Christa Cook

January 29, 2015

Lesson Plan 2
Writing the D Major Scale
Grade: 4th
Concept: D Major scale
Objective/Assessment: The students will notate the D Major scale on the musical staff with
correct note locations, appropriate note size, and necessary accidentals.
Standard: S1C5PO101: reading music in simple meters.
Materials: Instruments and bows
D Major scale worksheet
Essential Elements 2000 p. 11, #31-32
Pencils
Whiteboard and marker
Process:
1. Today we are going to practice reading and writing the D Major scale. Please look at the
worksheet on your stand. Call on a student to read the first direction on the worksheet,
which directs students to draw their own clef on each staff line on the page.
2. Walk around the room and monitor students as they draw in their clefs on the staves.
Model each clef on the staves drawn on the board.
3. Call on another student to read the next direction on the worksheet. So we are going to
write the ascending D Major scale. First lets review the definition of a scale. Open your
book to page 11 and find the yellow definition box in the middle of the page. Call on a
student to read the definition of a scale.
4. A scale is a musical ladder. We start on one note, and then we step up the ladder one
note at a time. We alternate space, line, space, line as we step up (point to staff drawn on
board). The top note of the scale will always be the same as the bottom note. In other
words, we cycle through the musical alphabet until we get to the letter we started on.
5. What is the first note in the D Major scale? Thats right, D. Look at #32 on page 11 of
your book and locate your open D on the staff. Then draw your open D on the first staff
on your page. The directions tell us to use whole notes, so make sure your notes just look
like open circles. Violins, where is your open D located on the staff? Ask each section to
identify the location of their open D on the staff by counting up the space or line number
(ex. violas = third space). Model the location of each sections D on the staves on the
board.
6. What is the next note in the D Major scale after D? Right, E. So we step up to the next
available space or line in the staff. Violins, where would you place your E? Each section
identifies the location of their E on the staff and teacher models on board.

7. Remember that as were drawing these notes, size is very important. Draw a very large
note on one of the staves on the board. What would be the problem if we drew our notes
this big? Thats right. Its taking up several lines and several spaces. Do we know what
note this is? We dont. Thats why the size of our notes is important. When youre
drawing a note in a space, the note should just touch the edges of the lines that surround
it. (Model.) When we draw a note on a line, the line should cut through the center of the
note. (Model.) Now lets move on to the next note in our D Major scale.
8. When we draw our F#, do we need to add anything besides the note itself? Yes, we need
to also draw the sharp sign. We place it before the note, like this (model on board). Now
continue on drawing the rest of the notes in the scale. You can use #32 in your book as a
guide to locate each note on the staff.
9. Walk around room and assist students as they work independently to complete the
notation of the ascending D Major scale.
10. When all or most of the class has completed the first staff on their worksheet, ask the
students to place the worksheet in their music folders. Now pick up your instruments.
We are going to play through numbers 31 and 32 in your book, reviewing the descending
and ascending D Major scale.
11. Closure: Please finish writing the ascending D Major scale at home if you did not finish
in class today. Keep this worksheet in your folder and bring it with you to the next class.
Next time we will work on writing the descending D Major scale.
Enrichment: If student finishes early, he or she may do silent left hand practice of familiar
exercises on pages 11 and 12 in their book while waiting for the rest of the class to finish.