When a substitute teacher steps into a music classroom, musical participation is often replaced by non-musical activities that substitutes can lead with greater confidence, interrupting students’ musical learning. I designed Lil’ Liza Jane for Grades 1–3 students and elementary music teachers as a substitute-ready resource that can also function within teacher-led instruction. In this project, I worked as both subject matter expert and instructional designer, translating musical knowledge into a structured, participatory learning experience, selecting and arranging public-domain material and shaping it into an interactive lesson.

The central design challenge was to embed teaching functions, rhythm modeling, pacing, demonstration and participation cues, directly into the media so that learners can participate in structured rhythm activities even when musical guidance is not available. Because early elementary learners benefit from clear modeling and are more likely to engage with peer-modeled behavior, I introduced a peer-aged character, who serves as a narrative anchor throughout the lesson. I structure the lesson around guided listening, notation and narration to support progression from perception to active participation. Using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, I provide multiple means of representation and participation so learners can access the material in different ways. Because classroom technology and instructional conditions vary, particularly in substitute-led settings, the lesson is designed to function within a blended or Flex model, allowing for both whole-class projection and individual interaction.

In a future iteration, I would more clearly distinguish between instructor-centered objectives and learner-centered outcomes. In the current design, the objectives are largely instructor-centered and aligned with national standards because that is what music teachers must satisfy in a classroom context. While these objectives support the structure of the lesson, they do not clearly communicate purpose to the learner. By highlighting how reading music allows musical ideas to travel across time and place, I could more directly answer the learner’s question of “Why does this matter?” To support this shift, I would revise the opening of the lesson using Gagné’s first event, gaining attention. Specifically, I would introduce an anticipatory set that invites students to reflect on why reading music matters before the lesson begins, followed by an interactive prompt that asks students to recall prior musical experiences and connect those experiences to the current learning activity.