Are you wondering which songs you should plan to teach your students next year? Are you a little overwhelmed by the thought of compiling songs? In this blog post, I'm detailing two ways to create a song list for each grade level, so that you know which songs you'll be teaching each grade level (and can save tons of time writing lesson plans!)
First of all, what is a song list? A song list is a compilation of songs you'll use in a grade level during the year. It can be simple, with songs listed by concept or skill, or it can be a bit more complex, with songs cross-referenced and in alphabetical order. I will show you an example of both.
#1: The Detailed Song List
Here is a video I made several years ago, to walk you through how to create a detailed song list in Excel or Google Sheets.
#2: The Simple Song List
Instead of creating a complex spreadsheet with songs, another approach is simply to write down the concepts you will be teaching, and choose several songs for that concept that you could use to teach that concept. This can be done in a Google Doc, like so:
While you are writing song lists, it's helpful to put any culture or ethnicity next to the song, so you can make sure you have a wide variety of songs in your curriculum. You can also add listening, picture books, etc.
So how can you use song lists? When you are planning your year plans or your lessons, you can use the song list to input songs. You can also use the song lists for brainstorming musical programs.
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Hope this is helpful. Happy planning!
2 Responses
All of my lessons are now in Google slides with plans in a Google doc. I’m looking forward how to be more detailed like you described since I’m not going back to the paper method. Thank you!
I’m really thrilled to get teacher to teacher assistance. I’ve been teaching preschool music and piano lessons for many years. It’s been a long time since I taught full-time elementary music so I need the help in planning. Thank you so much for sharing your successful experience with others!