and melodies'. Choose exercises at
Worksheet
random and get the students to echoe rhythms that you clap.
1
Start with the whole class and then individually, one by one.
(If a child doesnt feel confident, clap with them or get the whole class to
clap with them)
Teacher says: I'm going to sing a short sequence of notes and I'd like you
to copy it. Does everybody understand?
! Refer to worksheet 1 'Short rhythms and melodies'. Choose
exercises at random. First get them to sing them back as a whole
class and then indivivually, one by one. (Again if a child doesnt
feel confident, sing with them or get the whole class to sing with
them)
Call and
Reponse

5 mins Teacher says: Now we are going to explore our voices and see how we
can use them differently. I'm going to speak in different voices, listen
carefully to the different sounds I make.
Teacher demonstrates:
This is my whispering voice (whispering)
This is my talking voice (talking)
This is my loud voice (shouting loudly)
This is singing voice (singing on any note)
!

Song Boom
chick a
boom

Explain that you are going to ask Have you bought your
whispering voice? And they must answer Yes we have! In
which ever voice you have specified.

Teacher says: Have you bought your whispering voice?

Class: Yes we have!
Go through all the different voices and then repeat this activity with the
children's names.
Teacher says: What's your name? (in a different voice)
7 mins Student: My names John (in same voice)
Teacher says: Now we have explored using our different voices we can
use them in a chant.
!

Speak the words line by line, with the students echoing back.

Lyric sheet

Remember to exaggerate articulation.

E.g Teacher says: I said a Boom chick a boom (in loud voice)
Class: I said a Boom chick a boom (in loud voice)
Teacher says: I said a boom chick a rocker chick a rocker chick a boom
(in loud voice)
Class: I said a boom chick a rocker chick a rocker chick a boom (in loud
voice)
Now repeat the song with different voices, try changing the voice on
different lines of the song with the students echoing back. Can the
children cope with quick changes?
Song
'Jack-inthe-box'

8 mins Teacher says: Have you got your singing voice?

Class: Yes we have
Teacher says: Now we have all found our singing voices we can learn to
sing a song. We are going to learn a song called 'Jack-in-the-box'
Sing the song line by line, with the students echoing back. Now put it all
together.
Teacher says: Now we are going to put actions to our song, we start
crouched down like this (demonstrate) and when we sing 'Pops!' we all
have to leap to our feet and clap our hands like this (demonstrate).
Sing the song through adding the movements.
Teacher says: Now, when we sing press the button I'd like everybody
to press their nose, like this (demonstrate). Is everybody ready?
!

'Singing
Sherlock
Book 1'
and CD
included
CD Player
Piano

Sing the song all the way through adding all the movements.

Did everybody manage with perform the movements at the right time in
the song?
Does anyone want to come out front and help my puppet sing the song?
(Use the hand puppet to encourage the children to sing on their own)

Plenary
2 mins Teacher says: Can you say Jack lives in a wooden box with your whispering voice?
and
Teacher says: Can you clap back this sequence?
Homework
Practice saying your name in all your different voices, whispering, talking, loud and
singing.

Evaluation

Duration: 30
minutes

Lesson Plan 5

Key Concepts: Pulse and Rests

Beginners Group Class

Monday 31st January 2011

Aims

!
!
!

To develop the understanding of pulse and rhythm

To relate pulse to written symbols
To introduce the idea of rests in music

Objectives

!
!
!

I can hear and keep a beat

I can relate the pulse to written symbols
I can maintain a steady beat through silence

Activity

Time

Content and Methodology

Take
Register
and warm
up

5 mins Teacher says: Let's see how well you can remember the penguin song
from last week. Remember we slap our right arm then left, right leg, then
left, nod your head and lastly stick out our tongue. All in time with the
words.
!

Resources

Sing the penguin song through without the CD

*Note this song can be used regulary, either at the start of the lesson as a
warm up or to bring a lesson to an end.

'High low
dolly
pepper'

5 mins Teachers says: Now we are going to do a similar sort of song, where we
have to put actions to the words we are saying. This rhyme is called 'High
low dolly pepper' and goes like this...(demonstrate with actions which are
stated below)
!

Chant together the following rhyme and actions:

High low dolly pepper, kick kick kick,
High low dolly pepper, flick flick flick
High low dolly pepper, slap slap slap
High low dolly pepper, clap clap clap

Actions:
! Raise your hands and arms on the first word of each line and
lower them on 'low'.
! Make a rocking action on 'dolly pepper'.
! Match the rhythm of the last three words of each line.
Bubbles

12
mins

Draw the following bubbles on the board as shown below:

Yellow

Blue

Yellow

Blue

Yellow

Yellow

Blue

Blue

Teacher says: Look at the bubbles I have drawn on the board, these
bubbles represent the beat. As I point to the bubble I'd like you to say the
colour written on it.
!

Point to the bubbles using a very steady beat whilst the children

White
board,
pens and
wiper

say:
Blue, Yellow, Blue, Yellow
Blue, Yellow, Yellow, Blue
! Ask one of the children to come up to the board and choose a
bubble to burst and rub it out.
! Read through the board again and think the burst bubble in
your head and putting fingers on lips.
! Ask another child to burst another bubble and repeat the exercise.
! Keep bursting bubbles until there are more silences than words.
Can the children keep in time?
Can they grasp the concept of rests?
Teacher says: Now we are going to speak the words of the pictures we
are seeing on the board as I point to them. What do you think we'll say
when I point to this picture? (Shoe) What do you think we'll say when I
point to this picture (clap).

Clap and
Stamp
5 mins

!
!

'Clap and
stamp'
poster

Stick up the 'clap and stamp' poster

After a count of four say the sheet together:

Shoe, shoe, clap, clap

Shoe, shoe, clap, clap
Shoe, clap, shoe, clap
Shoe, clap, shoe, clap
!
!

Now repeat the whole sheet but speaking the word shoe and
actually clap on the clap symbol.
Now repeat the whole sheet, tapping your foot on the shoe
symbol and clapping on the clap symbol.

Extension If there is time and the children seem to be grasping the

concept of relating a pulse to written symbols extend the previous activity
by turning the poster around, so that it reads differently.
Eg. Turn it to the right to produce:
Shoe, shoe, shoe, shoe
Clap, clap, shoe, shoe
Clap, shoe, clap, clap
Shoe, clap, clap, clap
Or to the left:
Clap, clap, clap, shoe
Clap, clap, shoe, clap
Shoe, shoe, clap, clap
Shoe, shoe, shoe, shoe
etc...
Plenary
3 mins Draw on the board a pattern of 4 bubbles with any two colours written in, in any order
and
Teacher says: Who thinks they can say this pattern as I point to the bubbles?
Homework
Burst a bubble and ask another child to say this pattern.

Evaluation

Duration: 30
minutes

Lesson Plan 10

Key concept: Counting

Beginners Group Class

Monday 7th March 2011

Aims

!
!
!

To develop the use of stepping notes in songs

To encourage the use of counting in songs
To encourage the children to sing on their own

Objectives

!
!
!

I can sing a melody with stepping notes

I can count accurately within a song
I can sing a solo

Activity

Time

Take
5 mins
register and
recap last
week

Content and Methodology

Resources

Teacher says: Lets all sing together the scale we learnt last week which Solfa
is represented by the solfa staircase.(have the poster visible) I'll sing it to Staircase
you first and then do you think you could have a go at singing it without poster
me?
Play the C major scale and sing the solfa names.
Then get the class to sing it back to you.

Warm up

5 mins

!
!
!

Song 'If
You're
Happy'

3 mins

Shoulder rolls: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.

Arm circles: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
Shaking the right hand count 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, repeat wth the left
hand and both feet. Repeat whole exercise coming down to 4,
then 2, then 1 and ending with shaking the whole body out whilst
jumping in the air. (Make sure all movements are emphasised to
keep the childrens attention)

Introduce the song If you're happy and you know it and sing it
through with
- clap your hands
- stamp your feet
- shout hurray
Teacher says: Sometimes when we sing a song there is silence in the
music. Can anyone tell me what this silence is called? (a rest)
Why do you think it is called a rest? (because we are not singing and
there is no music. Our voices and the rhythm are having a rest)
! Draw where this rest occurs in the song on the board.
! When singing it through remind the children to pay attention to
where the rests (silence in the song) occur.

Song 'Stars'

15
mins

Play the song 'Stars' through and then teach it phrase by phrase
'Stars'
using call and response.
sheet
! Get the children to count and clap the beats in between the
music
singing. Eg. 'Twinkling up so high' 1 2 3 4
(Eventually we will work on being able to count in their heads, but it's
best to start making them aware that these beats are there first)
! When the children seem confident with the song, ask who would
like to come out the front and sing a solo while the rest of the
class count the beats in between.
! Encourage them to come up with some actions to the song to
make it less daunting and more of a game than a performance

Plenary
2 mins You need to practise singing the song 'If you're happy', clapping your hands and
and
stamping your feet in time.
Homework

Evaluation

Duration: 30
minutes

Lesson Plan 15

Key Concept: Melodic movement

Beginners Group Class

Monday 11th April 2011

Aims

!
!

To encourage an understanding of notes that leap as opposed to step

To introduce an octave

Objectives

!
!

I understand and can sing notes that leap

I understand and can recognise an octave

Activity

Time

Content and Methodology

Resources

Take
5 mins Warm up
register and
! Shoulder rolls: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
warm up
! Arm circles: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
! Shaking the right hand count 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, repeat wth the left
hand and both feet. Repeat whole exercise coming down to 4,
then 2, then 1 and ending with shaking the whole body out whilst
jumping in the air.
! raise your arms above your head stretching as high as you can,
then release all tension and drop your arms and body so you are
leant over with your hands reaching to the floor
! Repeat 3 times
! Pretend to eat a big toffee and you have to chew really hard,
stretching your face
! Ask the children to make a big face, really wide and open and
then screw it up really small, repeat this a few times
Song 'Are 10
you coming mins
out to
play?'

!
!
!

!
!
Signs and
signals

10
mins

Teach the song line by line, in a call-and-response style

Explain that in this song the notes aren't just moving step by step
like they do in a scale
Point out phrases like 'Are you coming...' which is a jump from
an A to an D, and '...out today?' which has a jump from D to G.
(Don't point out what the notes are, this might confuse the
children, just explain that they are leaps rather than steps).
Also point out notes that fall, from high to low.
Eg. Bar 5, 'ice...we can' a fall from E to A.

(The following activities should cover all three learning styles; visual,
auditory and kinesthetic, and so should give all the children the best
possible chance at understanding this topic).
!

Hold up the 'signs and signals' poster.

Teacher says: If I hold up these two posters which one do you think
represents notes jumping upwards from low to high? Which one do you
think represents notes falling down from high to low?
!
!

Play through a few different leaps and falls on the piano and ask
the children if the notes jumped up or down and then point out
the corresponding sign.
Hand to each child a piece of paper and a pencil.
Play either a jump or a fall on the piano and sing it also for an
interval of a 5th . Ask the children to draw on the piece of card a
sign to represent the direction of the notes movement.

Teacher says: Now I'm going to play and sing two notes. I'd like you to

'Are you
coming
out to play'
Sheet
music
Piano

'Sings and
signals'
poster
paper and
pencils

decide whether you think the notes are jumping up or falling down, but
don't tell me the answer. I'd like you to draw the sign which shows your
answer on your piece of paper.
!

When the children have finished drawing their sign, get them to
hold it out infront of them.

Did anyone not draw the right sign?

If so, first ask them whether they thought the note was going up or down
(they might have understood this, but simply not drawn the right sign. It
may mean they struggle with visualising the movement of pitch which
could in turn lead to problems with reading scores.
Repeat the exercise and encourage them to listen very carefully to
whether the note is jumping up or falling down. Also, try playing a bigger
interval).
*Note also a good exercise for developing aural skills.

!
!

Sing the opening notes of the following songs, which show up

and down melodic jumps.
Talk about the melodic movement and ask the children to
describe what the notes are doing. Encourage them to draw the
shape of the movement in the air.

Octaves
3 mins

!
!

Play a C on the piano and say that this is note number one, count
up eight notes and explain that you come to the same note again.
Play octave leaps from C D and E

Teacher says: In music, this jump of eight notes is called an octave.

Notice that the octaves we are playing are going from low to high.
Octaves can also go from high to low, let's have a listen to what these
would sound like...

Play falling octaves from high C D and E.

Plenary
2 mins Teacher says: Today we have been exploring notes that move in leaps and jumps,
and
both upwards and downwards. So do you think a note is jumping up or falling fown if
Homework
I draw this sign on the board?
What do you think is happening to these notes if I draw this sign?
Draw a sign similar to this
This shows that the note wouldn't move up or down but stay the same.

Evaluation

Duration: 30
minutes

Lesson Plan 20

Key concept: Performance

Beginners Group Class

Monday 16th May 2011

Aims

!
!

Overview of the term

To perform the song 'Numbers Everywhere' by memory

Objectives

!
!

I can recall what I have been learning this term

I can perform the song 'Numbers Everywhere' by memory

Activity

Time

Content and Methodology

Resources

Take
5 mins Warm up
register and
! Shoulder rolls: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
warm up
! Arm circles: 4 right, 4 left, then both together.
! Shaking the right hand count 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, repeat wth the left
hand and both feet. Repeat whole exercise coming down to 4,
then 2, then 1 and ending with shaking the whole body out whilst
jumping in the air.
! Raise your arms above your head stretching as high as you can,
then release all tension and drop your arms and body so you are
leant over with your hands reaching to the floor.
! Repeat 3 times.
! Pretend to eat a big toffee and you have to chew really hard,
stretching your face.
! Ask the children to make a big face, really wide and open and
then screw it up really small, repeat this a few times.
Performanc 7 mins
Teacher says: Has everyone been practicing 'Numbers Everywhere'?
e aspects
Let's talk about how we are going to sing it today, do you think it should
be sung loudly or quietly, or in between? (in between for the verses,
loudly for the chorus)
Who thinks that it is a fast song? (everyone should know it's fast)
Yes, it's quite a fast song, can anyone remember the fancy word we use
for fast? (allegro)
There are also lots of words so what do we need to warm up so we can
get all the words out at this speed? (mouths: tongue and lips)
Yes our tongue and lips have lots of hard work to do, so let's warm them
up wth this tongue twister:

'Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said this butter's
bitter! But a bit of better butter will but make my butter
better So she bought some better butter, better than the bitter
butter, and it made her butter better so 'twas better
!
!

Teach the tongue twister line by line in a call-and-response style

Put two lines together, then 3 lines etc...so the children get to
grips with it.

Articulation 2 mins
exercise

Sing through 'Tip of the tongue', the children have already learnt
this exercise

Breathing
exercise

3 mins

ABRSM
Singing
Prep Test
Pant audibly (like a dog), practise this rhythmically, starting with pg 5
exercise C
half notes for a bar of 4/4 then a whole note for a bar of 4/4 as
below:
Piano

ha

ha

ha

ha

ha__________________

Performanc 10
e song
mins
'Numbers
Everywhere
'

Repeat this a few times, then do variations. For example:

- a bar of half notes, then a bar of quarter notes.
- a bar of quarter notes, followed by a whole note
This activity should start strengthening the childrens diaphragm and also
allows them to engage these muscles without thinking about it.
!
!
!
!

Decide on a number that the children will use for each chorus of
the song.
Practise each chorus separately, drawing the number in the air,
then clapping it, then tapping it on the back of the person to your
right (person at the end can mime it)
Sing through the whole song with the performance track and say
you are going to be the conductor
Using hands close together for quiet and as you move them
further apart getting louder.

Teacher says: Do you think that we should sing the whole song quietly?
(No) Very loudly? (No, inbetween)
The sign we use for this is 'mf '(draw it on the board) it means moderately
loud. So we will sing the verses moderately loud and the chorus' loud and
the sign for this, remember is 'f'.
Now do you think you could perform this song along with the backing
track?
I'd like you to imagine you're on stage and you have to make sure all the
people at the back of the room can hear you as well as the people at the
front! But this doesn't mean shout!
!

Stand the children in a line and get them to perform the song
through with the backing track.

Plenary and 3 mins Who was confident with performing the song? Who could stay in tune
Homework
and who couldn't? Who could stay in time and who couldn't? Who was
confident with the movement anad who wasn't?
Evaluation