Middle School General Music Curriculum for Charter School Teachers
If you were just hired to run general music at a charter middle school and there is nothing on the shelf, this gives you a full grades 6–8 course to teach from day one. Music Complete – Middle School covers listening, theory, music and culture, and creating, with slides, differentiated worksheets and answer keys you download the moment you buy.
See the music curriculum →Music Complete – Middle School is a no-prep general music curriculum for grades 6–8, from $149.90. It is written for U.S. classrooms, including charter schools, and covers listening and analysis, notation and rhythm, music in culture and media, and composing and performing tasks. Starter has 50+ resources; Extended and Pro have 90+. It downloads instantly. No audio is included, so you play your own recordings, and you compare the units with your school's requirements.
The curriculum
Music Complete – Middle School, Grades 6–8
Start with the full curriculum. The other resources below are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Music Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School Music (Grades 6–8)
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The real problem
What makes general music hard to launch at a charter
Charter schools often hire late and open fast. You may have signed in July, met your students in August, and found that general music exists on the schedule but nowhere else: no scope and sequence, no binder from a predecessor, no department chair to ask. Some charters run the arts as a specials rotation, so you might see each grade for a short block and then hand them back. That makes coherence the hard part. A sixth grader who meets you twice a week still needs to move from hearing music to describing it with real vocabulary, then to reading rhythms, then to making something of their own. Budget shapes the room as well. You may have a projector, a speaker and chairs rather than a set of instruments, which means the course has to stand on listening, notation and composing tasks students can do on paper or a device. And because a young charter may add a grade each year, the sixth grade course you write now has to grow into seventh and eighth without repeating itself. Writing all of that alone while also teaching it is where the evenings go.
Why it fits
How the curriculum fits a lean charter music program
The material is organized so you can teach it tomorrow and still see where the year, and the next one, is heading.
- Units build across grades 6–8, so a school adding a grade each year already has the next level.
- Program vs absolute music, form and motifs give listening lessons real vocabulary instead of vague impressions.
- Notation, rhythm, meter, scales and intervals are sequenced, so theory grows rather than restarting every fall.
- Composing, arranging and classroom-friendly performance tasks keep students making music with a modest instrument inventory.
- Rubrics plus performance-based and written assessments give you grades to report from the first unit.
- Differentiated worksheets help when one specials block mixes beginners with kids who already play.
Getting started
Your first two weeks of general music
One way to get the course running before the first progress report. Adjust it to how often you see each group.
- Pick the version and download itBuy the version that matches how many grades you teach, then save the files from the email link or your account under Orders. Sort them by content area so listening, theory and creating material are easy to find.
- Map one strand per gradeChoose a starting unit for each grade you have this year. A simple split is genres and listening for sixth, rhythm and notation for seventh, composing for eighth, then rotate as returning students move up.
- Open with a listening lessonStart week one with a describing activity on film or pop music. Play your own clips, use the slides to introduce expressive elements, and let students write first impressions before you name form and motifs.
- Add theory in short dosesFrom week two, fold a notation or rhythm worksheet into every class. A few minutes of meter or note values each meeting adds up over a rotation, and the answer keys keep checking quick.
- Set the first creating taskClose the second week with a small group composing or arranging project and its rubric. It produces a performance grade, shows you who reads notation, and tells you how to group students next.
Which version
Starter, Extended or Pro for a charter music room
Starter, with 50+ resources at $149.90, is enough if you teach one grade or see students in a short rotation. If you cover all three grades, Extended at $199.90 gives you 90+ resources, which means less repetition as the same students come back to you each year. Pro at $239.90 adds Teach-Life-Balance, a digital course with a planner, guides and templates for managing teacher workload. It earns its price if you are also the arts coordinator or carry duties outside music. If your planning time is protected, Extended covers the teaching itself.
Honest limits
What you still bring yourself
There is no audio or video in the package. You choose and play your own recordings and clips, and you supply any instruments, keyboards or software for performance work. The curriculum is written for U.S. middle school classrooms, but checking it against your state's music standards and your charter's goals is your job. If other teachers at your school want to use it, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If it turns out not to fit, you can exchange it for store credit of equal value within 7 days. It is not a cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this curriculum approved by charter authorizers or aligned to state music standards?
No authorizer, state or standards body has approved or endorsed it, and it makes no alignment guarantee. It is written for U.S. middle school general music and covers listening, theory, music and culture, and creating. Before you build your year around it, set the units next to your state's music standards and your charter's own academic goals and note any gaps you need to fill.
Can I use it if I only see each class once or twice a week?
Yes. The units can be taught as a full sequence or one at a time, and the material is flexible for short lessons and review. In a specials rotation, pick fewer units and go deeper in each rather than rushing through the whole set. Notation and rhythm worksheets also make good warm-ups at the start of a short block.
We have almost no instruments. Will it still work?
Much of the course is listening, describing and analyzing music, plus theory on paper, so a speaker and a projector go a long way. The creating strand includes composing, improvising and arranging tasks designed for a classroom, along with group projects and presentations. For anything that needs instruments or music software, you use what your school has; none is included.
Can I preview it before I buy?
Yes. The product page shows three sample documents in your browser: Music in the Orchestra – Instruments, Sound Art & Experimental Music, and Joseph Haydn – Biography & Works. They give you a feel for the layout, reading level and task types before you commit to Starter, Extended or Pro.
Our school adds eighth grade next year. Will I need to buy again?
No. The curriculum already covers grades 6–8 and its units build across the three years, so material for your future eighth graders is in the package you buy now. Plan this year's units with next year in mind, so returning students meet new repertoire and harder theory instead of repeats.
Can the school pay for it instead of me?
Questions about school purchasing, or about other teachers using the material, can be sent to Teach Lessons before you buy. The licence covers instructional use by the buyer, and use within your school is possible once you have sent that short message. Sharing the files publicly or reselling them is not allowed.
Start the year with a music course already built
Open the product page to see the sample documents, compare the three versions and download the one that matches your schedule.
See the music curriculum →