Counting Beats: Note Values and Full Measures in 4/4

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Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Counting Beats: Note Values and Full Measures
in 4/4
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir) · Grades 6-8 · 45 minutes
Time needed
45 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the beat chart from the board section 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 state the beat value of whole, half, quarter and eighth notes and rests in 4/4 and decide
whether a written rhythm fills a measure.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: Whole note = 4 beats. Half note = 2 beats. Quarter note = 1 beat. Two eighth notes = 1
beat together. A rest is silence that lasts as long as the note with the same name.
☐ Write on the board: In 4/4 time, every measure (bar) adds up to exactly 4 beats.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. You do not need to read music or play anything.
Say this to start
Today is a music-math day. You will learn how long different notes last and use simple addition to check rhythms that
are written as words. Nobody needs to sing or play. Everything you need is on the board and on the worksheet, so read
the board first and then work on your own.

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Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-001 · 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 and ask
students to wait.
Settle in and take out a pencil.
5–12
Read the board aloud. Then say: “A measure is one box of
beats. In 4/4 each box holds 4 beats. The word ta is one
beat. The word ti-ti is two sounds squeezed into one beat.”
Tap a steady beat on the desk and count 1, 2, 3, 4 a few
times.
Listen, copy the beat chart into the margin
if they like, and count 1, 2, 3, 4 quietly with
the sub.
12–24
Tell students to fill in the Beat Chart and the Measure
Check table. Remind them that ta-a means a held note, so
ta-a is two beats.
Write the beats for each symbol, add up
each measure, and write Yes or No.
24–34
Tell students to answer questions 1–7 on their own. Walk
the room.
Circle the multiple-choice answers and
mark each statement T or F.
34–42
Tell students to do questions 8–10. If the room allows quiet
clapping, invite students to tap the rhythm of measure A
(ta ta ti-ti ta) very softly on the desk. Skip this if the room is
noisy.
Fix the two broken measures and write two
measures of their own.
42–45
Read the exit ticket sentence aloud, give one minute to
write it, then collect all worksheets in a stack.
Write the exit ticket answer and hand in the
worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students say they cannot read music, tell them they do not need to. Every rhythm is written as words and
the beat chart tells them everything.
• If students argue about ti-ti, point to the board: two eighth notes together last one beat, so ti-ti counts as 1.
• If a student finishes quickly, ask them to check that each Total beats box matches the Yes/No answer, then
use the early finisher list.
• If the room gets loud, stop all tapping and clapping and switch to silent work.
Early finishers
• Write a four-measure rhythm in words (4 beats each) and trade with a neighbor to check the totals.
• Make a measure of 4/4 that uses only rests and one note. How many different ones can you find?
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students use the Beat Chart as a guide and write the number of beats above each word before
adding.
• Challenge: A dotted half note lasts 3 beats. Write a measure of 4/4 that uses one dotted half note and one
other symbol.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-001 · 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: