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LESSON PLAN 2:
Clef Reading
NAME: Carlene Ruesenberg
Age/Grade level: 4th grade
Content Area: General Music
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING:
Reading notes on the Grand Staff is like reading A-G through the alphabet repeatedly.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify learning outcomes, and concepts to be addressed in
the lesson:

Students will be able to identify notes on the both the bass clef staff and the treble
clef staff.

Students will be able to relate notes on the staff to pitches on handchimes.

Students will be able to identify the pitch identified on the staff by the clef.
ASSESSMENT: What types of assessment tools will be used to determine whether or
not the students have learned what was taught: Discuss what will be an indicator of
success. Think about The Facets of Understanding in your lesson planning.
Students will be able to look at notes written on the staff and play the correct pitches on
handchimes.
A written test will also be able to determine if students can identify notes on the staff in
either clef.
Carlene Ruesenberg
Lesson Plan 2 – Clef Reading
Page 2
FORMAT/PROCEDURE OF THE LESSON. Include: Advanced organizers,
technology, motivational procedures, a step by step procedure, if this is not an
introductory lesson, tie this into the previous lesson, teaching strategies (visual, auditory,
experiential, and tactile). Be sure to outline all steps in the lessons:
1.
Divide class into two groups. Give one group red cards with the letters of the alphabet
on them—G3-B4, with the corresponding graphic of what their note is on the bass clef
staff.
Give the other group blue cards with the letters of the alphabet on them – D5-G6, with
their corresponding note on the treble clef staff . Have the C5 note on a yellow card.
That can be held by the ‘Student of the Day’ (or other special designation). Give each
person a chime that corresponds to his or her note.
Have each group stand in a line, carrying their letter in front of them, all mixed up. Have
them play their chimes, left to right. Ask about how it sounds.
2.
Now have them get in order, in one line, starting from the lowest A4. Have them play
their chimes. Ask about how it sounds. Is it different from before?
3.
Have the red group move in alpha order from G3-B4 and face in. Have the blue group
move in alpha order from D5-G6 and face the red group. Have the C5 person be in the
middle. What does that look like? Why is the C5 person special and in the middle?
Ask about the graphic on the card of the person across from each other. Is there a pattern
as the sound gets higher? Why does the F4 person and the G5 person have a special star?
Explain how the clefs designate what note is on the line on the staff that it highlights (F4
for bass clef, G5 for treble clef)
Have each person play in line and mark their note in order on the staff.
4.
Now have each group mix up. Have them play their chime and write their note on the
grand staff chalkboard.
Now have everybody give their note and card to someone else. Have them play the
melody that was written on the board, using their new note.
Play the last melody several times, and have the class create a name for the melody.
5.
Have the class mix up again, and write a new melody on the board. Have them give their
notes and cards to somebody new and the play the new melody several times, until they
don’t have to refer to their card to figure out what note they have.
Carlene Ruesenberg
Lesson Plan 2 – Clef Reading
Page 3
MATERIALS: List the materials you will be using.
Colored construction paper with the individual notes identified on the staff (Red for bass
clef, blue for treble clef, and yellow for Middle C.)
Handchimes—at least two octaves in a diatonic scale, corresponding to the notes
identified on the construction paper. (This depends on the number of students in the
class, so that each student gets a note.)
Chalkboard or whiteboard with empty Grand Staff printed or drawn on it.
VOCABULARY: List key words or terms you will develop during the learning
experience.
Staff
Grand Staff
Treble Clef
Bass Clef
Middle ‘C’
Pitch
TECHNOLOGY: In what ways will you integrate technology into the lesson? What
types of technology will you use? Will students create their own files/portfolios? Will
you use an electronic grading process?
This is a more experiential lesson in which hearing and seeing is paramount to
understanding the relationship between pitch and notation.
A written test will determine the assessment of the understanding, which is factually
based. No specific technology is necessary at this time. Once the reading is
demonstrated, students may be able to use a keyboard to create their own compositions.
Carlene Ruesenberg
Lesson Plan 2 – Clef Reading
Page 4
QUESTIONING STRATEGIES/Critical thinking strategies :
Utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy or other questioning strategies, develop a number of
questions, at various levels, to engage the students and develop critical and higher level
thinking skills:
Describe the difference between the red group of notes and the blue group of notes.
What does it sound like when everybody is mixed up and plays their notes?
WHAT ASPECTS OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES or LEARNING STYLES
WILL BE ADDRESSED?
This primarily addresses the Mastery type of Learning style, as mastery of reading music
on the staff is akin to memorizing multiplication tables in the basic understanding of
music notation and creation. However, it definitely addresses the Musical intelligence, as
one has to listen and be able to discern the differences in pitches and how they are played,
and how they relate to the written notation on the board.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS: What modifications will need to be made in the
lesson or the classroom environment for special needs students?
This lesson allows for flexibility for special needs students in that visually impaired
students can still hear the pitches and be led to make the conclusion that they are notated
in a way that the sequence of pitches can be reproduced. Similarly, a hearing impaired
student would be able to see the notes and see the different sizes of the chimes that would
correspond to that note. It would be a challenge to explain the auditory connection with
someone who could not hear, however, I believe that this lesson could be adapted to
accommodate the need of the individual to at least make the connection between the
written notation and the pitch of the handchime.
Carlene Ruesenberg
Lesson Plan 2 – Clef Reading
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INTEGRATION: In what other areas will this lesson be integrated?
This lesson can be modified to include some more rhythmic body movement within the
recognition part of the activity.
REFLECTION: After you have completed the lesson plan (or teaching the lesson) think
about what you have developed and discuss where you might anticipate difficulties, what
you think will work well, what areas you will need to pay particular attention to.
There might be some students who might not be able to make the connection between the
written notation and the pitch. In that case, they may want to keep the pitch that they are
given so that they are given more time to recognize the pitch that they have through more
repetition of the exercise with their classmates.
I believe the randomness of mixing students up and seeing what melody comes out will
make the activity fun, as there is a sense of mystery involved, and also in the end, a
feeling of accomplishment, because the melodies created will be their own creation and
group effort of the class.
The most important thing is to not let it get out of hand, and to keep the activity moving
so that it doesn’t become a free-for-all with students playing chimes out of turn, just to
hear the sound of the chime in their hands.
Carlene Ruesenberg
Lesson Plan 2 – Clef Reading
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