Creating elementary music sub plans can seem like your worst nightmare. I used to remember spending HOURS prepping music sub plans my first year. But my years of working through pounding, feverish headaches to cobble together sub plans are long past. In this blog post, I will share with you some no prep sub plans for music class that you can have ready to print and go at a moment’s notice.
The Key to No Stress Sub Plans for Elementary Music
The key to not stressing about your sub plans is to have a couple plans in your back pocket for those unexpected absences that can pop up with little time to prep or plan. I am SO glad I learned this during the early years of my teaching, because by the time I had kids, I had already stock piled a couple go-to music sub lesson plans that I could use whenever I needed to take a sick day. I don’t know how I would have survived without them!
Having a select few music sub plan lessons that you can just send to your secretary (or even attach right to the sub request in some systems!) at a moment’s notice is SUCH a stress saver. I keep mine in a Google Drive and then keep track of which ones I’ve used for the year.
Movies for Elementary Music Sub Plans
Bill Nye Science of Music Sub Plans
This video is all about sound and vibration. The video takes up about 23 min. Then you can use the rest of the time to have them talk in small groups, answering questions about the video. Or even do a sound and vibration science experiment!
Nutcracker Lesson Music Sub Plans
Need to take a day off around the holiday season? Why not leave your class a lesson on the Nutcracker?
Start off with a Write the Room activity. Students can search for facts about The Nutcracker Ballet hidden around the room.
Then, you can play a song or two from the Nutcracker. Here is a fun rhythm play along to the March from The Nutcracker.
I also love doing listening glyphs, where students listen to the music and color the page based on what they hear.
You can get all the things you need for this lesson – the Write the Room set and eight Listening Glyphs (plus even more!) in this Nutcracker Ballet Bundle.
Elementary Music Sub Plans-No Technology
Write the Room Rhythms
Another fun Write the Room activity to leave with a sub is a rhythm write the room. Students can find different rhythms around the room. Once they’ve discovered and copied them all, they can go back to their spots and read through them as a class.
Then, you could have them pair up with a partner and create their own rhythm piece using the rhythms from the posters. If there is time, they could even perform their rhythm for the class.
Music Class Sub Plans – Learn about a composer
This is a great time to introduce a composer you’ve been wanting to share with the class but just haven’t had time. I have a range of composer biography sets spanning everything from female composers to jazz to good old classical favorites.
Each pack contains tons of activities to learn about the composer through interactive games and group work, plus some fun worksheets like the composer word search. Plenty of activities to keep your students buys through an entire class period! Why not allow your students to explore the life of a famous composer while you are out?
Music Sub Plans During Concert Season
When you are prepping for a concert it can seem impossible to miss a day. But I have a solution for that too. What I have started doing is making sure that I have all the songs saved on a USB drive with a clearly labeled folder name.
I make special sub plans for concert season that tell them to rehearse the songs on the USB drive. I already have song sheets laid out in an obvious area because my students have been using them during class each week.
And then I usually have some sort of activity just for fun at the end that they can play once they’ve gone through both songs. My students love playing Night at the Museum, and I also love adding SMARTBoard activities from Artie Almeida’s Music Madness resource.
It’s not perfect because I can’t teach them quite the same way that I would if I was there but it’s better than nothing and they do get to learn the music a little bit better.
You can even add a challenge like having students try to sing the song from memory for the sub!
Other Posts Related to Elementary Music Sub Plans
I hope that this post has shown you that just a tiny bit of preparedness ahead of time curating a short list of go-to music sub plans will save you so much stress and so much time down the road. If you wanna learn more about ways to prepare for seven plants, check out these blogs below.
When You’re Away, the Kids Will Play: Musical Games to Leave With Your Sub Plans – learn about how to use centers and games in your sub plans
How to Create Quick and Easy Sub Plans for Elementary Music – learn how I get away with using only three sub plans throughout the whole year!
5 Quiet Elementary Music Activities to Use During Testing Season – not able to get a sub, but need something easy and quiet for your pounding headache? Try some of these ideas!
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