Starting Middle School General Music Mid-Year: Curriculum for January Hires
If you were hired to take over middle school general music in January, Music Complete – Middle School gives you grade 6–8 listening, theory and creating lessons you can teach from the first day of semester 2. You choose where each grade enters, so classes keep moving while you learn the building, the bell schedule and the kids.
See Music Complete – MS →Music Complete – Middle School is a no-prep general music curriculum for grades 6–8, starting at $149.90. A teacher hired mid-year can open it the day of purchase and teach semester 2 from it: listening and analysis, notation and rhythm, music and culture, composing and performance tasks, plus rubrics and review activities. Units work as a full sequence or one at a time, so you can start wherever your classes need.
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)
Music Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for High School Music (Grades 9–12)
Music History & Style Periods Bundle | Baroque, Classical, Romantic & Impressionism | 4 Complete Units | Grades 9–12
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
The real problem
What January really looks like in a general music room
The handoff note, if there is one, usually says something like 'they were working on rhythm.' Which rhythm? Quarter and eighth notes, or syncopation in common time? Nobody can tell you. General music students are not ensemble kids. A few play in band and read fluently; many have never followed a staff, and some have spent the last month watching movies with a sub. You see sixth, seventh and eighth graders in the same day, each group with a different gap. Because music is an elective, students also test a new adult harder than they would in a core class. Then there is the room itself. You may find a cart of keyboards with missing cords, a closet of hand percussion, and no inventory list. Planning a performance task around equipment you have not checked is a gamble. What you need in the first weeks is material that gives every grade something real to listen to, talk about and make, without depending on what the fall covered.
Why it fits
Why it works when you start halfway through
The curriculum is organized by content area rather than by calendar date, which matters when your first day is in January.
- Program vs absolute music listening tasks make a low-risk first week that needs no prior knowledge.
- Notation, rhythm and meter resources let you check quickly what the fall actually covered.
- Units build across grades 6–8, so each grade can enter the sequence at its own level.
- Differentiated worksheets handle the mix of band students and kids who have never read music.
- Classroom-friendly performance tasks and group projects work before you know your full instrument inventory.
- Rubrics and written assessments give you grades to enter before the first progress report goes out.
Getting started
Your first two weeks of semester 2
One way to use the opening days while you are still finding the copy room. Adjust it to your own schedule.
- Day 1: a listening task, not a lecturePlay a film cue and then a piece with no story attached, using clips you supply, and work through the program vs absolute music materials. Students describe what they hear, and you learn who uses vocabulary.
- Days 2–3: an ungraded theory checkPull a notation and rhythm worksheet from the theory foundations section. The answer key tells you in one evening which grade knows note values and which needs to start from the beginning.
- End of week 1: an entry unit per gradeBased on those two checks, decide where each grade enters. Sixth grade might stay with rhythm and meter while eighth moves to form and motifs. The units do not depend on a fixed start date.
- Week 2: give them something to makeBring in a composing, improvising or arranging task from the creating section. Short group projects give a restless elective class a job and show you quickly who can lead a group.
- End of week 2: your first real gradeUse a rubric or review activity from the assessment section as the first gradebook entry that is clearly yours. It gives families and administrators something concrete about the new semester.
Which version
Starter, Extended or Pro for a January start
If you mainly need to get through semester 2 and will rethink things in summer, Starter (50+ resources, $149.90) covers the core of listening, theory and creating. Extended (90+ resources, $199.90) makes more sense if you expect to stay next year and want enough material for three grades without repeating lessons. Pro ($239.90) adds Teach-Life-Balance, a digital course with a planner, guides and templates. It adds no music content; it helps with planning time, which matters when you are setting up an entire job in a few weeks.
Honest limits
What you still bring yourself
No audio or video is included, so you need your own recordings or clips for the listening work and a way to play them in the room. Instruments are not part of the product either. The materials are written for U.S. middle school classrooms, and you should check them against your state and school requirements yourself. If other music teachers in your building want to use them, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If it turns out not to fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value. It is not a cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is it aligned to the National Core Arts Standards?
It is not endorsed, approved or certified by any standards body, and there is no alignment guarantee. It is written for U.S. middle school general music classes and covers listening, theory, music and culture, and creating. Before you build your semester plan, compare the units with your state or district music standards and note anything your requirements ask for that you will need to add.
The last teacher left no record of what was covered. Where do I start?
Start with evidence rather than guesses. A listening task and a short notation check tell you more in two class periods than an empty plan book. Because the units can be used one at a time, you can place each grade in the content that matches what you find, then go back and fill earlier gaps once routines are settled.
Do my students need to read music before using it?
No. The theory foundations begin with notation, rhythm and meter, and much of the listening and culture work asks students to describe what they hear instead of reading a score. Differentiated tasks give band and choir students more to do while beginners catch up, so one lesson can serve the whole room.
I start Monday. How fast can I get the files?
Access is instant. After purchase you receive a download link by email, and the files also sit in your customer account under Orders. You could buy on Friday evening and print a listening worksheet on Saturday. Before buying, the product page lets you preview three sample documents in the browser, including Music in the Orchestra – Instruments.
What if I am observed in my first month?
A new hire may be observed early, sometimes before routines are solid. Each resource has a clear purpose and comes with answer keys or rubrics, so you can show an observer what students are doing and how you will assess it. You still decide how to run the lesson; the material just keeps you from improvising content the night before.
If the school keeps me next year, will I run out of material?
Units build across grades 6–8, so a January start leaves plenty untouched for the fall, especially for the grades you only had time to begin. If you expect to stay, the Extended version with 90+ resources gives you more room before anything repeats, and the Music History & Style Periods Bundle is a separate add-on.
Walk in on the first day with a plan
Look through the contents and the three sample documents, then pick the version that matches how long you expect to stay.
See Music Complete – MS →