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Note Values

Third graders learn that musical notes have values — how many beats they last — from a whole note (4 beats) down to eighth notes, plus rests for silence, the building blocks of reading music.

Grade 3Notation35 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name notes.
  • ✓Know how many beats each gets.
  • ✓Match notes to values.
  • ✓Read note values.
Essential Question

In music, each note tells you how LONG to hold it! How many beats does each note get?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Note to Its Beats

Project this and match each note to how many beats it gets — tap a note, then tap its beats.

🎵 Match each note to its beatsTry it
Note
How Many Beats
Now tap its beats!
The Lesson · Artistic Process (Listen · Explore · Create · Perform · Reflect)

35 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Listen — How Long to Hold

4 min

Each note tells you how long to hold it — how?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a whole and quarter note.
  • Ask which lasts longer.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Note Values

9 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Match the Note to Its Beats.
  • Match each one.
  • Clap them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Clap.
  • Name.
3

Create — Create

10 min

Children create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Clap a quarter note (1 beat).
  • Hold a half note (2 beats).
  • Mix them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Clap 1.
  • Hold 2.
  • Mix it.
4

Perform — Perform

8 min

Children perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Clap a note pattern.
  • Count the beats.
  • Be kind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Clap it.
  • Count.
  • Be kind.
5

Reflect — Reflect

4 min

Children respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a note.
  • Say its beats.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Music).

NCAS
MU:Pr4.2.3

Read note values.

NCAS
MU:Cr1.1.3

Explore notation.

NCAS
MU:Re7.2.3

Describe note lengths.

NCAS
MU:Pr5.1.3

Perform notated rhythms.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Note-value cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A ___ note gets ___ beats.”
  • Clap the values.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with quarter and half.
  • Clap along.
  • Match one pair.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add eighth notes.
  • Write a 4-beat pattern.
  • Explain rests.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🎵Note-value cards
  • 💻Match the Note to Its Beats
  • 👏Hands to clap
  • 🖍️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

notea musical sound symbolbeatone steady pulsewhole note4 beatshalf note2 beatsquarter note1 beateighth notehalf a beatresta beat of silencevaluehow long a note lasts
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How many beats does a quarter note get?
1 beat.
QUESTION 2
How many beats does a half note get?
2 beats.
QUESTION 3
What is a quarter rest?
1 beat of silence.

Reflect: count the beats.

Have children clap a quarter note, then a half note, counting the beats out loud. A printable notes sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Note ValuesFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Note ValuesQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Note ValuesPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: beat, eighth note, half note, note, quarter note, rest, value, whole note
  1. half a beat
  2. one steady pulse
  3. a musical sound symbol
  4. a beat of silence
  5. how long a note lasts
  6. 2 beats
  7. 4 beats
  8. 1 beat

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How many beats does a quarter note get?
  2. How many beats does a half note get?
  3. What is a quarter rest?
Answer key — Part A: 1) eighth note · 2) beat · 3) note · 4) rest · 5) value · 6) half note · 7) whole note · 8) quarter note
Part B: 1) 1 beat. 2) 2 beats. 3) 1 beat of silence.