"A Child of God" by Janice Kapp Perry Lesson 1

"A Child of God" by Janice Kapp Perry (simplified version).  Click on the links for free sheet music and to listen to the song.
In this lesson I will focus on teaching the teble clef note F, the tonic note and scale of the song.

1. First ask the student if they know how to read the last note of the treble clef part in this song.   The note is F.  Can you find an F on the piano?  (one trick is to say F is the friend who comes to visit on the left of the people house.  The people house is the group of three black keys)  Good.  Can you find another F on the piano?  End this part of the lesson by pointing out that the  F specified by the last note in the treble clef of this song is the F just above middle C.   Have the student color green around the F at the end of the song.  Can you find any other F's in this song?    There are two others.  Help the student find and color those notes green also.
2. That last note in this song is called the tonic note of this song.  That means it is the note that helps us know what key this song is based around.  It is the most important note in the song.  If needed, once again reinforce the concept taught in step 1 by again asking them to point to the note on the piano and to find all three green F notes in the song.  Then add a red star or red circle around the tonic note.
3.  Now teach that the scale of this song is based on the tonic note, the note with the red star by it.  Demonstrate for the student how to perform an F major scale with their right hand (or left if that is the preferred hand).  This is the scale of notes used for this song.  This song is in the keyof F major.  There is only one black note in this scale (B flat)
4. In the student's packet, I would note that each practice session should include the review of each of these concepts, depending on the ability of the student:  For example: Find the tonic note F on your music.  Find F on the piano and in all three places in your music.  Play the F major scale with your right hand.  It would also be very helpful to  include the assignment to listen to a cd or online version of the song or to sing the song each day.  Remind the student that a practice sticker can be added to the practice chart each time they do the complete practice list you have written for this week.  When you teach them in the next lesson, you will reward them with more teacher supplies to add to their teacher packet if they have practiced and if they can demonstrate understanding of the concepts you taught them today. 

Possible teacher supplies to prepare for rewards:  The treble clef F flashcard which corresponds to the note taught in the lesson, a definition card for tonic note, and a key signature card for F major.

Note for adaptation:  This teaching sequence could easily be modified for a more beginner or more advanced student.  For example in teaching step 1 to a beginner student, you could simply point out which F is meant by the notation of the last note in the song.  Then sing the song several times with the student and the other steps could be saved for future lessons or not mentioned at all.   A more advanced student may go through these steps all very quickly and would need another song or other exercizes etc to round out the lesson or continue on in the teaching sequence and advance to more concepts.

Be inspired,