Each lesson is 30 minutes long.
Lesson 1
- Opening Song
- Tell students, We are learning about Melody.
- The melody starts with the scale. Show visuals of the Curwen hand signs and help them sing up the scale.
- Tell students, We will be focusing on 3 of these tones: mi, so and la.
- Echo sing (slowly). Teacher sing 3 tones with Solfege and Curwen hand signs, students echo.
- Bounce High Bounce Low  (more songs with mi, so, la)
- Add motions to show the movement of the melody.
- Wolf (We Are Dancing in the Forest)
- Teach song and move hands with the melodic contour.
- Play the game.
Lesson 2
- Opening Song
- Sing the whole scale with Curwen hand signs.
- Echo tones: mi, so and la
- Bounce High Bounce Low
- Add Curwen hand signs.
- Pass out bouncy balls to each student (or ball manipulatives / pictures). As students sing, they move the balls up and down in the air.
- If time, have some students play a simple bordun on xylophones.
- Wolf (We are Dancing in the Forest)
- Add motions up and down to show the melodic contour.
- Help students discover the Solfege.
- Play the game.
More lessons available below.
- 2nd grade Melody Lessons 1-12 (PDF)
4 thoughts on “2nd Grade Melody Lessons”
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