Song Form Detective: Verse, Chorus and Bridge

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-013 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Song Form Detective: Verse, Chorus and Bridge
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir) · Grades 7-10 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the three section names and their
meanings on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then compare with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard
Goal for today: Students will identify the verse, chorus and bridge in an original song text, represent its form with
letters, and write four lines that fit a chosen section.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: VERSE = tells the story; the words change each time. CHORUS = the main message; the
words come back again and again. BRIDGE = a short contrast near the end; it sounds different from the rest.
☐ Write on the board: Form letters: verse = A, chorus = B, bridge = C.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. The song has no recording. Students only read the words.
Say this to start
Today you are a song detective. The worksheet has the words to an original song written just for this class. There is no
recording, so you will read it like a poem. You will figure out which parts are verses, which are the chorus, and which is
the bridge. Then you will write four lines of your own. Quiet reading and thinking time first, then a short partner check.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-013 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Read the three
definitions on the board aloud.
Listen and copy the definitions into the
margin if they like.
5–12
Ask for a volunteer to read Sections 1 and 2 aloud like a
poem. Point out how Section 2 sounds different from
Section 1 and that it comes back.
Follow along and underline repeated lines.
12–25
Tell students to fill in the table for all six sections, using
clues from the words.
Label each section and write one clue from
the words.
25–40
Tell students to complete questions 1–8. Walk the room.
Question 7 is a creative writing question and has no single
answer.
Answer the questions and write four lines of
their own.
40–46
Read the table answers and the answers to questions 1–6
aloud from the key. Invite two volunteers to read their
question 7 lines.
Check their work and listen to classmates’
lines.
46–50
Collect all worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Hand in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students ask what the song sounds like, tell them there is no tune. They can read it with their own rhythm
or tap the beat softly on the desk.
• If students disagree about which section is the bridge, ask them which part has words and ideas that appear
only once and feel different. That is the bridge.
• If a student says they cannot write lyrics, tell them to write four short lines about a morning routine and to try
rhyming the second and fourth lines.
• If a student finishes very early, check the table, then use the early finisher ideas.
Early finishers
• Write a title for each section that sums up what it is about in three words or fewer.
• Rewrite the chorus so that it tells a different mood, such as nervous or sleepy, keeping the same pattern of
lines.
• Draw a form map of a song you know, using the letters A, B and C. You do not need to name the song.
Support and challenge
• Support: Allow students to complete the table and questions 1–4, and give them a sentence starter for
question 7: “Today I woke up and ...”.
• Challenge: Ask students to write a second bridge for the song that moves the story to a different time of day.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-013 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: