Spring Arbor University School of Education

Lesson Plan Essential Elements

Title: Lesson A - Note Names
Subject: Concert Choir
Grade Level: (Beginner choir) 9th-12th grade

Time Allotted: 17 mins. But could be done in less.

Materials Required: Whiteboard, whiteboard markers and erasers. Students need notebooks and pencils.
21st Century Skills: Information Literacy
VPAA Standards:
ART.M.I.5.10 Use a system to read pitch notation in various tonalities.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Objective(s): TLW be able to identify notes on treble and bass clef staves including two
ledger lines above and below each staff at a decent pace.

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Instructional Procedure: What information do students need to accomplish the objective(s)? They need to know
their alphabet and need to know how to draw a treble and bass clef staves.
Time
Essential Element
Allotted
1 min.
1. Anticipatory Set: Good Morning! Today we are going to learn how to identify note names on treble
and bass clef staves.
30
2. State Purpose and Objective(s) of Lesson: Before we get started with our music, we are going to
seconds
get you acquainted with the treble and bass clef staves.
A.2
mins.
B. 3
mins.

C. 1
min.
D. 1
min.

E. 1
min.
F.1 min.
G.2

3. Plan for Instruction:

A. Take out your notebooks and draw a treble and bass clef staff.
B. Tell the students to fill in the letter names A-G as you filled them in on the treble clef staff. Tell
them to note that the bottom line on the treble clef staff is an E and as you go up the staff say the
next letter of the alphabet. If you go down the staff you say the musical alphabet backwards. To go
up the alphabet, you must alternate counting lines and spaces that are next to each other. So if the
bottom note is E, F would be the next space up. The next letter after that is placed on a line,
G, and so on.
C. Explain the trick to remembering the treble clef staffs notes names: Every Good Boy Does Fine (E,
G, B, D, F) for the lines and the word FACE for the spaces.
D. Tell the students to fill in the letter names A-G as you filled them in on the bass clef staff. (Tell them
to note that the bottom line on the bass clef staff is a G and as you go up the staff say the next
letter of the alphabet. If you go down the staff you say the musical alphabet backwards. To go up
the alphabet, you must alternate counting lines and spaces that are next to each other. So if the
bottom note is G, A would be the next space up. The next letter after that is placed on a line,
B, and so on.)
E. Explain the trick to remembering the bass clef staffs note names: Great Big Dogs Fight Animals
(G, B, D, F, A) for the lines and All Cows Eat Grass (A, C, E, G) for the spaces.
F. Once the students have all that written in, explain what a ledger line is.
G. Identify ledger lines. Have them notice that the ledger lines above and below the treble clef staff are

SOE Faculty, 2/26/10

mins.
H. 2
mins.
I. 2
mins.

5. 2 min
6. 30
secs.

the same only backwards. (The top two ledger lines of the treble clef go from A to C, while the
bottom two ledger lines go from C to A.) Then point out the bass clefs bottom two ledger lines as E
and C on the very bottom.
H. Informal Formative Assessment: (to prepare for Note Identification Formal Summative
Assessment) Practice some note identification with them on the board for 2 minutes. Use 6. cold
calling to make sure each student is trying to figure out the answer.
I. Hand out worksheets to tell them how to get online to practice that test on musictheory.net. Tell
them about it being a test grade.
4. Differentiation Considerations (accommodations): Be prepared to have to repeat yourself. Give
them clues during note identification if trouble.
5. Assessment: The Assessments were an informal-having them do it in class and a formal homework
assignment.
6. Closure:. Remind them about the homework assignment due next class.

SOE Faculty, 2/26/10