It’s Sunday night. You just reheated your dinner for the third time, you’re staring at your laptop with absolutely no desire to click “New Google Doc,” and your brain is trying to remember if 4th grade is still on treble clef or if you already started form.
We’ve all been there. 🫠
Planning lessons for five grades, twelve classes, and possibly zero chill is a full-time job—on top of your actual full-time job. And if you’re juggling three tabs, two printed worksheets, and a mental checklist that depends entirely on your caffeine level… you’re doing too much.
Let’s fix that.
Here’s how I plan my entire week of elementary music lessons in one file—and save my sanity in the process.
🎯 Meet the MVP: Editable Agenda Slides
Agenda Slides are my not-so-secret weapon. I used to waste so much time cobbling together visuals, typing up I Can statements, digging through old slides, and hoping I’d remember where I saved that YouTube link from 2021.
Now? One file. One flow. One plan.
It’s all there—ready to go, ready to teach, and ready to impress anyone who dares walk in during your scarf activity.
🗂️ What to Include in Your Weekly Lesson Slide Deck
Think of your agenda slides like music teacher meal prep: get everything in one place now, so the rest of your week runs smoother (and you don’t have to mentally reboot every class period).
Here’s what to include:
Agenda & Standards
Start with a simple breakdown of the day’s flow plus a clear I Can statement. This keeps students on track and checks that “teaching music standards” box when admin pops in. No more answering “what are we doing today?” on repeat.
Warm-Up
Add something short and engaging to kick things off—think rhythm warm-ups, echo patterns, movement prompts, or a silly video that gets their attention and sets the tone.
Mini Lesson Materials
Drop in anything you’d normally show or reference during a mini lesson: anchor visuals (like rhythm or pitch posters), short listening examples, call-and-response slides, or lyrics. If it helps explain the concept, it goes here.
Independent Work Instructions
Whether you’re doing stations, worksheets, or a group activity, this slide is your go-to for clarity. Use it to show directions, groupings, examples, expectations—everything your students need so they don’t interrupt you mid-lesson asking, “What do we do again?”
Wrap-Up / Exit Ticket
End with a quick check-in: a turn-and-talk prompt, a rhythm to write, a mini reflection. It keeps students accountable and gives you a no-prep way to assess what actually stuck.
💻 Why This Works (and Why You’ll Love It)
Here’s the thing: these slides aren’t just cute. They’re functional. They’re consistent. And they save me so. much. mental. energy.
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No more flipping between tabs.
Your whole lesson is on screen, ready to roll. -
No more last-minute scrambling.
Plan it once, duplicate the slides, tweak for each grade. -
No more “What are we doing today?”
It’s literally on the screen, friends. Every single class. -
Easy for subs.
Just share the link. Your sub walks in and presses “next.” The end.
🧠 Planning Hack: Reuse + Archive
Once you’ve created a few weeks of slides, you’ll start to build your own digital lesson archive. Want to recycle your rhythm unit next year? ✨ You already have it. ✨ Just update the dates, swap the I Can statement, and go sip your coffee in peace. ☕️
🎉 You Deserve to Feel Put Together (Even If You’re Not)
I’m not saying these agenda slides will magically eliminate chaos, but… they will make your lessons feel smoother, your tech transitions cleaner, and your students more independent. And let’s be honest: that’s basically magic. 🪄
If you’re ready to ditch the 17-tab shuffle and keep your lesson materials all in one place, these slides are ready for you.
Let your slides do the heavy lifting, and enjoy a week where you're not frantically retyping “I can keep a steady beat” five minutes before class.
Remember when we talked about what to include in your slides? Mini lesson, independent work, and wrap up? Yeah...that's my signature Student Directed Learning (SDL) lesson structure for elementary music! If you haven't heard of it, you're missing out!
Download this freebie to learn how to get started with SDL and get a free lesson planning template! 👇🏼
