
Each lesson is 30 minutes long.
Lesson 1
- Announce: We are learning about Melody.
- Watch Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music.
- Teach how to sing Do Re Mi.
- Sing Ebenezer Sneezer or One Cold and Frosty Morning (more songs with major scale)
- Echo tones: mi, so and la – use Curwen hand signs. Tell them these are the 3 tones we will focus on in 2nd grade.
- Teach Bounce High (more songs with mi, so, la activities)
- Add motions to show the movement of the melody.
- Wolf: We Are Dancing in the Forest
- Intro song with lap, shoulder, head movements – Show PowerPoint.
- Play game.
Lesson 2
- Do Re Mi & sing entire scale with Curwen hand signs
- Echo tones: mi, so and la
- Sing Ebeneezer Sneezer again with motions
- Bounce High with movements / Curwen hand signs
- Xylophones – each student play scale up and down, then play Ebeneezer Sneezer.
- Wolf – sing and play game
Lesson 3
- Do Re Mi & sing entire scale
- Teach solami game.
- So-mi song
- Bounce High – with bouncy balls – show on board how the notes go up and down.
- Wolf – sing and play game
Lesson 4
- Do Re Mi & sing entire scale
- Solami game
- Show mi – so on big floor staff. Teach lines, spaces, step, skip
- So-mi song
- Review Bounce High – 4 students to front, each with a ball held in front of them – from left to right, have the students tell the students in what position to hold their “notes” to notate “Bounce high, bounce low”– I show ball motion and notate on board (2-lined staff)
- Hand out balls- Sing Bounce High, Wolf.
Lesson 5
- Do Re Mi & sing entire scale
- Play solami.
- Sing Bounce High w/motions & balls at their seats. As we “notate” the song in the air with the balls, I show them how to start on the left and move to the right a little bit for every note.
- Introduce staff, treble clef, G clef, step, skip, line, space
- Purple felt staffs – 3-lined side – students to put “dots” on
- Lines and spaces – I say “Put a note on line 1… space 3…”
- So-mi – I say “Put a note on line 2. If this is “so,” where would “mi” go?” (I tell them that “mi” is a copycat to “so” and always goes on whatever “so” is on (line or space), just one below. (i.e. “If “so” is on a line, “mi” is on a line. If “so” is on a space, “mi” is on a space.”)
- Wolf and game
Lesson 6
- Do Re Mi & sing entire scale
- Play solami.
- Sing Bounce High and Wolf with hand signs
- I notate on board.
- Lucy Locket
- Teach song
- Students sing along and try to find if pitches go up or down.
- Notate on board. Add stems (quarter and eighth notes) where appropriate.
- Felt staffs – 5-lined side – review how to find so-mi
- Wolf – or Lucy Locket if all students have had turns
Lesson 7
- Do Re Mi & sing entire scale
- Play solami.
- Floor staff: review how to find so – mi. Teach how to find la.
- Partners: purple felt staffs
- Sing Lucy Locket, then notate again on board – if time, play game
4 thoughts on “2nd Grade Melody Lessons 1-7”
From an orchestra teacher now in a general music position and teacher’s manuals from 1988(!), I can’t thank you enough for sharing these awesome resources. They are incredibly helpful and the kids are having a lot of fun with the ideas that you have shared.
Karmi, I’m so glad to hear it! 🙂
Hi, I am teaching primary school music for the first time this year after much middle school and high school teaching, and this has been invaluable. I am so grateful to you! Hopefully I can help to share back in the future 🙂 Thank you!
Hello!
This blog page has become an invaluable resource to me, and I wanted to thank you so much for your incredible hard work and generosity. As a middle school/high school music teacher who’s been teaching primary for the past 6 months, this page has become so important to me! Thank you!xx