Treble, Alto, Tenor and Bass clef displaying the C Major scale for reference.

Teach KS3 students to read notes on a treble and bass clef by cracking the codes to spell out words with the note names. This can follow a lesson on FACE in the space/Every Good Boy Deserves Football etc, or just use the C major scales notated at the top of each worksheet.

Students need to work out which simple time signature will fit at the beginning of each two-bar phrase, then write a two-bar phrase for the time signatures given. Suitable for KS3 students, or KS4 as a quick recap. Students can be challenged to use dotted, tied and triplet rhythms as an extension to the second exercise.

KS3 students can be introduced to musical texture with this Power Point presentation that has simple audio examples of each texture.

A full pack of Bach chorale-esque exercises and assessments for students to work through. Files are split into AS and A2 from the old specs, but can be used to denote difficulty and any can be used at any part of the course. This bundle includes the original Sibelius file so it can be edited, as well as a PDF worksheet version ready to print.

An explanation of the Circle of 5ths with an activity.

These are some resources I put together to teach KS3 (and recap with KS4) about Indian Classical Music.

Here are two assessment sheets I devised for a KS3 keyboard assessment. The first is specific to playing With a Little Help from my Friends and/or Twinkle Twinkle, whilst the second is a more general keyboard assessment sheet. Students need only to tick the boxes corresponding to how they think they did on their assessments, then complete a summary sentence for what they need to improve and a peer-assessment sentence if they're working in pairs or you want them to listen to someone else's performance.

Use this example grid to demonstrate to KS3 students how to notate basic rhythm compositions in fours. Then use the blank grid for them to create their own. For students that have a more in-depth knowledge of rhythm, two or three crosses can be put in a box to create semiquavers or triplet rhythms.

Students can recap, or learn from scratch, the names of different types of musical structures on a basic level. Fill in the gaps to focus on keywords.