A music lesson plan template is a one-page outline with spaces for the lesson title, grade, length, learning objectives, resources, a timed lesson outline (warm-up, main activities and a closing review), differentiation, assessment and standards links. Classfern’s free template can be filled in online, printed or downloaded, and turns your timings into a lesson timer.
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
UKUSWorks in the UK and the US. This version uses US music words (measure, quarter note, staff) and US grades; the UK version uses bar, crotchet, stave and UK year groups. · UK version of this page
Key facts
A good music lesson plan has 8 parts: title and focus, grade and length, objectives, resources, a timed outline, differentiation, assessment and standards links.
A typical 45-minute music lesson has a 5-minute warm-up, two or three main activities and a 5-minute closing review.
England’s Model Music Curriculum (2021) suggests at least one hour of music a week for children aged 5–11; in the US, time for music varies by school district.
Classfern uses five assessment labels: Marked by Classfern, Partly marked, Self-assessed, Judged by a teacher or parent (rubric), and Evidence kept at home.
The fill-in template below works in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and a draft is saved only if you press Save.
What should a music lesson plan include?
A music lesson plan should include the lesson focus, the grade and length, two or three learning objectives, the resources, a timed outline of each part of the lesson, differentiation for support and stretch, how learning will be assessed, and the standards links it covers.
The eight parts of a music lesson plan and what to write in each.
Part
What to write
Title and focus
What the lesson is about, in a few words (for example “Keeping a steady beat”).
Grade and length
Who it is for (for example grade 3) and how many minutes.
Learning objectives
Two or three things students will be able to do by the end, starting with a verb: sing, play, compose, describe.
Resources
Instruments, recordings, song sheets, screens and Classfern tools you will need.
Timed lesson outline
Each part with its minutes: warm-up, starter, main activities and a closing review (plenary). The parts should add up to the lesson length.
Differentiation
Support, stretch, and access ideas (IEP and 504) so every student can take part.
Assessment
How you will know they have learned it, and who judges it: marked by a computer, self-assessed or judged by the teacher.
Standards links
The National Core Arts Standards or your state standards the lesson covers.
Free printable music lesson plan template
Print this blank music class lesson plan template and fill it in by hand, or use the online version below. It prints on one page.
Music lesson plan
Blank music lesson plan template. The lesson outline has six rows for timed parts.
Section
Your plan
Lesson title and focus
Grade · length
Learning objectives (2–3)
1. 2. 3.
Resources
Part 1 · warm-up (… min)
Part 2 (… min)
Part 3 (… min)
Part 4 (… min)
Part 5 (… min)
Part 6 · review (… min)
Support
Stretch
Access (IEP and 504)
Assessment (who judges it?)
Standards links
Fill in the music lesson plan template online
Type your plan below and press Make my plan. It checks that the parts add up to the lesson length, lays the plan out for printing, and gives you a lesson timer that follows your timings. Download saves it as a file you can open in a browser or word processor.
Everything stays in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded; a draft is kept on this device only if you press Save.
How do you write a music lesson plan?
Start with what students should be able to do by the end, then choose one song or piece and two or three activities that build that skill. Give each part a time, add support and stretch ideas, decide how you will check learning, and finish with a short performance or review.
Set the objective. One skill, written as something you can see or hear: “keep a steady beat while singing”.
Choose the music. A song or piece that suits the skill and the age group (see the music curriculum guide).
Plan a warm-up of 3–5 minutes that gets voices and bodies ready: echo clapping, a vocal warm-up or a call-and-response.
Build the main activities in small steps: listen, copy, practice, then create or perform.
Time every part so the parts add up to the lesson length, with 5 minutes to review at the end.
Plan for everyone: one way to make it easier, one way to make it harder, and any access needs.
Decide on assessment: what you will listen or look for, and who judges it.
Example: a completed music lesson plan
Here is the template filled in for a real grade 3 lesson. Press Run the lesson timer to use it in class, or print it.
Example: Steady beat and ostinato (45 minutes)
Grade
Grade 3 (ages 8–9)
Time
45 minutes
Focus
Keeping a steady beat and adding a repeated rhythm (ostinato) to a song
Learning objectives
Students keep a steady beat with body percussion while singing.
Clap and say a four-beat ostinato in time.
Perform the song in two groups: one sings, one plays the ostinato.
Resources
Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?) – the tune player on the nursery rhymes page
45-minute lesson. Each row is one part; the lesson timer follows these times.
Time
Part
What happens
0–5 min
Warm-up
Echo-clap four-beat patterns; pass the beat round the circle.
5–13 min
Learn the song
Sing Frère Jacques in unison with the tune player on Slow, then Normal.
13–23 min
Beat and ostinato
Pat the beat while singing. Teach the ostinato “Ding, dong, bell” (two quarter notes and a half note).
23–35 min
Two-group performance
Half the class sings; half plays the ostinato on percussion. Swap. Then try the song as a two-part round.
35–40 min
Perform
Perform the best version; record it on a class device if your school allows.
40–45 min
Review (plenary)
Thumbs up/sideways/down: Could you keep your part going? What helped?
Differentiation
Support: Play the ostinato on one drum only, or pat the beat instead of the rhythm.
Stretch: Make up a new four-beat ostinato and teach it to the group.
Access (IEP and 504 ideas): Offer a drum with a large surface or a shaker that is easy to grip; use a visual beat (a bouncing hand or light).
Assessment
Judged by a teacher or parent (rubric) Teacher checks who keeps the beat and holds the ostinato against the singing (secure / developing / not yet).
Self-assessed Students show thumbs for how well they kept their part going.
Standards links
National Core Arts Standards MU:Pr4.2.3 – demonstrate understanding of the structure in music selected for performance (verified: false)
MU:Pr6.1.3 – perform music with expression and technical accuracy (verified: false)
How long should a music lesson be?
Most school music lessons last 30 to 60 minutes. Younger children do best with shorter sessions, often 20 to 30 minutes, and England’s Model Music Curriculum suggests at least one hour a week at ages 5 to 11, which can be split into shorter sessions. Older students often have one 45- to 60-minute lesson a week.
Whatever the length, keep the shape: a quick warm-up, the main learning in small steps, and a short review. In a 30-minute lesson that might be 5 + 20 + 5 minutes; in a 60-minute lesson, 5 + 45 + 10. The online template warns you if your parts do not add up.
What is a good warm-up for a music class?
A good warm-up takes 3 to 5 minutes and gets everyone listening and moving together: echo-clap short rhythms, pass a beat around a circle, sing a call-and-response, or hum and slide the voice from low to high. Choose a warm-up that leads into the main activity.
Classfern also has general lesson plan templates for every subject and a free lesson plan maker on lessonplanner.info. For whole units, use the scheme of work builder on the music curriculum page.
