Let’s face it. Every lesson will not always go according to plan. There will be lessons that bomb in one way or another. The important thing is to know it’s not just you and that this happens to every teacher at one point or another. Also, keep moving forward and don’t give up or think this makes you a bad teacher if things don’t go well on a certain day. In this blog post (and on episode 125 of The Elementary Music Teacher podcast), I share 5 things to consider and what to do if a lesson plan fails.
Consider the students
Sometimes a lesson won’t go well because one or more students just have an off day. This is normal and just comes with the territory as a teacher. It’s also important to keep in mind that the dynamic of one class will be different than another class in the same grade level. So, what might work for one class won’t necessarily work for another. There will also be some classes coming into your music room that have more special learners in that group of kiddos, so you may need to adapt or modify lesson plans to meet their needs. One other thing to consider is that there may be students who just aren’t ready for that particular lesson that maybe didn’t go so well because they might need to review a concept before learning the new concept you’re teaching.
Consider how the lesson was presented
When thinking about what to do if a lesson plan fails, think about how the lesson was presented. It’s not always the entire lesson from the beginning to the end of class that didn’t go well, but might just be part of the lesson. If this is the case, think about where the break down happened and then make a plan based on that. You may have spent too long on something or not enough time. Should you scrap that lesson or activity all together or just change it up a bit? Maybe you tried it with students last year and it worked but this year it didn’t. Let’s go pack to point number one… consider the students. Your new crew of kids in a certain grade level aren’t the same kids right? So, you may just need to present the lesson to them in a different way.
Consider your teaching situation
We know the 2020-2021 school year is unique. Consider your teaching situation if a certain lesson didn’t go well. Are you teaching virtually, on a cart, or in person? Your teaching situation makes a difference in how you teach music (as you’re very well aware.) You may need to adjust the lesson accordingly and not be able to teach a certain song or do a lesson the same way over a computer screen that you do in person. It’s all about adapting and adjusting as needed and staying flexible in your planning.
Consider your attitude
Life happens outside of school. You have a personal life that can make or break your attitude even before you start your school day. It’s so hard to show up with excitement when you were late to drop off your child to daycare or spilled coffee on your shirt on the way to work. When life gets hard, and we all know it will, still show up for your students. They’re so excited to show up to learn music from you every week and because of you, they get to do just that. When you show up with excitement and joy while presenting the lesson, and aren’t just going through the motions, your students will be excited to learn.
Consider the day
As a music teacher, you know that crazy days will come. On any given day, you could have the greatest lesson prepared, but there might be a day or week that works against you. On a rainy day, a day of a school event or party, or even a day the kids have been sitting a lot while testing, it will be harder to teach music. There will be some days or weeks where students are more squirrely. Hang in there and know that the good days truly outweigh the bad.
What do you do if a lesson plan doesn’t go as well as you’d hoped? Tell me about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post. I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it too.
P.S. Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher? Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!
Also…I wrote a book called “Make A Note: What You Really Need To Know About Teaching Elementary Music” to help music teachers move forward in your teaching career. You can get your copy here.
