Learning objective
- To plan a musical structure inspired by a story.
Success criteria
- I can write sentences to accompany a storyline.
- I
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National curriculum
Music
Pupils should be taught to:
- Improvise
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Cross-curricular links
English
Reading – comprehension
Pupils should be
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Before the lesson
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Lesson plan
Recap and recall
Arrange the children into pairs and display the Presentation: 3, 2, 1. Play the link: 'Space Oddity' by David Bowie and give them time to discuss the task on the slide.
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Extended-mode explainer videos
How to extend your display to view the lesson page and preseantion mode simultaneously. Choose your operating system below to watch the video
If you need further support with extending your display,
please contact [email protected].
Extended-mode explainer video: For Mac
Extended-mode explainer video: For Windows
Adaptive teaching
Pupils needing extra support
Could create their story mountain using pictures and add key words or phrases to describe feelings and events (see Activity: Planning a song in Print).
Pupils working at greater depth
Could write two sentences for each summary; could add rhymes.
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Assessing progress and understanding
Pupils with secure understanding indicated by: retelling a summary of the story
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Vocabulary definitions
-
ballad
A song which tells a story - similar to a poem.
-
ensemble
A small group of musicians who perform together.
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In this unit
Assessment - Music Y3: Ballads
Lesson 1: What is a ballad?
Lesson 2: Performing a ballad
Lesson 3: The story behind the song
Lesson 4: Writing lyrics
Lesson 5: Singing my ballad
Maintained by: Kapow Primary team
Last update: 2nd October, 2025
Lesson 1: What is a ballad?
Listening to and learning to identify the features of a ballad, understanding that ballads tell...
Assessment – Music Y3: Ballads
Assessment quiz for use at the start and/or end of the unit to assess pupil...
Lesson 4: Writing lyrics
Writing lyrics as a class to tell a story.
Lesson 5: Singing my ballad
Using a backing track, children perform their ballad, with actions, as a class.
