How do I plan my lesson using MusicplayOnline?

Lesson planning is a unique art and here are the five most common ways to plan your lesson using MusicplayOnline.

There are many ways to use MusicplayOnline!

  1. Use the site as supplemental activities to your existing curriculum
  2. Follow the song list, creating lessons based on our sequence
  3. Use the Learning Modules - these are ready-to-use lessons!
  4. Use the Kodaly Reading songs, Solfa Practice, and Solfa tools as your Kodaly curriculum
  5. Use the Orff Arrangements with creating activities and teach using the Orff process

Lesson Planning Overview on MusicplayOnline

This section includes year plans, scope and sequence, 'What We Will Learn' posters, month outlines, sub information, and curriculum correlations. 

Click here to view the section on MusicplayOnline.

Month Outlines

Download the month outlines from MusicplayOnline for each grade (PreK-Middle School). This will give you the song list for the whole year. Column 1 is the Musicplay Song List. Column 2 is the Lesson Module Outline for that week. Column 3 is additional options suggested for that week.

Month OutlinesThe month outlines for each grade will give you the entire Musicplay song list with key concepts for each song. Listening selections referred to in a particular week are also listed. Many teachers highlight the songs that they want to use and loosely follow the monthly outlines. 

Find them in the Lesson Planning Overview on MusicplayOnline.

What We Will Learn Posters

What we will learn posterThis is a great reference tool to use to see at a glance what concepts and skills are to be taught in a grade. The core arts national standards are given at the bottom as 'I Can' statements giving you a quick reference each time you have a student create, perform, respond, and connect.

Download and print the What We Will Learn posters for each grade from the Lesson Planning Overview section on MusicplayOnline.

Lesson Planning

The planning resources offer a more detailed weekly outline for each grade. Choose between a PDF weekly package or view it all on MusicplayOnline. 

Click here to view the section on MusicplayOnline.

Grade-Specific Planning Resources

In each grade-specific planning resources section you will find overview documents (year plan, curriculum overview, month outlines, assessment and tracking sheets, curriculum links, thematic indexes, etc.), substitute plans, blank templates, and overview videos of the learning modules. 

Planning Resources on MPO

Grade-Specific Month Overview

In the month overview you will see 4 week headers and under each header will be a collection of songs that are associated to this week and grade (Musicplay Song List), the listening selections that are associated to this week, the learning module associated to this week, and any additional options. 

To the right of the Week header click on "Full Week Outline" to download a PDF package that includes the week at a glance and the song activities for that week. 

grade-specific lesson planning

The week at a glance is a quick look at the song list and where there are opportunities to sing, move, listen, read, write, create, and assess. Notation and teaching suggestions are given for all the songs in the week. Samples of the week at a glance and song activities are below.

Week at a glanceSong Activities

Learning Modules

The easiest way for music teachers to plan lessons is to use the Learning Modules. Select the grade and the week, then teach the activities that are included in the module. These modules can also be turned into editable lists for you to edit. 

Learn more about learning modules here: How do I use Learning Modules on MusicplayOnline?

Learn more about My List here: How do I use the My List feature on MusicplayOnline?

Learning Modules

Kodaly or Orff Specialists

To use the site as a Kodaly or Orff specialist, use the filter on the Song List search to quickly find all the reading songs and Orff arrangements in any grade. 

Learn more about what Orff resources are available on MusicplayOnline: What Orff resources are currently available on MusicplayOnline?

Song List

The song lists on MusicplayOnline show the tone set and the rhythm for all reading songs. The song list also shows if the song has an Orff arrangement. This is a helpful tool for the music teacher wanting a curriculum that uses the Orff process.

Song list showing solfa rhythm and orff

Easy Lesson Planning for Music Classes with Denise Gagne Webinar