Middle School Music Sub Plans That Follow the Real Curriculum
Middle school music teachers who want sub days to keep the course moving can use Music Complete – Middle School as their sub plan source all year. Because the Grades 6–8 units come with worksheets, slides and answer keys, a substitute with no music background can teach the next lesson in your sequence instead of showing a movie.
See the curriculum →Music Complete – Middle School, from $149.90, can supply sub plans all year because it is your curriculum, not a separate pack of filler. Its listening, theory and review activities come with slides, worksheets and answer keys, so a substitute without music training can teach a lesson that continues your current unit. The product is described as flexible for substitute teaching as well as full units and short lessons.
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
Why music sub days usually go nowhere
Music is one of the hardest subjects to leave for a sub. Most substitutes cannot read notation, cannot play an example on the piano, and would rather not lead 30 middle schoolers in singing. So music sub plans become a word search, a video, or a free period, and when you return the class has lost a day and its momentum. Over a school year, between conferences, sick days, festival trips and professional development, those lost days add up. The other problem is time. Writing a good sub plan at 6 a.m. while sick is miserable, and an emergency folder written in September is usually out of date by November because the class has moved on. A useful music sub plan needs three things: it has to continue what students were doing, a non-musician has to be able to run it, and the work has to be gradable when you get back. That means listening tasks with clear written prompts, theory worksheets students can do on their own, and answer keys the sub or you can use.
Why it fits
What makes it workable for a substitute
The same parts of the curriculum you teach from also work when someone else is at the front of the room.
- Review activities let a sub reinforce the unit you are in without new teaching.
- Theory worksheets on rhythm, meter and notation give students independent, gradable work.
- Answer keys mean a substitute can check work even if they cannot read music.
- Slides give a sub a clear script for running the lesson from the front.
- Listening tasks with written prompts work with any recording you leave behind.
- Differentiated worksheets keep the whole class busy without the sub having to adapt anything.
Getting started
Setting up sub days for the whole year
A simple system so any sub day, planned or not, continues the sequence.
- Mark sub-ready lessons per unitAs you teach each unit, flag one or two lessons, usually review or worksheet-based ones, that a non-musician could run. That becomes your sub plan for that point in the year.
- Keep a recording on a driveFor listening tasks, leave the recording on a USB drive or shared folder with a clear file name. Do not rely on a sub finding the right track online.
- Write a one-page cover noteLeave a short note: which unit, which slides, which worksheet, where the answer key is. With the curriculum doing the heavy lifting, this takes ten minutes.
- Pre-print an emergency setKeep one set of current review worksheets printed per grade. Swap it out each time you start a new unit so it never falls behind.
- Collect and grade on returnHave the sub collect work in a labelled folder. Using the answer key, you can grade it quickly and the sub day counts toward the unit.
Which version
Which version for year-round sub coverage
If sub coverage is a main reason you are buying, the Extended version at $199.90 is worth the extra cost. Its 90+ resources give more review activities and worksheets to draw on, so you are not using every independent lesson in regular class. The Starter version at $149.90 with 50+ resources covers a full course but leaves fewer spare materials. For $239.90, the Pro version bundles in Teach-Life-Balance, a separate teacher course with a planner, guides and templates. It helps you plan ahead; it does not add sub materials.
Honest limits
What it does not cover
This is a full curriculum, not a stand-alone emergency sub pack, so sub days work best when they continue lessons you have already started. No audio or video is included, so leave recordings for the sub. As a course written for U.S. middle schools in general, it still needs a check against your own state or district rules. A substitute using it in your classroom is part of your instruction, but sharing files with other teachers needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. If it does not fit, exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value, not cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does it meet state music standards?
It makes no claim of approval, adoption or alignment with any state standards or the National Core Arts Standards. It is written for U.S. middle school general music. Check its units against your own state or district requirements. For sub days specifically, the point is continuity with your own course.
Can a sub with no music background teach from it?
For the right lessons, yes. Choose review activities, listening tasks with written prompts, and theory worksheets. Slides give the sub a script, and answer keys let them check work without reading music. Save new theory concepts and creating projects for days you are there. Mark those choices in your plans as you go.
Is this different from a sub plan pack?
Yes. A sub pack is usually separate activities with no link to what students are learning. This is your whole course, so sub lessons come from the unit you are already teaching. The product description specifically lists substitute teaching among its uses. That is the difference that keeps the class moving.
What about long absences?
For a longer absence, the full sequence gives a long-term sub a ready course to follow, with slides, worksheets and answer keys for each unit. You would still want to leave notes on where the class is and which recordings to use. A short orientation note goes a long way for a sub taking over mid-unit.
I teach high school music too. Is there something for that?
Music Complete – High School covers Grades 9–12. It follows the same structure, so a sub who has used one will recognize the other. Code TEACHMORE15 gives 15% off when you buy two or more Complete Curriculum packages. Sub notes written for one transfer easily to the other, which saves time for teachers covering both levels.
Do sub lessons need instruments?
No, and for subs that is a plus. The lessons best suited to sub days are listening, theory and review, all of which work at desks with paper or devices and one recording. That keeps the classroom calm for the sub and makes sure the work they collect can be graded against your answer keys when you return.
Make sub days count toward the unit
Look through the sample documents on the product page and picture a sub running them.
See the curriculum →